The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate baseball team was dealt its first losses of the season over the last week, with the team moving to a 7-4 record.
But, despite the losses, coach Ben Garcia indicated he’s proud of how the team responded Tuesday against Durango after falling to Alamosa on April 12.
The Pirates believed in themselves, he noted.
The Pirates opened league play on Saturday, April 12, in Alamosa, where they lost both halves of the day’s doubleheader.
Garcia called the first game, an 11-6 loss, “kind of the tale of two teams.”
The Pirates, he explained, came out in game one and played the way they’ve been playing, building up a lead.
The Pirates scored one in the first inning, two in the second and two in the fifth while allowing a run in the bottom of the fourth and another in the bottom of the fifth to take a 5-2 lead into the sixth inning.
Then, Garcia explained, “the wheels kind of came off,” with fielding mistakes leading to some panic.
“I just had visions of last year,” Garcia said. “When pressure like that became intense, we had a tendency last year to fall apart. This showed signs of that, unfortunately. ... We lost our composure.”
That, he added, set the tone and opened the door.
The Mean Moose scored nine in the bottom of the sixth to take an 11-5 lead into the seventh.
The Pirates brought around one run in the seventh, but lost 11-6.
Garcia noted a combination of things led to the loss.
“We won the game for six innings, and we make a couple of those plays early and I think we cruise,” he said.
Pagosa’s six runs came on 12 hits.
Kyler Henderson and Chris Young-Martinez each notched three hits in the game. Henderson also had an RBI, while Young-Martinez paired his hits with two runs scored and two stolen bases.
Zach Pouyer had two hits and a run scored.
Taylor Wells had a triple, a run scored and an RBI. Charles Washburn also hit a triple, reached on an error and notched an RBI. Sean Ryan had a hit and an RBI, and Dylan Dempster logged a hit.
Sebastian Gonzalez, who reached on an error, stole a base and logged an RBI.
Cooper Ralston pitched 5.2 innings for the Pirates, allowing five runs (none earned) on four hits and two walks while striking out 10.
Ralston, the coach noted, pitched a “really good game,” adding, “He pitched a good enough game to win.”
Garcia indicated the Pirates’ other pitchers had uncharacteristic command issues in the game.
Combined, the Pirates’ pitchers allowed 11 runs, six of which were earned, on eight hits and five walks.
The Pirates committed six errors in the game, compared to Alamosa’s two.
Garcia added the first game set the tempo for the second game of the day, which the Pirates lost 11-1.
“We were not ready to go. We just absolutely didn’t come out the second game with the same fire and the desire,” he said.
The Pirates allowed three runs in the first, one in the second, three in the third and four in the fifth while scoring one in the fourth.
Pagosa’s run came on three hits.
Gonzalez hit a double to score Pouyer, earning the RBI. Ty Richie and Young-Martinez had the other two hits in the game.
Pouyer walked twice in the game, with Wells and Ryan each reaching once on a walk.
Wells, Pouyer and Young-Martinez each stole a base.
“Again, we made some mistakes,” Garcia said, adding the team was also dealing with some slight injuries during the game.
The Pirates committed four errors, with Alamosa committing one.
The Pirates also struggled on the mound, according to the coach.
Wells and Washburn combined to allow 11 runs, eight of which were earned, on nine hits and four walks while striking out two.
“When you look at 14 stolen bases in two games — you’re not going to win a lot of games if you’re puttin’ people in scoring position consistently,” Garcia said.
The coach indicated the team did not play up to its potential on the day.
“I was very disappointed in our response — not in our boys, but in our response — to make the adjustments because I thought we were well on our way the way we had played, and we didn’t play the way we’re capable,” Garcia said.
The coach noted the team had a really good practice on Monday, putting the Pirates in high-intensity fielding situations.
“We hit tons of pop flies, and we got better at it,” he said, indicating the team played better against Durango Tuesday, despite losing both games on the day.
“I thought we played good enough. We hit the ball. Chris actually pitched very well, but ... Durango is a very good team. They, absolutely, are better than I’ve seen them in a long time,” Garcia said, highlighting the depth of Durango’s pitching and hitting.
The Pirates fell prey to the 4A Demons 16-3 in the first game.
Durango picked up four runs in the first, four in the second, one in the third, one in the fifth, one in the sixth and five in the seventh.
The Pirates brought two around in the third and one in the fourth.
Pagosa’s runs came on six hits.
Henderson and Dempster had two hits each, with Henderson notching a double and Dempster also drawing a walk.
Gonzalez had one hit, and Pouyer had a hit, a walk and an RBI.
Wells, who drew two walks, scored a run. Young-Martinez also scored a run.
Wells and Young-Martinez combined to allow 16 runs, 10 of which were earned, on 19 hits and three walks while striking out six.
Pagosa logged four errors in the matchup, with Durango committing one.
The Pirates fell 7-4 in the second game.
Durango again took the lead first in the game, scoring three in the top of the first, but the Pirates countered with two in the bottom of the inning and another two in the bottom of the third.
Durango bounced back with four in the fourth and one in the fifth to go home with both wins on the day.
“I thought we played with them well until that one last inning,” Garcia said.
Pagosa’s runs came on five hits.
Young-Martinez had two hits, one of which was a triple, and two runs scored. He also reached on an error.
Pouyer had a hit, walked and scored a run. Ralston logged a double and an RBI. Henderson had a hit and two RBIs.
Wells drew a walk, logged an RBI and scored a run.
Kaeden Iguchi reached after being hit by a pitch.
“We had a chance to win the second game,” Garcia said, noting the Pirates had runners on first and second with Henderson up. “And that’s who you want up at that time.”
Henderson made contact, and Durango’s center fielder made a diving catch, Garcia relayed.
“They were sound. They won the game. We didn’t give it to them, but they won the game,” Garcia said, highlighting another time the Pirates had the bases loaded with two outs and Ralston hit a line drive over the center fielder’s head, but the center fielder was able to drop step and make the catch.
“Sometimes you’ve got to tip your cap to those type of teams,” he said.
Wells and Washburn combined to allow seven runs, two of which were earned, on eight hits and one walk while striking out three.
The Pirates had six errors in the game, with Durango logging one.
Garcia added the teams has to continue to work on closing the door and moving on from mistakes.
“As a whole, I was very pleased with the way we played against a good team,” he said, adding if the Pirates can play that way for a full game, they can win a lot of games.
Prolonging innings against a good lineup can let the runs pile up and put you in a position where it’s hard to come back, Garcia indicated.
“They’re equipped to be able to withstand and of your comebacks ... where we’re trying to get to that point,” he said.
Garcia also spoke to the importance of learning lessons from playing a good team like Durango and building off of that, noting the team has potential and will continue to work ahead of its games Saturday against the Montezuma-Cortez Panthers.
The Panthers are 8-4 on the season, with both the Pirates and Panthers having lost to Durango this season.
“Cortez will be good, we know that,” Garcia said, adding if the Pirates can play the way they did in the second game against Durango, he thinks they’ll be OK.
>