There is still a lot of baseball to be played, but the Yuma High School Outlaws are positioning themselves for a potentially good run into the postseason.
The Outlaws are 8-3 and No. 3 in the 2A CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index. They host Wiggins for a varsity doubleheader today, April 17, starting at 2 p.m. The double dip has been moved from Saturday due to forecasted poor weather over the weekend.
The top eight teams in the Index at the end of the regular season will host four-team regionals in the middle of May. As of now, Yuma is trending toward being a host, though again the Outlaws still have 10 more games to play — not that the Outlaws are shying away from the possibility.
“We have talked since the beginning of the year regarding the ability to host a regional in Y-town, it is one of our goals,” coach Brady Nighswonger said. “It would be pretty dang cool to be able to play at our own ballpark for a chance to make the final eight. This is a really fun group. There is a lot of baseball knowledge and enjoyment of just playing the game.”
Wiggins comes to town today sitting in the low-20s in the Index. The Tigers entered this week with a 6-6 record.
The Outlaws picked up a strong win last Saturday at the Outlaws Lair, knocking off Platte Valley 10-3 on a beautiful Saturday in April. The Broncos dropped to 9-4, and were No. 10 in the Index earlier this week.
Yuma is getting it done with some upperclass quality experience and a lot of youth.
Freshman Brodie Kallweit made his first varsity start Saturday, after being effective in late-inning situations in previous experiences.
He had a little trouble finding the zone early as three walks and a double led to three runs in the Broncos’ first at-bat.
However, he settled in after that as he blanked the Broncos the rest of the way, backed by another solid defensive outing by his teammates.
The Outlaws missed on scoring opportunities early, but freshman catcher Chuey Rodriguez helped stymy Platte Valley chances by throwing out runners at second and third.
Yuma finally got on the board in the bottom of the third when Reyli Trejo scored on a dropped third strike to Christian Thomson, who hustled down the line to beat the throw.
Sophomore Lennox Huwa lifted a home run over the right field fence in the fourth to pull Yuma to within 3-2. It was his first varsity dinger.
The Outlaws then broke it open with four runs in both the fifth and sixth.
Chris Wario, courtesy running for Rodriguez, scored on a passed ball to make it 3-3. Thomson lined a single to left, Kallweit laid down a sacrifice bunt to score Alex Pensado from third while reaching on the fielder’s choice. Thomson scored on a passed ball, and Jose Mario Ross, courtesy running for Kallweit, scored on Marvin Duarte’s groundout.
Senior Silas Baucke led off the sixth with a double and scored on Rodriguez’s ground ball. Wario, again courtesy running, and Reyli Trejo scored on Pensado’s double to left, and then Pensado scored on Thomson’s groundout for a 10-3 lead.
Kallweit was one out away from a complete-game victory in his varsity starting debut. However, a walk, error and hit by pitch loaded the bases. That prompted Nighswonger to make the switch, bringing in Ross to get the final out on a grounder to Trejo at third.
Kallweit had eight strikeouts and five walks in 6-2/3 innings, scattering four hits — only two after the first.
“We never panicked and just kept pushing, we were able to apply some pressure on the base paths regarding stealing bases and that led to putting some runs on the board,” Nighswonger said. “We were then finally able to get some big hits with runners in scoring position to open it up.”
He credited Kallweit for overcoming some nerves in his first start on the hill to settle in with a strong effort.
The Outlaws had only five hits themselves, but three were doubles. Huwa had the home run. Baucke had two hits, including the double, and scored one run. Pensado had a two-run double and scored twice, Thomson had a hit, one RBI and one run, Trejo scored two runs, Duarte one RBI, and runs by C. Wario and Ross.
Yuma-Wray baseball games in recent years invariably come down to the last at-bat. That was the case two weeks ago when the Outlaws escaped with a 7-6 win in Yuma, and it was the same Tuesday when they escaped again with a 5-4 win at Baker Field.
Wray took a 1-0 lead in the first. Yuma tied it with a run in the third. Wray regained a 2-1 lead in the fourth.
Yuma, though, built a 5-2 lead with two runs in both the fifth and sixth. In the fifth, Huwa scored on Rodriguez’s double, and Seward, courtesy running for Rodriguez, scored on an error. Huwa drove a solo homer over the porch in right field in the sixth, and Ross, courtesy running for Baucke, scored on Trejo’s single to right.
Baucke went the first six innings on the mound. Ross came on in the seventh to close it out. However, Wray again rallied in its last at-bat, scoring to runs to pull within 5-4 with two outs. It appeared the Eagles were going to tie the game on a single to right field, but Kallweit’s throw to home nailed the Wray runner on Rodriguez’s tag to end the game.
Yuma again was outhit, 8-5, and the usually-solid defense committed four errors, but the Outlaws still got the win. Huwa had the solo homer (his second in two games) and had two runs, Rodriguez a double and one RBI, Baucke one hit, Trejo one hit and one RBI, Pensado one hit, and runs by Seward and Ross.
Baucke struck out nine and walked three, scattering five hits over six innings for the win. Ross had one strikeout and one walk in the seventh.
“I am excited to see this team continue to grow and get better and see where this season takes us,” Nighswonger said.