The Otis High School baseball team has advanced in the Class 1A District 5 Tournament, and stand a great chance of advancing to next week’s regional round.
Otis outlasted fifth-seed Caliche 15-10, Tuesday in the district quarterfinals at Akron. The Bulldogs improved to 13-4 on the season and is No. 5 in the 1A CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index. However, they just the fourth seed in District 5 as Akron, Haxtun and Merino hold the top three spots in the 1A Index.
District 5 action moves to Fort Morgan on Friday. The Bulldogs get to take on Akron at 10 a.m. Haxtun and Merino face off in the 12 noon semifinal. The winners will meet in the district championship at about 2 p.m.
Otis then pulled off an 8-5 win over Akron on Friday, and faced the winner of Haxtun-Merino in the district final.
The Bulldogs had to rally to survive Caliche in the quarterfinals. They trailed 5-0 before finally scoring two runs in the bottom of the second. They scored five in the third and six in the fourth for a 13-8 lead, and held on from there.
Erick Thorn had three hits with a double, two RBI and scored three runs, Paxton Davis three hits with a double, three RBI and three runs, Tayte Smith two hits with a double, two RBI and two runs, Gavin Price two hits and two runs, Kaleb Jones two hits, three RBI and one run, Carter Wells one RBI, Austin Hornung one hit and one RBI, JJ Ward two runs, and Cambric Klinzmann one run. Thorn, Price and Ward all took turns on the hill.
The Bulldogs closed the regular season with three straight wins late last week.
First was a 30-0 romp at Weldon Valley last Thursday, April 25. The Bulldogs scored 17 runs in the first quarter, and finished with 22 hits in three innings.
Davis and Wells combined for a three-inning no-hitter. Davis struck out six and walked one in two innings, and Wells had two strikeouts and one walk.
Price had five hits, including a triple, five RBI and four runs, Stivers had four hits, three RBI and four runs, Davis three hits with a double, four RBI and three runs, Hornung three hits with a double, three RBI and four runs, Reese two hits, one RBI and two runs, Thorn a double, one RBI and two runs, Smith one hit, two RBI and two runs, Grady Bechtle one hit, two RBI and one run, Ward a double, two RBI and two runs, Jones one run, Emiliano Varela one RBI and one run, Wells two RBI and two runs, Gracen Bechtle one RBI and two runs, and Matthew Seward one RBI.
Otis played at Cheyenne Wells last Friday, sweeping the Tigers 8-1 and 11-9.
The Bulldogs scored three in the first inning, and led 7-0 after three. The game was limited to five innings. Smith had one hit and one run, Thorn a triple, one RBI and one run, Stivers one hit, one RBI and one run, Wells one hit, one RBI and one run, Davis a double, two RBI and two runs, Hornung a double, one RBI and one run, Price a double, and Cambric Klinzmann one run.
Ward went all five innings on the hill, striking out seven, walkign four, and allowing one earned run on four hits.
The Bulldogs then closed out the regular season with an 11-9 run in the nightcap, another five-inning affair. They led 8-2 after two winnings, and 11-4 after the top of the fourth. However, the Tigers plated four in the home half, and scored once more in the fifth to make it interesting.
Smith had two hits and two RBI, Thorn two hits, three RBI and two runs, Stivers one run, Wells one RBI and two runs, Hornung one run, Price one hit and two runs, Ward three hits, two RBI and two runs, and Klinzmann one run.