Yuma High School’s baseball team will be looking to break into the win column when the Indians play their 2022 home opener, Saturday.
The Tribe will welcome Caliche to town for a double dip beginning at 11 a.m. at Tribe Field.
Yuma quickly has found itself in a hole in the Lower Platte Activities Association race, suffering a 5-4 walkoff loss at Akron, Monday afternoon in the Tribe’s season opener. (Tuesday’s non-league game at Sterling was postponed due to weather. It is being played Friday, April 1.)
Akron improved to 3-2 overall and in the LPAA with the win. Haxtun is 1-1 in league play heading into this week, Wiggins 1-0, Merino 2-0, Caliche 1-1, Wray 1-1, Sedgwick County 0-3 and Holyoke 0-0.
Caliche was supposed to play against Wray this past Tuesday. The Buffaloes beat Sedgwick County and lost to Wiggins in their first two games.
There was not much offense in Monday’s game at Akron, rescheduled from March 18.
Yuma managed only three hits in seven innings. Akron was a bit better with seven hits, including the game-winner in the bottom of the seventh. It was Yuma’s first game, while it was the fifth for Akron. The Indians stranded seven baserunners.
Weather conditions were great as the temperature was in the 70s, and the U.S. flag in center field hung limp most of the game on an unusually calm early spring Monday afternoon in northeast Colorado.
Still, the Indians were not quite able to take advantage.
The game was scoreless until Yuma broke through in the top of the fourth, when Kevin Hermosillo’s double scored Victor Perez and Silas Baucke. The Indians increased their lead to 3-0 in the fifth, when Kobe Rayl reached on a walk and scored on a passed ball.
Yahir Trejo worked his way out of some challenges on the hill in the first four innings, keeping Akron scoreless while striking out seven. He did not issue a single walk, and scattered five hits, all singles.
However, the Indians ran into trouble in the bottom of the fifth when Akron scored three unearned runs off of four walks and an error, without getting a hit.
The Rams then took a 4-3 lead in the sixth thanks to three walks and one hit.
Yuma rallied to tie the game in the top of the seventh. Rayl blooped a single to shallow left field with one out. Akron then chose to intentionally walk Trejo and Andre Baucke to load the bases. It seemed to work in Yuma’s favor as Rayl scored on a passed ball, and Jose Ruiz drew a walk to load the bases again.
However, the Indians could not capitalize as a strikeout and groundout ended the threat.
Akron got it done in the home half. The Rams’ first two batters were hit by a pitch. They advanced to third and second on a sacrifice bunt, and then drove in the winning run with a looping hit to left-center.
Yuma’s three hits included doubles by S. Baucke and Perez, along with the single by Rayl. Rayl scored two runs, and Perez and S. Baucke each scored a run.
Trejo had his four strong innings on the mound. Conner Lynch ended up with the loss, allowing two runs on two hits, striking out two and walking three in 1-1/3 innings. S. Baucke struck out two and walked four in one inning.
