Yuma High School’s baseball team will be attempting to make a move in Class 2A during some key upcoming games.
The Indians host rival Wray on Saturday at 11 a.m. for a single league game, then travel to Wiggins on Tuesday for a LPAA doubleheader. Yuma currently is 5-7 overall, and 5-5 in the LPAA. The Indians are at Wiggins on Tuesday and have another 2A league game next Saturday at Holyoke.
They are No. 16 in the RPI, as of earlier this week, as they try to position themselves for as favorable of a bid as possible for next month’s postseason.
“I feel like we’re in a pretty good spot,” coach Brady Nighswonger said. “It seems like we’re playing pretty good baseball.”
He noted there have been several obstacles earlier in the season slowing the Indians from reaching their stride. However, most of that is in the rearview mirror now, and the weather is getting nicer, meaning a chance to get outside more often for practice.
The Indians lost 15-1 at Wray earlier last week, but were without the majority of their varsity lineup due to the players being at the Colorado State FBLA Convention. Therefore, Saturday’s game should at least be closer, with the Indians intent on trying to somehow pick up a win over its rival.
Unfortunately, the first game was the one that counted in the league standings. It turns out the league made a change this season in which only one game counts in league standings, due to the LPAA’s 1A schools not wanting to play doubleheaders against everybody else in the league.
However, Nighswonger noted all games count toward the RPI, so every win is big, including upcoming double dips against Burlington and Byers. Tuesday’s games at Wiggins loom large, particularly with the Tigers currently ahead of the Indians in the RPI.
The Indians were able to avenge a season-opening 5-4 loss at Akron on March 28, holding on for a 10-7 home win over the Rams this past Saturday. Fortunately, it was Saturday’s game that counted in the league standings, as the first game against Akron had to be rescheduled.
It started out well enough as Yahir Trejo singled and scored on Silas Baucke’s double in the bottom of the first inning.
However, Akron stormed back with four runs in the top of the second off of four hits, a walk and two hit batters.
The Indians responded with their own big at-bat in the home half. A hit-by-pitch, a walk and a single loaded the bases with one out. Kobe Rayl’s single to left scored Adrian Carranza. Trejo and S. Baucke each drew a walk as Hugo Montes scored, and Angel Escobar stole home on the throw back to the pitcher. Andre Baucke then drove in Trejo and S. Baucke with a double to right. (S. Baucke had been intentionally walked to get to A. Baucke, who made the Rams pay.)
When it was done, Yuma had a 7-4 lead.
“We’ve got to get rid of the second inning,” Nighswonger said. “I think if you go back and look at it, 98 percent of the runs we have given up have come in the second.
Yuma plated three more runs in the fourth for a 10-4 lead. Trejo led off with a single, and scored on S. Baucke’s double. A. Baucke reached on an error, and both Baucke boys scored with two outs on Montes’ single to left.
Akron scored two runs in the top of the fifth, and added one more in the seventh, but the game ended on a strikeout.
Trejo went the first three innings on the hill, allowing four earned runs on hits and three walks, striking out four. S. Baucke went the final four frames, allowing two earned runs on four hits, striking out nine and walking only one.
S. Baucke had two doubles, two RBI and scored one run, A. Baucke a double, two RBI and one run, Trejo two hits, one RBI and three runs, Escobar two hits, one RBI and one run, Rayl one hit and one run, Montes one hit, two RBI and one run, Carranza one run, and Jonathan Thomson one run.
