MEEKER | The Meeker Cowboys played and won two of three non-league games last weekend but had their Northwest League games against the Hotchkiss Bulldogs canceled because of rain last Saturday. The Cowboys played Coal Ridge at home Wednesday after press time and will play two games in Nucla against the host Mustangs and Dove Creek this Friday, then host Rangely next Tuesday at Paintbrush Park.
The Cowboys beat the 3A Grand Valley Cardinals at Paintbrush Park 16-4 and 14-6, then lost to the 3A Aspen Skiers 11-9.
“We played well and won two games against a young Grand Valley team,” head coach Brian Merrifield said of last Tuesday’s doubleheader. “We pitched four different guys against them.”
Meeker senior Garrett Frantz pitched all five innings, to get the win in the first game, while Doak Mantle, Uri Goedert and Cooper Meszaros all pitched in the second game.
Both teams scored runs in the first inning of the first game with the home team taking a 6-3 lead into the second inning. The Cowboys scored another in the second and six more in the third, while shutting out the Cardinals.
Grand Valley did score one more in the fourth but the Cowboys countered with three more to finish the game in the fifth inning.
Mantle led the Cowboys with three hits in the first game, all were doubles, while Meszaros and senior Trapper Merrifield each getting two hits. Frantz, Logan Hughes, Ryan Phelan, Uri Goedert and Luis Villalpando all got a hit.
Merrifield stole four bases, Hughes stole three, while Meszaros, Mantle and Jacob Pelloni all stole one.
In the second game, both teams scored one in the first inning, then Meeker added four in the second and seven in the third to give the Cowboys a comfortable lead.
Frantz and Mantle each had three hits in the second game, while Hughes and Pelloni each had two.
Meszaros, Villalpando, Goedert, Merrifield and Jose Garcia each finished with one base hit.
Frantz and Meszaros each stole four bases, Merrifield stole three, while Pelloni and Mantle each stole two bases. Mantle was the winning pitcher in the second game and Villalpando was the catcher for both.
Last Wednesday, the Cowboys played the Aspen Skiers close, losing 9-11 after seven innings at Paintbrush Park.
“We played great offensively, scoring nine runs against good pitching,” Coach Merrifield said. “We were up through three innings, then lost the lead in the fifth. Defensively, we made more mistakes than we could afford and weren’t able to overcome the deficit.”
Mantle led the team with four hits, Merrifield and Pelloni each had two. Meszaros, Phelan, Villalpando and Goedert each got on base with hits.
“Logan, Ryan and Trapper all pitched well and Luis caught a good game,” Coach Merrifield said.
The Cowboys will play in Nucla against the Mustangs this Friday at noon, then play Dove Creek at 3 p.m. Meeker will host Rangely next Tuesday at Paintbrush Park.
