MEEKER | The Meeker High School softball season got underway last Friday when the team traveled to play in the Eaton tournament. In the tournament, the team faced two of the top teams, Eaton and Strasburg. Eaton was the top team last year, winning the state championship.
“The girls played tough, but we lost both games today,” Head Coach Kelsey Stroud said.
Against Strasburg, pitcher Addie Knowles held the team together until the fourth inning, when Strasburg timed her out and scored nine runs. The team went on to lose 12-0. Against defending champions Eaton, they lost 23-4, but there were some highlights: Miah Wren scored twice, while Miley Chism and Kayla Castillo each scored once.
“Eaton was strong and hit a lot of gaps, but our girls did everything they could to get the ball in cleanly,” Stroud said. “Scoring even just four runs against a team like Eaton was a huge success, especially at the beginning of our season.”
The next day, Meeker played La Junta and Weld Central. Against La Junta, both the offense and defense were strong. In the first inning, Autumn Stallings got two ground outs, and Addie Knowles got a strikeout with no runners scoring. At their first at-bat, Miah Wren started the Cowgirls off strong with a triple to left field. Ashlynn Ducey followed with a perfect bunt, beat the throw to first, and scored Wren. Emma Bauer, the number three batter, had a solid hit to left field to score Ducey and advance to first base. Knowles hit a single, and Castillo hit an infield home run. The Cowgirls ended the first inning with a 5-0 lead.
In the fourth inning, the team began to struggle, resulting in La Junta scoring four runs to make the score 9-5. At the top of the seventh, La Junta scored its first batter, but Knowles struck out the next batter. La Junta scored once more. The last two outs were ground balls hit to Stallings at third base, where she executed perfect form and throws to secure the 11-8 win.
The last game of the weekend was against Weld Central, where the Cowgirls secured a 20-3 win. “Our bats were on fire during this game, with every single one of our girls scoring at least once,” Stroud said.
In the first inning, Meeker scored six runs in their first at-bat. Wren started the team off in the field with a fly-ball catch in centerfield. Weld Central’s number two batter hit a ground ball to Stallings at third base, and she secured the out at first base. A few infield errors allowed Weld Central one point in the inning. In the second inning, the team secured three more runs with a few walks and a single hit by Knowles. In the field, Ducey made a spectacular diving catch at second.
In the third inning, Meeker pulled ahead, scoring 11 runs. Ducey hit a triple and a double at her at-bats, with multiple singles and heads-up baserunning. At the bottom of the third, Knowles pushed through, and the lady Cowboys had a strong, clean defense, only allowing Weld Central to score two runs. The Cowgirls ended up run-ruling Weld Central with 15 runs in the third, with the final score being 20-3.
“With such a difficult tournament so early in the season, we treated it as a learning experience for the girls and a chance to get exposure to faster pitchers and more challenging teams,” Stroud said. “The girls exceeded my expectations and theirs as well, showcasing their talents and heart for the game.
This weekend, the lady Cowboys will be back at home, starting Friday with a doubleheader against Delta at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. On Saturday, they will play Montezuma-Cortez at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. All four games will take place at Paintbrush Park.
Addie Knowles gets ready to pitch against the Rifle Bears. JARED HENDERSON PHOTO
By JARED HENDERSON