MEEKER | The Meeker Cowboys took on the Gunnison Cowboys this past Saturday and came away with one win.
In the first game, the Gunnison Cowboys took the lead early and kept it all the way until the bottom of the third inning but Meeker came storming back by scoring 14 runs in the top of the fourth.
Meeker tacked on eight more runs to end the game in the sixth with a 23-12 run rule victory. Hitting was the name of the game and the entire Meeker lineup got their job done with timely hitting and big time hits against a very solid opponent. Everyone in the batting order got a solid hit with Meeker sophomore Emma Bauer leading the way with five hits. Bauer went five for five with two RBIs and a double. Along with Bauer, Rangely junior Miley Chism was next up with four hits and two RBIs and Kastyn Dembowski was right there with three hits and five RBIs.
The hits kept coming, including two doubles from senior Ryann Mergelman and a double from sophomore Autumn Stallings.
“Stallings’ hit was the cherry on top of a stellar offensive outing across the board,” commented head coach Kendal Bergman. “Our base running was exceptional as well during the first game.”
The speed of the Meeker Cowboys put extra pressure on their defense and led to extra base hits and multiple stolen bases.
“It is truly awesome to watch these girls on the bases, making their own decisions and trusting themselves out there to set us up for success,” said Bergman.
Addie Knowles pitched all six innings with six strikeouts and hung tough with a solid offensive team on the other end. Knowles came away with the win for Meeker in the circle but also had herself a great day at the plate racking up two hits and adding an RBI to the count.
“The first game proved that the girls had the talent and skills to play with these other talented teams,” said Bergman. “We were feeling really good going into the second game and started off how we ended the first game.”
The Cowboys opened game two gaining a 7-1 lead very quickly into the fourth inning.
Freshman Kailynn Watson was the starting pitcher in the second game and had her best outing of the year so far.
“She showed such grit, only giving up five hits in her outing,” commented Bergman.
As the Gunnison Cowboys adjusted to Meeker’s pitching later in the game, the defense had a few mishaps along with walks, let the opponent sneak back into the game. Gunnison ended up coming back in the fifth with a lead of 8-7.
“We learned a lot about always needing more runs and never being satisfied since no other team will lay down easy, just as we won’t either,” said Bergman.
The Meeker Cowboys were able to take back the lead in the top of the sixth, 9-8, with Dembowski scoring Ashlynn Ducey for the tying run and Chism with the sacrifice fly to score Dembowski for the go ahead run.
The story changed in the bottom of the sixth though where Gunnison came back even stronger and was able to get bases loaded with no outs. Gunnison scored six additional runs and Meeker wasn’t able to match them in top of the seventh, losing 14-9.
“The loss was very difficult with the multiple lead changes and knowing we had a strong lead throughout most of the game,” commented Bergman. “Even though it’s a hard one, we learned a lot and I feel that we will become a stronger team after that.”
Although the defense had a few mishaps in the game, there were great performances from Mergelman behind the plate, throwing out a runner trying to steal third base, freshman Kayla Castillo with multiple catches in right field, Jade Miller solid at third base, and Bauer with great stretches and range at first base to solidify numerous outs.
The batting lineup still had success throughout the second game with Dembowski leading the way with two hits and one RBI and Mergelman with one hit and two RBIs.
“We look forward to cleaning up a few things at practice this week and continue our success in league play with Basalt on Thursday,” said Bergman.
The Cowboys won’t be home for a couple weeks with all road games ahead. The next home game is Monday of homecoming week against Basalt.
