BY TIFFANY JEHOREK
Special to the Herald Times
MEEKER | The Meeker Cowboy softball team played hard against the Palisade Bulldogs in their season opener on Saturday.
“Once again we begin our season when the scores do not reflect how the girls played,” commented head coach Kendal Bergman. “The improvement from last year when we played Palisade to this [year] is amazing, I just wished the score reflected what actually happened on the field.”
The double header began when Miah Wren continued her streak from last year as a stellar lead off batter by getting on base with a single up the middle to start off the game. Wren batted 0.324 in the 2022-2023 season, scoring 27 runs with 11 RBI.
Ashlynn Ducey, a newcomer from Rangely, followed Wren to get on with a hit by pitch, and the runners were able to advance with Kastyn Dembowski’s at bat but were stranded at second and third base at the end of the inning.
Addie Knowles started in the circle the first game and held the Bulldogs to only five hits through the third inning. The defense was able to keep the game very close but the Bulldogs pulled away in the fourth inning to clinch the win.
Timely hitting proved to be costly for the Meeker Cowboys and too many runners were stranded throughout the game.
“Our defense made spectacular plays and made great outs but a few small errors let the Bulldogs sneak out of reach,” said Bergman.
The second game had a more successful start with a double from Dembowski to score Ducey and a single by Ryann Mergelman to score Dembowski. Last season Mergelman was one of the top batters for the team with a batting average of 0.366 scoring 32 runs and bringing in 25 more.
Meeker freshman Kailynn Watson got the start in the circle in the second game and fought through the heat to compete against the Bulldogs. With help from her defense, the game stayed close.
“We had some great plays this weekend,” beamed Bergman, “an astonishing catch by Dembowski in left, a catch by Wren at the fence in center, a runner caught by Mergelman as catcher to Miley Chism at shortstop position, Ducey’s all out sprint for a pop fly catch at second base out in the grass, great snags from Jade Miller at shortstop, and a sturdy performance from Emma Bauer at first base.”
Knowles finished the game in the circle with another great outing and kept the Bulldogs off balance.
The Cowboys hit better during the second game and caused chaos for the defense on the bases to score more runs.
“The Bulldogs came away with two wins that day but the endurance and willpower I saw from our Meeker Cowboys was truly amazing,” wrapped up Bergman. “I am so proud of these girls and can’t wait to hit the field again.”
There have been some changes in the previously published schedule and Cowboy softball now has two home games Thursday and Friday. Both days there will be JV followed by varsity and they begin at 4 p.m. Thursday Rifle comes to Meeker and Friday it will be Battle Mountain.
