craigdailypress.com

All season the Bulldogs varsity baseball team has been crushing the ball, but on Tuesday the Palisade Bulldogs shut down Moffat County High School (MCHS), 5-0, in a non-league game.

With the loss, the Bulldogs dropped to 11-6 on the season and Palisade improved to 5-12.
"We just came out really flat," said coach Kip Hafey. "We played really well defensively, but we couldn't get the bats going. Palisade's pitcher threw really well and we just couldn't get runners like we needed. Palisade is a good team and we knew that before we went down there. They are fourth place in their league and they played a lot of the top teams in their league really close."
The Bulldogs did turn a triple play in the game.

"In one of the middle innings of the game, Palisade got its first two runners on and a line shot is hit down the right field line and first basemen Grady Wilson makes a diving catch for the first out," said Hafey. "Grady stepped on first base for the second out and threw over to the second base bag where shortstop Brandon Carrera stepped on the bag for the third out."

On the mound for the Bulldogs, Josh Bower, a senior, threw six innings to keep the game within striking distance.

"Josh threw really well for us," said Hafey. "It was probably one of the best outings of the year for him with the exception of the no-hitter. He did exactly what we wanted him to do and we were just not able to back him up with the bats."

Heading into the final weekend of league play, the Bulldogs stand in second place in conference with a 4-2 record. The Rifle Bears are in first place with a 5-2 mark.

MCHS starts the weekend at 4 p.m. Friday when the Glenwood Springs Demons, 2-2 in conference, visit Craig Middle School field. The regular season ends with a game at 11 a.m. Saturday when the Bears come to town.

"It's a really big weekend for us," said Hafey. "It really comes down to Saturday regardless of what happens on Friday. If we win the game Saturday we are league champs. We do want to get it going against Glenwood Springs. They are a good team and we will have to come out ready to play on Friday and get that one out of the way and then look forward to the game on Saturday."