Archive for Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Archive for Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Breakout for Bulldogs

Baseball team scored 15 runs in fifth inning to beat Cortez

March 15, 2005

GRAND JUNCTION --Bryan Wojt-kiewicz went to the mound in the bottom of the fifth inning against Montezuma Cortez. Get three outs so spring break could officially start.

"I knew what I had to do," the Moffat County junior said. "Everybody wanted to go home early."

During the previous inning, the Bulldogs had come back from an 8-4 deficit to score 15 runs in the top of the inning to take a 19-8 lead. The 11-run lead was one better than the required 10-run rule.

"I was fired up from the 15-run inning," Wojo said. "It helped me focus."

The junior struck out the side to give the Bulldogs the 19-8 win.

It was a lopsided score to a not-so-lopsided game through four innings.

Neither team scored during the first two innings, but Moffat coach Scott Parker knew his team was on the verge of scoring, and he told his coaches after the second.

"First time through the order, they were on the ball, but it just wasn't dropping," he said. "I was confident that those would fall the second time around."

Junior Brian Berhman broke up the scoreless tie with an infield single that scored freshman Josh Satterwhite in the top of the third. Sophomore Bryan Richards, junior Reid Hanneman and Wojtkiewicz all batted in runs to give the Bulldogs a 4-0 lead.

The second time around in the order, Cor-tez started to see senior Jared Low-ther's pitches better, as well.

The Panthers scor-ed four of their own in the bottom of the third to tie things up.

After a scoreless top of the fourth, Cortez had gained the momentum.

Lowther started to overthrow from the mound. He threw four passed balls in the fourth and walked two batters. Wojtkiewicz came in to relieve Lowther but gave up a hit on his first pitch. Two errors, two walks and four passed balls aided the Panthers in a four-run fourth inning and gave them an 8-4 lead.

"I got mad and started to throw too hard," Lowther said. "Things got in my head and I made mistakes."

At the top of the fifth, everybody on the team redeemed Lowther.

The offensive output reads more like an entire game.

Seven players scored twice in the inning. The Bulldogs collected seven hits and went through four Panther pitchers.

Moffat collected seven runs before Cortez earned the first out. That out came when sophomore Billy Ivy tried to stretch a two-run double into a triple and was thrown out.

The Bulldogs scored eight more runs before giving up their second out.

"We remained positive after the fourth inning and that attitude can make things happen," coach Scott Parker said. "You never think you're going to score 15 runs in an inning but it just happens sometimes."

Everybody contributed offensively in the win. The middle of the lineup -- Richards, Hanneman and Berhman -- was a combined 9 for 12.

Junior Kyle Sorensen pinch hit for Satterwhite in the fifth and had four RBI in two at bats..

All of this came when the rest of the Bulldogs' classmates were enjoying spring break.

None of the varsity players on Moffat's team missed the game.

"We get to play baseball on break," Lowther said. "It made it nice to get the win, but baseball is baseball."

Parker said his athletes' willingness to take time from their break is what this team is all about.

"These kids want to be here," he said. "The way they put (Cortez) away, anytime that's good to see."

Moffat improved to 3-1 and faces Delta next week for the first Western Slope League game.

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