Craig Daily Press

Craig — A short regular season for the Moffat County High School baseball team is over.

Its home opener was Saturday, the season finale, Tuesday.

Tomorrow, the postseason begins.

Despite the team’s four home games — all Bulldogs victories — MCHS managed to win a share of its third straight Western Slope League title behind a 10-3 road record.

One of those losses was to Palisade (11-3 WSL, 13-6 overall) and another to Eagle Valley.

MCHS split the regular season title with Palisade, but by virtue of a tiebreaker, Palisade got the higher seed in the state tournament bracket.

The tiebreaker was recorded versus the No. 3 team in the league — Eagle Valley.

Palisade swept the two-game set with the Devils, while the Bulldogs earned a split.

Moffat County enters the district round of the state tournament beginning Saturday, as the No. 19 seed in the 32-team bracket.

Palisade earned the No. 16 seed.

The Bulldogs (14-5) face No. 14 Longmont (13-6) at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in the first round of the District 5 bracket in Arvada.

“Longmont is a good, hard-nosed baseball team,” MCHS coach Tim Hafey said. “But, we are going to do whatever it takes to win that first game. We want to win, no matter what.”

The winner faces the victor of No. 30 Denver South (7-11) and host Ralston Valley (17-2) at 3 p.m. Saturday.

“Ralston has got a very big lefty that throws about 92” mph, Hafey said. “He throws down hill, and we hit that kind of pitching well. It will be interesting to see, if we get that far.”

Moffat County hasn’t made it out of the district round the past three years.

In 2005, MCHS defeated Cherokee Trail 3-1, before being knocked out of the tournament by Golden, 9-8.

In 2006, the Bulldogs lost in the first round, 7-5, in 10 innings to Cherokee Trail.

Last season, Moffat County dispatched Fort Upton, 6-2, before losing the district final, 13-7, to eventual state champion Thomas Jefferson.

MCHS senior shortstop Chris Winder has been on all three of the aforementioned teams, and after Saturday’s league-clinching victory against Steamboat Springs, he was optimistic about the team’s chances this year.

“If we play like we can, it doesn’t matter who is in our way,” he said. “We just won our third straight (league) championship. Here or not, it doesn’t matter who we play.”

Hayden resident Seth Lanier will get the nod to tote the rubber in MCHS’s game against Longmont, and that — in a roundabout way — is why he plays for Moffat County.

“I have a better chance at winning a state title” by playing with the Bulldogs, Lanier said Saturday. “I’ve been playing with these guys since I was 8. I just want another run at a championship.”