YOUR AD HERE »

Moffat County teams head into final games

Elwood Shelton

Baseball

The Bulldog’s baseball team wraps up its regular season at 11 a.m. Saturday, when its faces top-ranked Glenwood Springs at Craig Middle School. The game will be the second meeting of the two teams, after which the two teams will play one rescheduled inning from the first time the ‘Dogs and Demons met. The game was postponed due to snow, with Moffat County leading 6-4.

Glenwood boasts standout pitcher Tom Ahrens, who holds the No. 2 spot in Class 4A with 61 strikeouts on the year. Ahrens is not unstoppable, which the Bulldogs proved the last time they met.



Moffat County (10-6) scored all of its runs against him, until he was pulled late in the game.

Moffat County, was initially on shaky ground, on the mound, after sophomore lefty Jerod Estey was lost to a shoulder injury. However, the ‘Dogs have had a number of hurlers step-up. Shane Burum and Rob Satterwhite have become regulars in the rotation, and Mark Turner and Chris Field have remained in-tune while on the hill.



The Bulldogs’ bats have come alive at the end of the season, keeping the team either ahead of opponents or within striking distance. The Bulldogs have only dropped two games in the past eight conference match-ups.

Though a conference championship is still mathematically feasible, the ‘Dogs are looking for a strong finish going into districts.

Track

Girls and boys tracksters will compete in their fifth meet in seven days when they travel to Rifle Saturday.

Two athletes have already qualified for the state meet in individual events Jill Adamek in the 100-meter run and Beth White in the 3,200. The 4×800 relay team of Stephanie Hurd, Charlotte Steele, Laurel Mortensen and Emily Mortensen has also qualified this season and have proven to be the team to beat. They hold the fastest time in any Class in Colorado, at 9:58.77 seconds.

The boys team, has struggled with the inexperience of youth and injuries to upperclassmen, but still remains hopeful for a state qualification.

Jarrod Burns leads the way in individual events, and will most likely gain his state berth in the 3,200. Coach Gary Tague said there is a chance that a few more individuals and a few relay teams will qualify in the last two meets.

Girls Golf

The Lady ‘Dogs hit the links today for the two-day Grand Valley Invitational (GVI), at the relatively rudimentary Battlement Mesa Course, a slightly hilly course, but not as technical as the girls have seen this year.

The girls will travel to Rifle Creek Saturday for day-two of their endurance match. Rifle Creek is known for its devious back nine with narrow fairways. The Lady Bulldogs have one advantage on this course, because it’s the third time they have played it this season.

Lindsey Scott, who is just pulling out of the slump she suffered through most of the month of April, looks to repeat last Monday’s performance, when she shot a 84. Melanie Peters is also looking to repeat the 90 she shot at Montrose last Thursday.

Boys swimming

The boys swim team has only qualified one relay this year, the 400-meter freestyle, but will try to gain another berth at 10 a.m Saturday when they travel to the Orchard Mesa pool in Grand Junction.

The meet is a triangular, with District 51 and Loveland being the other two teams competing.

The next state qualifiers will most likely be another relay team or one of the teams divers. Divers John Shipley and Jerry Davis both sit at the fringe of state qualification, needing to raise their degree of difficulty just a few points to make state.

Girls soccer

The girls have hacked through an anguished 0-9 season this year, and are still trying to figure out a winning formula.

They will play their second game against the Rifle Bears at 11 a.m. Saturday in Craig. Rifle (6-4-1), is the third-ranked team in the Western Slope Conference (WSC).

While the girls have shown marked improvement through the season, they have suffered bad breaks and faced tough teams.

After Saturday, the girls have two games left, a home-field match up against Battle Mountain, and a trip to Class 3A Olathe.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Craig and Moffat County make the Craig Press’ work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.