The Bayfield High School baseball team played a pair of games against the Lamar Savages and the Manitou Springs Mustangs on Friday morning at Manitou Springs, and came away with two wins.
In Game 1 against Lamar, Bayfield jumped on sophomore starting pitcher Dalton Chandler early and often, which resulted in a 10-5 victory.
Senior Kelton McCoy got the victory by going 6 2/3 innings and striking out 11 batters. McCoy was pulled after hitting his pitch count at 114 pitches.
“He was mixing it up really well and going after hitters,” Bayfield head coach Jonathan Qualls said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “He threw amazing.”
The lineup for Bayfield (4-2) took the pressure off McCoy as the offense provided an early 6-0 lead.
The senior pitcher also did damage with the bat in his hands going 3-for-4 with two runs batted in and a run scored.
Fellow senior Zane Phelps also had a good day at the plate by going 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
The Wolverines did a much better job fielding than their previous effort when they gave up seven errors against St. Mary’s. Against Lamar (4-1), Bayfield only committed two errors.
“We still had some miscues, but the team is moving to the right direction to make as few more plays,” said Qualls. “I’m proud of them through the weekend, Lamar is a big win for us. They’re always a top team in the state. It was a big confidence booster.”
Bayfield rocked Chandler for most of the game by totaling 12 hits. Chandler played on Bayfield’s summer team in the Connie Mack League.
“Our kids kind knew him, they know where he had strengths and weaknesses,” said Qualls. “But we went out and attacked him and didn’t let him get into this rhythm. We controlled the game.”
Bayfield hit the ball well throughout the lineup in Game 1.
Logan Sabinski went 2-for-3 with one RBI while Austin Baughman, Noah Loutherback, Brody McGhehey, Austin Bushnell and Michael Gettman each had a hit.
The Wolverines were at it again when Bayfield took on Manitou Springs for Game 2.
Bayfield had a tougher time getting the 7-5 win in this one as the Mustangs were up 3-2 heading into the second inning.
A big third inning for Bayfield blew the game wide open by scoring four runs in the third.
Clever pitching was the theme for Bayfield as Qualls had to piece together his pitching staff because he used so many pitchers in the past couple days.
Phelps got the win against Manitou Springs (1-2) by going 2 1/3 innings with three strikeouts.
Other pitchers making an appearance were a pair of freshmen pitchers. Jake Brandon who pitched 2 1/3 innings, and Hayden Farmer who pitched 1 1/3 inning. Farmer got the save for his performance.
“We had to piece together our pitching,” said Qualls. “We threw two pitchers yesterday so we had three pitchers who could only throw about 30 pitches. Those guys really stepped up because we were out of our pitching staff.”
In Game 2, McCoy went 4-for-4 with two RBIs. Phelps went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Loutherback also went 2-for-4 with one RBI.
“Kelton and Zane were driving the ball today,” said Qualls.
Bayfield will take a few days off during spring break and return to action to play in Aztec on April 5.
heraldsports@ durangoherald.com
