The Bayfield High School baseball team will start the Class 3A playoffs on its home field this Friday.
Bayfield earned the No. 3 seed after going 16-4 in the regular season and beating Montezuma-Cortez in a tiebreaker for the Intermountain League title. The two teams entered the deciding doubleheader undefeated in the league and split the games, but since Bayfield won Game 1 by four runs and MCHS won Game 2 by 2 runs, the Wolverines won the league on head-to-head run differential.
As the 3A Region 3 hosts, Bayfield will welcome No. 30 Bennett (10-8), No. 14 Lamar (16-7) and No. 19 Strasburg (11-10) to BHS.
Bayfield will begin the tournament by playing Bennett in the first round at 10 a.m. on Friday.
Lamar and Strasburg will then face off in the other first round game at 12:30 p.m.
The winners will then play in the regional championship game at 3 p.m. Friday for a spot in the state tournament.
Bayfield enters the playoffs with six players in its regular lineup batting over .400, led by Noah Chamblee’s .551 batting average. Chamblee has a team-high 27 base hits in 49 at bats, including a pair of home runs, helping him score 21 runs and drive in 29 more.
Nic Twedt is batting .463 and over half his hits have been for extra bases. Twedt has hit nine triples, five doubles and one homer while scoring 34 runs and driving in 23. Twedt has also stolen 14 bases.
Lance Mazur is hitting .410 with 23 runs, 20 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Caden Wood is batting .436 with eight doubles, 27 runs scored and 13 RBIs. Micah Cornelia is batting .405 with 13 runs and 13 RBIs. Donovan Candelaria is hitting .354 with 16 runs and Andy Monger is batting .324 with 10 runs.
On the mound, Jackson Queen leads Bayfield with a 1.17 ERA and an 8-2 record. Queen has struck out 75 batters while only giving up 19 hits this season.
Wood is 3-0 on the mound with a 1.84 ERA. Mazur is 4-2 with a 2.13 ERA and a team-high 77 strikeouts.
Cortez will also host a 3A regional as the No. 5 seed. Cortez (19-4) will play No. 28 Gunnison (10-12) in the first round while No. 12 Berthoud (15-8) and No. 21 The Classical Academy (11-8) face off in the other 3A Region 5 first-round game.
The Ignacio Bobcats also made the playoffs in Class 2A, earning the No. 16 seed after a 14-8 regular season and San Juan Basin League title. Ignacio will compete in the regional round of the 2A tournament at the No. 1 seed’s home field, Limon (19-4).
Ignacio will play No. 17 Wray (9-13) in the first round while Limon takes on No. 32 Sedgwick County (5-17) in the region’s other first-round game. The winners will then square off.
Phillip Quintana leads IHS with a .565 batting average, getting 39 base hits in 69 at bats to score 35 runs and drive in 28.
Eppie Quintana is batting .500 with 36 hits, 40 runs and 24 RBIs. Devante Montoya is hitting .350 with 38 runs. Zane Olguin is batting .368 with 12 runs. Stoney White Thunder is batting .397 with 26 runs and 21 RBIs. Marcus Maez has scored 26 runs and Ambrose Valdez has brought in 12 RBIs.
Five Bobcats pitchers have also earned wins. Eppie Quintana is 5-3 with a 2.52 ERA and 50 strikeouts. Devante Montoya is 2-1 with a 3.25 ERA. Phillip Quintana is 4-2 with a 2.19 ERA and White Thunder is 2-1 with a 4.59 ERA.
In Class 4A, the Durango Demons weren’t selected for the postseason, finishing just outside of the top 32 with a 9-14 record.
Update: A previous version of this story incorrectly said Bayfield’s games will be on Saturday. Bayfield will host the regional round on Friday.
