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Bobcats fall hard to end regular baseball season

IHS could see powerful Paonia in districts

After a stretch in which they won three games consecutively and five out of six to set up their May 6 regular-season finale at non-league Montezuma-Cortez, the Ignacio Bobcats' fuel tank at last went dry. The Panthers prevailed 10-0 in five innings at McAndrew Field.

Led by two runs on 2-for-3 hitting from junior Casey Compton, and two scores on 1-2 stickwork from senior Coby Baer, the Panthers (10-9, 7-3 3A Intermountain) jumped out to a 4-0 lead after one inning and increased it to 7-0 through two in exacting revenge for a 3-2 loss April 27 at IHS Field.

Coming off an unplanned game - and 7-5 home win - versus 2A Center last Tuesday, IHS reportedly managed just one hit-by sophomore Rendon Mestas.

Responsible for M-CHS' initial seven scratches, senior Zach Weinreich, who'd received an unlucky no-decision after starting against the non-league Vikings, took the loss after completing just one frame and walking seven before giving way to classmate Timmy Plehinger-Williams.

Still 9-9 overall after a second-place 4-2 run through the 2A/1A San Juan Basin League in 2017, the Bobcats will next play in this weekend's combined 2A-District 3/5 Tournament.

Play begins Thursday in Ignacio against Dolores.

The winner of 4-seed IHS and 5-seed DHS will challenge #1 Paonia (19-0, 6-0 Western Slope) at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 13, on neutral ground at Grand Valley High School in Parachute. Second-seed Hotchkiss (14-4, 4-2 WSL) then follows against either #3 Meeker or #6 Rangely-who squared off on the 11th at MHS. The two remaining survivors will then battle for the automatic berth into regionals.

The 16-team Class 2A regional round is set for May 19-20, with the 'Final Four' set for May 26. Each of the classification's eight districts is guaranteed to send one team to regionals, with the remaining eight qualifiers determined by RPI, and all 16 then seeded into the bracket by RPI (avoiding regular-season match-ups when possible). As of Monday afternoon, May 8, the 'Cats stood 23rd in the updated index with a 0.479 mark.

By comparison, Calhan (10-6 overall) ranked 16th with a 0.542 figure.

That is to say, it's do-or-die time for Ignacio Baseball.