The Ignacio Bobcats are proving to be more than basketball stars.
After last season’s 14-0 loss to Hotchkiss in the Class 2A District 2 Tournament, the Ignacio High School baseball team spent the summer together playing baseball and forming a senior bond that has put the Bobcats in the driver seat of their own destiny.
“We have a whole bunch of seniors that are setting a good example,” said Ignacio head coach Robert Miller. “We have some young underclassmen that have really stepped up. The community and the school has pulled behind everybody. They’re a good bunch of boys.”
The Bobcats finished last year with a 6-13 record. This year, Ignacio (14-4) found a groove that suits its team.
In only his second year leading the Bobcats, Miller has implemented his philosophies and seen results.
Last year, expectations were higher, but the team under performed. The season-ending loss summed up how the year went. Senior captain Joe Herrera believes last year’s squad was even better than this year’s version, but team chemistry wasn’t as high.
“We were defiantly expecting this,” Herrera said about expectations coming into 2016. “It’s been awhile since we’ve done something with this program. It’s time to do something.”
Herrera found himself on a squad that averages 11 runs per game and has a team batting average of .426 and an overall on-base percentage of .501. One of the leaders at the plate is senior Austin McCaw, who leads the Bobcats with 27 runs batted in and three home runs. McCaw’s play is impressive, but his demeanor off the field echoes the Bobcats’ personality.
“(Austin) is one of the only guys that I’ve never seen cursing or anything like that,” Herrera said. “He’ll always be respectful and polite no matter how you treat him. He’s a good guy.”
The team itself has a strong bond that’s been built over the years. The Bobcats needed that strong bond to start the year, as Ignacio began the campaign with a 1-3 record including a 12-2 loss to Hotchkiss.
“The main thing is for us to just have fun playing together, but we also wanted to win,” said senior Anthony Manzanares, son of Carlos and Georgia Leon. “We’re hungry. We want to come out and show people that we are better than in the past years.”
Manzanares leads the team with a .559 batting average with 32 runs scored and nine doubles. The infielder also leads the team with nine stolen bases.
“(Anthony) is great all around,” said McCaw, son of Ed and Kelly McCaw. “His defense is phenomenal, and you can’t strike him out. He’s a great batter.”
Ignacio has excelled the most on defense, primarily with a deep pitching staff. Senior Tucker Ward leads the Bobcats with a 6-0 record after beating Cedaredge 7-3 on Friday in the opening round of the district tournament. Going into Friday, he had 48 strikeouts. He also led the team with 34 hits and is tied with 27 RBIs at the plate.
“(Tucker) is a good athlete,” Manzanares said. “Coming out here and playing with him has been fun. He’s been winning for us and throwing strikes. He throws good heat.”
On top of stellar pitching, the Bobcats front one of the best and stingiest defenses in all of Class 2A. Despite McCaw being one of the team leaders at the plate, he agrees the defense is what has carried the team. Ignacio is below the national average in earned-run average at 3.24.
“We put in a lot of time, and everyone has been dedicated this year,” McCaw said. “We can get the outs if the ball’s in play. We just have to stick to our gameplan. We’re going to have to keep playing good defense, get our bats to come alive and keep playing the way we’ve been playing.”
Between team cohesiveness and play on the field, Ignacio’s seniors are a tightly-knit group that has every base covered.
“(Joe Herrera) motivates us to work hard,” said Ward, son of Deedee and Dug Ward. “He’s the guy that picks us up if we have a bad attitude.”
Ignacio will need senior Chance Hine to bring his 1.079 slugging percentage to the Class 2A District 2 Baseball tournament. Junior Zach Weinrich leads the team with a 1.465 on-base plus slugging percentage. He is also 3-1 on the mound with a 1.84 ERA. Juanita Medina is also 3-1 with 19 strikeouts.
“For us to win, we’ll need our pitchers to throw strikes and let them hit the ball because our defense is our best part,” Ward said. “We can field the ball if they hit it.”
With Ignacio beating Cedaredge to open the postseason, the Bobcats will play Hotckiss at 1 p.m. Saturday in the district semifinals. Top-seed Paonia will likely await in the championship game. If the Bobcats can find two more wins Saturday, they’ll head to the state tournament in a sport other than basketball.
jmentzer@durangoherald.com
