Having suffocated visiting Monte Vista in their previous two outings, Bayfield was out to make a May-minded statement Monday at home against the 4A Farmington, N.M., JV.
And it wasn't just about claiming the non-league season "series," 3 games to 1.
"We've seen 'em a couple of times already.so hopefully we keep playing like we've been," head coach Jon Qualls said. "If we play like we're playing now, we're a tough team to beat."
"It really helps," catcher Kelton McCoy said after BHS then blanked FHS, "because we're trying to host regionals. And when we're throwing up zeroes like that, it makes stats look that much better!"
Protecting a somewhat-tenuous, and ultimately final, 3-0 lead for sophomore pitcher Brody McGhehey (W; CG, 5 H, 3 BB, 2 HB, 8 K), Anthony Chamblee risked conceding a likely inside-the-park homer to Farmington catcher Dominic Martinez leading off the sixth, but his headlong gamble paid off.
"I kind of thought the ball was going to be a little bit deeper. So I backed up and-I took a weird angle on the ball, and I didn't know if I was going to make it!" he admitted. "So I just laid out for it.knew it was going to be pretty close, so I just laid out!"
"It was great, knowing you have fielders out there that.are going to try their hardest for you," said McGhehey. "We didn't have a whole lot of errors, and the pitching through the past games has been great. Matthew and Trey did great against Monte Vista, and then I had great fielding out here."
Senior Trey Lange was the Game 1 winner in the 3A Intermountain doubleheader against MVHS, scattering seven hits-one being Luis Morales' second-inning, two-out single to plate Ethan Martinez-and four walks in his seven frames, but striking out eight.
"To go seven innings.right now," said Qualls, "that's a big day for one of our pitchers."
Perfect through his first four, junior Matthew Knickerbocker then allowed just three Pirate singles, walked just one and whiffed eight in his six-inning completion.
He'd belted a sixth-inning solo homer to left-center off Brandon Cordova (L; CG, 6 IP, 14 H, BB, 2 K) to lock up Lange's victory, and a two-RBI Chamblee triple off Dillon Martinez (L; CG, 5+ IP, 13 H, 2 BB, 2 K) sparked a decisive two-out, four-run burst in the bottom of Game 2's fifth.
Lange then led off the Bayfield sixth with a double to left-center, and brought in the mercy-rule run on McGhehey's subsequent two-bagger to right-center.
"We can hit a lot better," Chamblee said, post-Farmington. "I didn't hit very well, which doesn't help our team get jump-started, so.we just need to get the sticks going and we're good."
"We didn't hit too great today," agreed McGhehey (0-3 vs. FHS; 2-7, RBI vs. MVHS), "but against Monte Vista we were stroking!"
Looking to regain that 'stroke' before tomorrow's IML work in Pagosa Springs, and finding it, was a relieved McCoy (1-8, RBI vs. MVHS; 2-2, BB, RBI vs. FHS).
"I just wasn't seeing the ball on Saturday. And today it was a lot more clear," he said, specifically noting an RBI ground-rule double to center in the fourth off Scorp Isiah Jaramillo.
"I was waiting for it to get deep in the zone-just trying to get a basehit, not trying to do something too hard.and put it in the deepest part of the field!"
Now 12-3 overall, 4-0 in league, the Wolverines' first game against PSHS (7-7, 3-3) is at 11 a.m.
"As long as we play our game I think we'll have a good chance of winning.BUT you never know with baseball!" Qualls quipped.
"We can't overlook them. Because they're a team that will sneak up," said McCoy. "So we've got to hit the ball, we've got to field the ball, we've got to throw the ball-be clean all the way around."
