The Bayfield High School baseball team came up just short in its first round game of the Class 3A state tournament’s ‘great eight’ phase on Friday in Greeley.
The No. 3 seed Wolverines and No. 11 Colorado Academy were tied 4-4 after one inning.
The Wolverines then took a 6-4 lead with a pair of runs in the fourth.
The Mustangs, however, scored one in the fifth to make it a one-run game and then took the lead with two in the sixth. Unfortunately for Bayfield, the Wolverines couldn’t plate the equalizer in its last two at bats and Colorado Academy held on for a 7-6 win.
After the loss, Bayfield was scheduled to next play in the first round of the tournament’s consolations on Saturday against the loser of No. 2 University and No. 7 Delta. That game, however, started on Friday but had to be finished on Saturday morning, pushing the rest of the tournament back. University held on to beat Delta, 13-12, but lost 5-4 to Colorado Academy in the second round.
No. 5 Montezuma-Cortez, meanwhile, started the tournament with a 5-4 win over No. 4 Coal Ridge. Cortez then had to play the defending state champion, Eaton, in the second round and fell 7-2.
After the loss to Eaton, Montezuma-Cortez was scheduled to take on the Bayfield and Delta winner.
Bayfield was trailing Delta 11-6 in the sixth inning when game was delayed by lightning. It hadn’t restarted as this paper was going to press. The Wolverines jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the game. Jackson Queen had a pair of RBIs while Caden Wood, Lance Mazur and Nick Twedt each scored twice. Micah Cornelia also had an RBI.
In the top of the sixth inning with two outs, however, Delta erupted for 11 runs to take the lead.
Bayfield was batting with one out in the top of the sixth when the game got delayed.
Update: When the game resumed on Saturday night, Delta added one more run and ended up beating Bayfield 12-6.
See Wednesday’s edition of the Durango Herald for the complete story.
– Joel Priest contributed to this report.
