There was no disputing the assailant.
Or his weapon of choice.
But when Alamosa reliever Gage Calder bean-balled Bayfield's Alec Demko in the bottom of the seventh inning of Monday's second game at Wolverine Field, it was hard to determine a possible motive.
Alamos'as Tyler Zimmerman had just been ejected-a result of a conversation and confrontation with BHS' Hayden Farmer (who was also tossed) following a hard, lingering tag as Farmer safely stole second base.
Calder could have done so out of retaliation?
Or out of frustration, stemming from Demko's previous plate appearance when he cracked a two-out, two-RBI triple off mound predecessor Caden Alonzo. That gave Bayfield a 2-0 lead with only two innings left, after Farmer had beaten the Mean Moose 3-0 in Game 1 with a three-hit, 11-strikeout performance.
Calder could even have plunked Demko purely for strategic reasons; with one out and Dillon Vroman (running for Farmer) on second, putting Demko on first would have set up a potential game-ending double play.
Whatever the thinking, it threatened to cost the visitors their 4-2 advantage as BHS' Hub Brandon-who'd smacked a long double to right in the sixth inning of the 3A Intermountain League doubleheader's opener-stepped into the batter's box representing the winning run.
But on an overcast, windy day, Calder got Brandon to lift a fly ball to left, where Mason Barrows made a game-saving running catch, and then got Kaleb Heck to pop up to shortstop Adam Crowder, saving a split on the road.
"That's my first win with (against) Bayfield...in my tenure," said AHS head coach Jason Romero. "It's huge for the guys too, going into Montezuma-Cortez this weekend; we've got to take two so we can at least take second (in the IML) and have a playoff bid."
Zimmerman went 3-for-4 in Game 2, scoring twice and driving in Alamosa's most crucial run-the go-ahead run-in the top of the seventh with an RBI-triple off Wolverine reliever Jake Brandon (L; 2 IP, H, 3 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K). Designated hitter Chance Strand was 2-4, Barrows 1-3 and starting pitcher John Lujan (ND; 3.2 IP, H, 0 R, 5 BB, HB, 5 K) was 1-3 with the game-tying run, via a wild pitch thrown during Zimmerman's big at-bat.
Farmer was 1-3 with a walk and a run, and Game 2 starter Fred Edwards (ND; 5 IP, 6 H, R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) went 1-4 with a run. Catcher Austin Bushnell was 1-3 with a hit-by-pitch, and Demko finished 1-2 with a walk and two RBI as the Wolverines slipped to 10-5 overall, 7-1 in league.
"That second game, we just kind of let it get away from us," BHS head coach Danny Petrie said. "Two low scores.we just need to drive the ball more."
Bayfield managed just Hub Brandon's aforementioned double in the sixth and a second-inning Farmer single off Game 1 loser Strand (5+ IP, 3 R, 1 ER, 7 K), but with Strand walking four of the first five batters he faced, the home team would score two runs in the bottom of the first and another in the second. That's when Zimmerman bungled Edwards' two-out grounder, allowing Tyler Conner, who'd walked with one down, to score from third.
Farmer finished 1-2 with a walk and run, and Hub Brandon was 1-3. Jake Brandon went 0-2, but led off BHS' first with a walk and would score on an RBI-walk issued to Demko, who officially went 0-for-0 in Game 1 but drew three bases-on-balls.
"He's doing really well, you know?" said Petrie. "He missed the first half of the season due to an injury unrelated to baseball, and he's starting to come into his own now."
Zimmerman, Strand and Barrows each went 1-3 in Game 1, and Kolten Hillis (0-2) received Farmer's only walk leading off the game.
"We walked too many, had two errors - that gave them two runs - and we just couldn't hit.their pitcher neutralized us and we really couldn't do anything," Romero said. "So hats off to him."
Up next for Bayfield will be a two-fer tomorrow at Monte Vista (5-11, 3-5) starting at 11:00 a.m., while Alamosa (10-4, 4-2) will face M-CHS (8-7, 6-2) on McAndrew Field for a pair commencing at the same time.
"The main thing is we need to start hitting more. We're waiting for the right pitch instead of taking strikes and lighting them up," said Petrie. "We're just waiting for something to happen, and we've got to make it happen."
