The Bayfield Wolverines showed off a potent approach at the plate Saturday.
Bayfield High School’s baseball team secured a doubleheader sweep of the Mean Moose in its Intermountain League opening series in Alamosa.
The Wolverines (7-3, 2-0 IML) took the morning game 12-6 before rallying late to take a lopsided 16-6 victory against the Mean Moose (2-6, 0-2 IML) in the afternoon contest.
The wins gave BHS a good head start in the IML as it opens league play in first place.
“It is great to get these two games behind us. It was a big weekend for us, and Alamosa is always a tough team in our league,” BHS head coach Jonathon Qualls said. “A few weeks ago we were having a rough time, so it is great for us to bounce back with some big wins.”
In the first game, Zane Phelps led the way with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate with a home run and three runs batted in. Kelton McCoy was 2-for-3 with a double, one run scored and an RBI, and Noah Loutherbeck was 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored.
The Wolverines tallied 10 hits in the game, four of which were doubles. Trey Lange added a triple, and BHS committed just one fielding error behind pitchers Lange and McCoy.
Lange started the game and earned a win after going 4 1/3 innings. He allowed three runs on two hits and four walks. He struck out seven. McCoy pitched the remainder of the game, allowing three more runs on six hits. He struck out five and didn’t issue a walk.
Matthew Knickerbocker picked up the win on the mound in the second game. He pitched three innings in relief of Brody McGhehey.
“We have a lot of pitchers that can all fill holes. For us, it is about figuring out who will be our two guys we can consider our No. 2 and No. 3 starters behind (Lange),” Qualls said. “We have a lot of guys who can be really good starters, but we are hoping to find something consistent and guys who will step up and claim those spots.”
Knickerbocker and Phelps both went 3-for-4 at the plate in the afternoon game.
The Wolverines trailed 5-3 going into the sixth inning of Game 2. They rallied for 13 runs over their final six outs.
“We kind of hit up and down the order for the most part all day,” Qualls said. “We had quite a bit of production from the bottom of the order, which is a big plus we hadn’t had in awhile.”
Qualls was happy to have a full roster on the tail end of spring break and hopes his team can keep some momentum going into a nonconference game against Aztec in New Mexico on Saturday. The Wolverines then will travel to play Montezuma-Cortez on April 15 before resuming league games at home against Monte Vista on April 19.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
