Battle Mountain beats Rifle, split with Bears
EDWARDS — Battle Mountain baseball, after all these years, christened its scoreboard on Saturday.
And it spelled out a nice story. The Huskies beat Rifle, 4-1, for the first time since the program moved up to 4A way back in 2004. That was part of split with the Bears as Rifle took the nightcap, 8-6.
As much as the Huskies (3-9 overall and 2-6 in the Slope) wanted to sweep the doubleheader, Saturday was another concrete step for the rebuilding program.
“It’s really good,” Huskies skipper Jose Meza said. “We feel like we’re on our way up.”
Not only was it good for the Huskies to beat Rifle, but it was also a clean game, an encouraging sign. Pitcher Sean Weller went the distance and was very efficient, relying on his defense.
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The Huskies scored in the bottom of the third inning when Gage Tarr walked and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Battle Mountain broke a 1-1 tie in its half of the fifth with a three-spot.
Gage rapped an RBI single, bringing Hunter Meier home. Andrew Herrera plated Gage with a single, and Thomas Singleton completed the rally with another knock.
The Huskies were trailing the Bears, 8-3, in the second game, going into the bottom of the seventh. Nonetheless, Battle Mountain put three runs on the board and had runners on first and third before Rifle recorded the final out.
Not only did the Huskies scrap until the end, it’s worth noting that the Huskies dropped this doubleheader last year by a count of 24-7.
Battle Mountain’s payback tour continues on Tuesday when it travels to Basalt. The Longhorns nipped the Huskies, 13-12, in eight innings earlier this season.
PALISADE
Palisade sweeps Devils
Eagle Valley dropped a pair at Palisade on Saturday, 14-13 and 13-3.
Eagle Valley (6-5 and 3-4) returns home on Tuesday for Delta at 3 p.m.
The two local nines will then get together on Saturday in Edwards for a pair, starting at 11 a.m.
Sports Editor Chris Freud can be reached at 970-748-2934, cfreud@vaildaily.com and @cfreud.
