Battle Mountain takes two in weekend doubleheader against Eagle Valley
Cooper Irwin pitches two-hit shutout to lead Huskies in Saturday win
Battle Mountain took two from Eagle Valley on Saturday morning and early afternoon, finishing a Friday night contest that was paused due to darkness for a 15-6 victory before closing out their rivals with a 6-0 win to sweep the doubleheader. Cooper Irwin pitched seven innings, striking out nine and allowing just two hits in the second game as the Devils struggled to find their swing at home.
“He threw the ball well and kept us off balance,” Devils’ coach Bret Moyer said of Irwin.
In the first game, Moyer’s team ran out to an early lead.
“We came out swinging and hit the ball pretty well,” the manager summarized.
In the bottom of the second, Battle Mountain answered with four runs. After two more lead changes during the back-and-forth middle innings, the Huskies found a groove offensively to separate for good.
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“We walked a lot of guys,” Moyer noted, forcing the Devils to dive deep into their rotation.
Kade Matus had two big hits and a couple RBI’s to fuel the run.
“Kade had a tremendous game on Friday,” stated Battle Mountain coach Harrison Stevens.
Only the first 5.5 innings of game one were played in Edwards, with the final inning-and-a-half wrapping up the following morning in Gypsum. “Pretty bizarre – that doesn’t happen very often,” Moyer mentioned of the delay.
When action returned first thing Saturday morning, Eagle Valley’s first three batters made excellent contact, but hit the ball right to the opposing fielders as Battle Mountain closed things out.
“They outplayed us,” Moyer admitted.
“I was proud of our kids — we battled and played really hard. I was really proud of our guys.”
In the second game, Eagle Valley’s P.J. Lombardo nabbed the only hit for the home squad while getting on base a second time with a walk.
“He had a really great game; he had a couple of really great plays at first,” Moyer said.
After giving up two first-inning runs and another three in the third, the manager called Elias Pena to the mound, where the sophomore pitched a one-run game the rest of the way.
“He threw really well,” Moyer said.
“He did a great job of coming in and keeping the game close and giving us a chance to battle back if we could have gotten the bats going.”
Irwin’s complete game shutout wasn’t his only accomplishment. He also hit a double, drove in two runs and scored one himself.
“I am very proud of these young men for competing and representing our program well!” said Stevens in post-game statement. The win marked the first time that Battle Mountain has beaten Eagle Valley since April 27, 2011.
“We talked after the games about continuing to improve each week. This group has bought into what we are working to accomplish and I’m excited to continue watching them develop.”
With the losses, Eagle Valley falls to 4-4 with Aspen coming to town on Wednesday. Battle Mountain hopped above .500 with the wins, moving to 4-3 as they hit the road to face Meeker and Glenwood Springs Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
