Prep notebook: VMS soccer, Battle Mountain baseball claim wins
No. 3-ranked Gore Rangers move to 8-0
Ryan Sederquist/Vail Daily
Soccer notes: Stone’s back-to-back hat tricks keep Gore Rangers undefeated
The Vail Mountain School girls soccer team improved to 9-0 after defeating Moffat County 7-0 Tuesday in Vail and Coal Ridge 4-0 on Friday. Stella Stone notched a hat trick in both games. Stone added two assists in the Moffat County win, a game in which Molly Roberts, Liv Moritz, Solveig Moritz and Kiana Garcia Rios also poured in goals for the Gore Rangers.
In Friday’s road battle, VMS only held a 1-0 lead through 60 minutes as Lola Marston protected a shutout in the net. In addition to Stone’s three goals, Liv Moritz dribbled one through four defenders from midfield to seal the 4-0 victory.
Vail Mountain School is currently ranked No. 3 in 3A, trailing only Jefferson Academy (9-2) and Colorado Academy (6-2).
Vail Christian improved upon its March 30 showing against Grand Valley, an 8-0 loss, taking the Cardinals into overtime on Tuesday before eventually falling 3-2. The Saints had a 1-0 first-half lead. Jaycee Pittman scored two goals for Grand Valley, which improved to 4-7 overall and 2-1 in the 2A Intermountain North league. Vail Christian (1-6 overall, 0-4 league) faced Lake County Friday night and finishes the season hosting Coal Ridge on Saturday and traveling to Nederland next Wednesday.
Baseball notes: Battle Mountain defeats Aspen 16-6
Battle Mountain went up 3-1 in the bottom of the first inning of Thursday’s home game against Aspen and never looked back en route to a 16-6 win. The Huskies scored five runs in the second and four in both the third and fourth innings to claim their second win in a row and move to 3-10 on the season.
Support Local Journalism
“It felt good to string together a couple of wins in a row. The team did a great job of responding on offense and ended up winning every inning,” head coach Jeff Townsend said.
“The team is starting to come together and play well. It was a tough beginning of the season as the weather did not allow us to get on the field and practice as early as we would have liked, however, the defense is starting to come around and is helping keep us in the games.”
Shaeffer Dodds went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, Henry Regrut went 2-for-2 and scored four runs and Cooper Irwin added three RBIs as the Huskies tallied 13 hits as a team. On the mound, Sutton Dodds struck out six in four innings for the win and Finn Sullivan had two strikeouts in one inning to claim the save. Freshmen Harding Matthews caught the entire game, collected his first varsity hit and threw out his first runner in a varsity game, too.
“So it was a great night for him as well,” Townsend added.
“We have a lot of games packed into the last two and half weeks of the season so we have to stay focused, keep pitching well and bear down on defense to stay competitive.”
Lacrosse notes: Aspen downs VMS 9-6
The Vail Mountain School boys lacrosse team couldn’t overcome a 6-2 halftime deficit against Steamboat Springs in Thursday’s road matchup of two of the 4A Western Slope’s top teams. The Gore Rangers scored three fourth-quarter goals before ultimately falling to the No. 8-ranked Sailors 9-6.
The loss puts Steamboat (10-2 overall, 8-1 league) in the league drivers seat and bumps the Gore Rangers (7-3 overall, 7-3 league) into third, right behind Aspen (8-3 overall, 7-2 league). VMS will play Middle Park (7-2) at home at 11 a.m. Saturday before hosting the Skiers on May 2. The Gore Rangers will close out their regular season against Glenwood Springs and Evergreen on May 4 and May 6, respectively.
