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Sun shines on Lake County in 12-2 win

Chris Freud
BMB Dalton Casady PU 4-20
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EAGLE-VAIL – For two sun-starved baseball teams, Thursday was a gorgeous day for Lake County and Battle Mountain.”Coming from Lake County, it snows a lot, so we hardly get to practice outside,” the Panthers’ Evan Salas said. “So, it’s fun to play outside in the good weather and get the win.”On the day of Battle Mountain’s first game on its home diamond this season – a truly balmy one by Eagle-Vail standards – Salas scattered five hits over six innings and fanned 13 as Lake County beat the Huskies, 12-2, for its second win of the year.”You’ve got to like that. When he’s on, he’s on,” Panthers skipper Luke Finkin said. “He was having a great game. He was throwing hard, throwing strikes, mixing it up with a couple of curve balls and a changeup and had good defense behind him.”

While Like County’s best defense came from the mound, the Huskies struggled in the field, opening the door for the Panthers. Battle Mountain’s Jeremy Windham pitched five solid innings, but two key errors in the second inning undermined his efforts.Tied 1-1 going into the top of the second, Lake County’s David Savoren was hit by pitch, stole second and third and was knocked in on a sacrifice by Alex Knoll. Two Battle Mountain errors extended the inning and Rudy Cavalli capped the four-run frame with an RBI single to give Lake County a 5-1 lead.Windham settled down nicely with two scoreless innings in the third in the fourth, but by then, Salas was mowing down the Huskies. He struck out the side in both the fourth and the fifth, capping a run of seven Ks in a row.”I just wanted to get another win before the season ended,” Salas said. “I was just going for the win. My curve ball was pretty effective. That’s what pretty much helped me.”

Two runs in the fifth and five more in the sixth also helped Salas, who also had a double and two-run triple at the plate. Cavalli went 3-for-4 with two three-baggers for Lake County. Battle Mountain got its two runs on an RBI single from Windham in the first and a double from Joe Ortega in the third. “From Day 1 when we started, we’ve seen nothing but improvement from these guys and dedication,” Huskies coach Ryan Georges said. “Jeremy threw great. It’s just a tough outing sometimes when you can’t get support from the infield and the outfield. But these guys have definitely come around. Both coach (Jeff) LaRoche and I are proud of them, and the guys are starting to have fun with the game.”Battle Mountain is at Delta Saturday for a doubleheader, starting at 11 a.m.



Sports Editor Chris Freud can be reached at 949-0555, ext. 14630, or cfreud@vaildaily.com. Vail, Colorado


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