Nate Towne bats last for a team that has about as much baseball tradition as the Albuquerque Isotopes.
He considers it a win-win situation.
“No one is expecting you to do anything,’ said Towne, a senior center fielder for Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins. “You definitely don’t get respect from other teams, but that’s not what I’m looking for.’
Ditto for his teammates.
Towne is one of 10 seniors playing for the Lobos, a Class 5A team that never has won a state title in baseball but began the season ranked No. 1 after an impressive run in the 2004 state championship series.
While the Lobos (11-3) certainly are playing to win and have their eyes set on bringing home the school’s first boys state title in any sport, they’re not necessarily playing to win you over.
Towne is hitting .375 in the No. 9 hole for a team that collectively bats .363 and hadn’t lost to an in-state opponent all season before Tuesday’s 4-2 upset at the hands of rival Fort Collins.
Towne certainly is not the leader of the team, but neither is Brian Eggers, or Chris Capps, or Matt Collins, or Jamie Geraty, or anyone else on the roster.
“The whole team is the leader,’ senior catcher Eggers said.
If you’re impressed by gaudy stats, Division I prospects and major-league dreamers, keep looking. But if you love watching pitchers who are not afraid to throw strikes because their team’s defense is solid, or if fundamental small-ball gives you nostalgic sweats, the Lobos are your underdogs.
“We get out of the dugout if someone gets a sac bunt over or a sac fly,’ Capps said. “We appreciate more the little things that go into scoring runs instead of someone hitting a home run.’
Said Collins, who struck out just twice last season, “Fundamentals are definitely a key to all our games.’
It’s enough to make a coach proud.
“We’re really stressed that as a coaching staff,’ second-year coach Scott Bullock said. “We’re big on preaching to them the importance of being a team. They’ve bought into that approach of team baseball.’
Capps is Rocky Mountain’s top pitcher. The right-hander usually pitches deep into the game, rarely walks a batter and gets the ball in play.
He said he thrives on pressure situations and has dreamed about having the ball in his hand during the state final.
Junior left-hander Scott Bachman is coming off a 7-0 season in which he posted an earned run average below 1. He’s a power pitcher with good velocity and usually pitches second in the rotation, just ahead of junior Brandon Buchanan.
The Lobos have seven capable throwers, and used six last week in an 8-4 victory over Chaparral.
Eggers is tied for the state’s lead in home runs with eight. Bound for the University of Puget Sound, Eggers almost apologizes for his statistics, claiming he isn’t trying to hit every ball out; that’s just what happens.
“I don’t think we overwhelm teams with our athleticism,’ Bullock said. “We’ve got a lot of kids that are good high school baseball players. I think they understand the game. They’re passionate and they absolutely love the game.’
They also understand it doesn’t take big names to win the big prize.
“We kind of, compare ourselves to the Anaheim Angels when they won the World Series,’ said senior shortstop Brycen Bell, who tied a school record last year by driving in 32 runs. “Every game they had, everyone performed.’
Last season, the Lobos entered the state tournament with a 20-1 record but were still just a sideshow to the big talent of Heritage and the tradition of Cherry Creek, Arvada West, Pomona, Grand Junction’s Central High School and eventual champion ThunderRidge.
Rocky Mountain had “one bad inning’ and lost 7-1 to ThunderRidge, then knocked off Central before losing 2-1 to Heritage.
As painful as the losses were, Bullock said the team learned it could play with the perennial powerhouses.
“I think this year there’s a lot more focus from our kids and they do feel like they belong,’ Bullock said. “And I really feel the rest of the state feels we belong, too.’
Rocky made a statement last summer by finishing third in the American Legion “A’ state tournament in Niwot, competing well against all-star teams much older than the Lobos.
Although hungry for a high school state title, the Lobos’ season won’t be defined by it.
“It’s not the end of the world,’ Eggers said. “We’re all going on to bigger and better things.’
