Rocky Mountain was having one of those weeks. The Lobos were 10-run-ruled Wednesday at Pomona, scored two token runs late Friday in a lackluster loss at Northglenn, then found themselves trailing for much of their game Saturday afternoon at Coors Field against Chaparral.
However, they reached down and pulled out what may prove to be a key nonleague victory over the Wolverines, one they said could give them a lift into Class 5A Front Range League play for the balance of the season.
The Lobos, ranked No. 7 in The Denver Post/9News 5A poll, improved to 9-3 with the 7-6 win. They rode a two-out, two-run single in the top of the seventh inning by first baseman Jordan Stouffer and shutout relief pitching by Brandon Buchanan in what is turning into a strong rivalry with the Wolverines (6-2, ranked No. 5).
“I think we went out this week with low energy,” said Stouffer, a junior. “But we picked it up and did a good job. It’s going to be great for us going into our (league) season. Hopefully, we got it out of our system.”
Said Rocky Mountain coach Scott Bullock: “We took this game as that way. It’s not a league game, we had kids still involved, and we knew we had to go out and play well just to get back on the horse.”
Substitutions flowed freely to allow as many players as possible to get their Coors experience. Chaparral used five pitchers, and the prep re-entry rule for both sides was en vogue throughout – more than two dozen players saw action in a back-and-forth game.
Chaparral led 2-0 in the first inning as cleanup hitter David McKnight, who eventually absorbed the loss, laid down a safety squeeze that scored two runs – designated hitter Jim Mathews kept running from second base and caught the Lobos a little flat-footed.
The Wolverines made it 3-1 in the fourth on a run-scoring single by Danny Catts before Drew Engelbart had a two-run single to tie it in the fifth for the Lobos.
Chaparral looked to close it out in the bottom of the inning on a triple by Lorenzo Roybal, a run-scoring single by Ryan Serena and a two-run home run to the Rockies bullpen in right-center by Corey Gaudet, his first as a varsity player.
But the Lobos scratched out two runs in the sixth to climb within 6-5 – aided by a Chaparral error, the second time a miscue led to a run – before Stouffer’s game-winner.
“Absolutely, we let one get away,” Chaparral coach Steve Eaton said after his team stranded two runners in the seventh. “… And we had our chances.”
Serena led Chaparral with two hits, and third baseman Mike Smigiel crushed a double to the deepest part of the park, in left-center. For Rocky Mountain, Andrew Pastor rapped two doubles; Stouffer added a sacrifice fly; and Buchanan, who also singled and scored the game-tying run in the seventh, notched his second victory in relief.
Rocky Mountain 000 122 2 – 7 10 0
Chaparral 200 130 0 – 6 7 2
Rocky Mountain – Marquez 3b 2-0-0-0, Engelbart 2b 2-0-1-2, Bachman cf-rf 3-1-1-0, Burns ss 3-0-0-0, Adkins p-1b 4-0-1-0, Buchanan 2b-3b-p 2-1-1-0, Krueger ph 1-0-0-0, Eggers lf 3-2-1-0, McCoppin c 3-0-1-0, Jones cr-lf 0-1-0-0, Stouffer 1b 3-1-2-3, Wood rf 1-0-0-0, Pastor rf-cf 2-1-2-0. Totals 29-7-10-5.
Chaparral – Roybal c 4-1-1-0, Serena ss 3-2-2-1, Mathews dh 1-1-0-0, Frank dh 2-0-0-0, McKnight cf-p 1-0-0-2, Gaudet cf 1-1-1-2, Crowe rf-p 3-0-1-0, McCollum rf 1-0-0-0, Smigiel 3b 3-0-1-0, Johnson cf 1-1-0-0, Catts 1b 2-01-1-1, Peterson 2b 2-0-0-0, Steinert 2b 1-0-0-0, Merkle lf 1-0-0-0, Widhalm lf 0-0-0-0, Pachl p 0-0-0-0, Reynolds p 0-0-0-0, Gumieny p 0-0-0-0. Totals 26-6-7-6.
E – Peterson, Serena. LOB – Rocky Mountain 9, Chaparral 6. SB – Buchanan. Caught stealing – Buchanan, Burns. S – McKnight. SF – Stouffer.
2B – Stouffer, Smigiel, Pastor 2. 3B – Roybal. HR – Gaudet, one on in fifth.
Batteries – Adkins, Buchanan (6) and McCoppin; Pachl, Reynolds (3), Gumieny (4), Crowe (6), McKnight (6) and Roybal. W – Buchanan (2-0). L – McKnight. HBP – Buchanan (by Pachl); Eggers (by Crowe); Widham (by Buchanan); McKnight (by Buchanan). T – 2:18.
Neil H. Devlin can be reached at 303-820-1714 or at ndevlin@denverpost.com.
