Kersey – Fresh off their first baseball title in school history last spring, the Roosevelt RoughRiders are well aware of the fact they are going to get every opponent’s “A” game.
It will only make them stronger.
“We wouldn’t have it any other way,” sophomore pitcher Joe Briceno said.
Roosevelt improved to 4-1 with a 9-1 shellacking of host Platte Valley (3-1) in the teams’ Patriot League opener Tuesday.
Briceno, despite not having his best stuff, was the difference for the RoughRiders. He cruised through the first five innings unscathed, giving up three walks along the way.
He finally gave up his first hit, an infield single off the bat of speedy leadoff hitter Ever- ardo DeLaCruz, in the sixth.
“It was working, and I had my defense behind me to help me out,” said Briceno, who struck out eight and improved to 2-1. “The no-hitter crossed my mind in the last inning, and I really thought we had (DeLaCruz).”
Said Platte Valley coach Jim Jorgensen, who had the windshield of his pickup truck broken by a foul ball: “He was very effective and he was throwing that high fastball that we just couldn’t lay off, couldn’t catch up to it, and we just weren’t disciplined enough to lay off it.”
Briceno left two batters later after he walked his fourth.
Roosevelt broke open a 2-0 game in the top of the fifth inning. The first four hitters of the inning – Jerry Hildreth, Alex Valverde, Jarron Cito and Nathan Wilson – all hit the ball hard off sophomore lefty Mitch Elrick and forced him from the game.
The big hit came off the bat of pinch hitter Daniel Shable, who doubled off reliever Miguel Trujillo to drive in two runs.
“These guys are making all that hard work and patience pay off,” Roosevelt coach Alan Gibson said. “It took us a time or two to get through the lineup before we started clicking. It was just a matter of being patient and letting the ball travel a little bit.”
Hildreth, the RoughRiders’ leadoff man, went 3-for-4. He had two doubles and an RBI.
Roosevelt 011 070 0 – 9 13 2
Platte Valley 000 001 0 – 1 2 3
Roosevelt – Hildreth ss-p 4-1-3-1, Valverde cf 4-2-2-0, Cito dh-p-ss 4-1-1-1, Briceno p 0-0-0-0, Wilson c 2-0-2-1, Ghesquiere cr 0-1-0-0, McSwain c 0-0-0-0, McKay lf 1-1-0-0, Reynolds ph-lf 2-1-1-1, Hernandez 3b 2-0-1-0, Cooper 2b 3-1-2-1, Geisenhoff 1b 2-0-0-1, Shable cr-1b 1-1-1-2, Aynes rf 2-0-0-0, Soto ph-rf 2-0-0-0. Totals 29-9-13-8.
Platte Valley – DeLaCruz ss 3-1-1-0, C. Oster 2b 3-0-0-0, Rusch 3b 2-0-0-0, Elrick p-rf 2-0-1-1, Mueller c 3-0-0-0, Warehime cf 3-0-0-0, Jo. Thimgan rf 2-0-0-0, Ju. Thimgan rf 2-0-0-0, Ceh ph 1-0-0-0, Maxey lf 0-0-0-0, Trujillo p 1-0-0-0, W. Oster ph 1-0-0-0. Totals 23-1-2-1.
E – Hernandez 2; DeLaCruz, Elrick, Warehime. LOB – Roosevelt 6; Platte Valley 5. 2B – Hildreth 2, Wilson, Hernandez, Valverde, Shable. SAC – Wilson, Hernandez. SB – Cito 2; DeLa Cruz 2. CS – Wilson; Elrick. DP – Roosevelt 1; Platte Valley 2.
Batteries – Briceno, Cito (6), Hildreth (7) and Wilson, McSwain (7); Elrick, Trujillo (5) and Mueller. W – Briceno (2-1). L – Elrick (0-1). PB – Wilson. HBP – McKay (by Elrick in the 2nd).
Jon E. Yunt can be reached at 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com.
