LAKEWOOD — T.K. Ochoa’s initials said a lot about his performance Saturday.
The Conifer pitcher threw seven long innings against Greeley West, battled out of all kinds of trouble and finished with 11 strikeouts.
“That’s what happens when I have a lot of energy,” Ochoa said. “I push off the mound as hard as I can, and I throw until my arm falls off.”
The knockout blow, however, might have been his infield single in the sixth inning, when he drove in a precious insurance run by beating the throw with a headfirst slide.
The Lobos scored four unearned runs in the third inning at All Star Park for a 6-3 Class 4A District 2 victory for a program short on baseball success. Until now.
“We got (T.K.) some runs when he needed it,” said second baseman Decker Brown, who had Conifer’s first RBI with a two-out single in the sixth inning. “He pitched a heck of a game. Hats off to him. I was happy to be up there and do what I could to come through.”
The eighth-seeded Lobos (14-7), who have lost only once this season to 4A competition, got two hits from leadoff batter Orion Kostival and enough defensive plays to limit the No. 9 Spartans (13-8).
The Spartans got a strong performance from pitcher Alex Seier and three hits from shortstop Rex Morgan, who helped Greeley West build a 2-0 lead after three innings.
But things went south with two outs in the bottom of the third inning.
Seier walked Brown and Ochoa before Conifer first baseman Aaron Eddy reached base via an error. With the bases loaded, the Spartans committed three more errors as Conifer pulled ahead 4-2 and grabbed the necessary momentum.
“It was five minutes of one inning,” Spartans coach Brian Holmes said. “It was one of those mental lapses. To be honest, it’s a reflection of our entire season. We’ve had that inning where we can’t stop the bleeding.”
The Spartans loaded the bases with two outs in the second inning, but Ochoa struck out Robert Hawkins to end the threat. Greeley West got the tying run at the plate twice in the seventh inning, but Ochoa got Ethan Schmitt to fly out to right field and struck out Stuart Wilson to end the game.
Conifer eliminated Eagle Valley 16-2 in the morning game before the Spartans dispatched Pueblo Central 11-2.
Greeley West 101 000 1 — 3 8 4
Conifer 004 002 x — 6 6 3
Greeley West — Belfiore rf 3-0-0-0, Mendibes ph 1-1-1-0, Foose 2b 3-0-0-0, Hawkins 1b 4-1-1-0, R. Morgan ss 3-1-3-1, Schmitt cf 3-0-0-0, Wilson c 4-0-1-1, Hernandez cr 0-0-0-0, Seier p 0-0-0-0, Downing dh 3-0-0-0, Stewart 3b 3-0-1-0, M. Morgan lf 2-0-1-0. Totals 29-3-8-2.
Conifer — Kostival lf 3-1-2-0, Brown 2b 3-1-1-1, Ochoa p 2-1-1-1, Eddy 1b 4-1-0-0, Riley rf 3-1-1-0, Lee c 3-0-0-0, Knott 3b 3-0-0-0, Schwend ss 3-0-0-0, Waibel cf 0-1-0-0, Balent dh 3-0-1-0. Totals 27-6-6-2.
E — Foose 2, R. Morgan, Wilson. Waibel, Knott, Schwend. LOB — Greeley West 6, Conifer 7. DP — Conifer. SB — R. Morgan, Schmitt Caught stealing — M. Morgan. 2B — R. Morgan 2, Hawkins; Kostival.
Batteries — Seier and Wilson; Ochoa and Lee. W — Ochoa (6-3). L — Seier (5-3). HBP — Schmitt (by Ochoa in fifth); Kostival (by Seier in sixth). WP — Seier. T — 2:06.
GAME 1
CONIFER 16, EAGLE VALLEY 2
Eagle Valley 100 0 1 — 2 5 3
Conifer 402 (10)x — 16 14 0
McKierman, Blevens (4), Suther (4) and Williamson; Kostival and Lee. W — Kostival. L — McKierman. Highlights — Eddy, C, 2-for-2, 2B, 4 RBIs; Ochoa, C, 2-for-2; Kostival, C, 3-for-4. Schwend, C, 2-for-3; Blevens, EV, 1-for-2, RBI; Barbella, EV, 1-for-3, RBI.
GAME 2
GREELEY WEST 11, PUEBLO CENTRAL 2
Pueblo Central 010 010 0 — 2 8 2
Greeley West 320 240 x — 11 13 0
W — Vergara. L — Carrillo. HR — DeHerrera, PC, solo in second; Foose, GW, one on in second. Highlights — R. Morgan, GW, 3-for-3, 2 3Bs, 3 runs scored; Hawkins, GW, 2-for-4, 2B, 3 runs scored; Garcia, PC, 1-for-2.
