PUEBLO — Matt Brown’s rhythm was infectious. Strike, strike, strike and smile.
The Limon right-hander struck out 21 and allowed just one hit Friday as the Badgers advanced to today’s Class 2A state championship game with a 5-0 victory over the Sanford Indians at Tony Andenucio Field.
Brown fanned seven of the first nine Indians he faced, struck out the side in the second inning and fanned four batters in both the fifth and seventh innings because of two passed balls by catcher Jason Brown.
“Just throwing strikes,” Matt Brown said. “My little brother is behind the plate. He usually catches them.”
Matt Brown’s previous strikeout high was 17. He also hit an RBI single in the first inning and stole two bases. Jason Brown hit a run-scoring triple and a sacrifice fly in the second inning as the Badgers (13-5) capitalized on a so-so start by Indians pitcher Austin Edgar.
“After I hit that first one, I never saw a fastball again,” said Badgers’ leadoff hitter Brett Schmidt, who doubled to start the game. “That was hard to adjust to.”
Edgar was lights out after giving up a single to Jake Anderson to start the second inning. The right-hander threw four shutout innings and finished with eight strikeouts.
The Indians (13-4) committed two errors in the Badgers’ three-run second.
“I wasn’t landing my fastball either,” Edgar said of his early troubles. “It was kind of going up on me, and they made me pay.” Edgar also broke up Matt Brown’s no-hitter with a single to center field with two outs in the sixth inning.
Sanford 000 000 0 — 0 1 2
Limon 230 000 x — 5 4 1
Sanford — Caldon ss 3-0-0-0, Mortensen cf 2-0-0-0, Ty Crowther c 3-0-0-0, Edgar p 3-0-1-0, Dominguez lf 3-0-0-0, Todd Crowther 3b 2-0-0-0, Jackson 2b 3-0-0-0, Miller 1b 2-0-0-0, Peterson rf 3-0-0-0. Totals 24-0-1-0.Limon — Schmidt cf 3-2-1-0, Kaufman ss 2-0-0-0, J. Brown c 2-1-1-2, M. Brown p 2-0-1-1, Dohe rf 2-0-0-0, Ewing 1b 2-0-0-0, Anderson 2b 3-1-1-0, Yowell 3b 2-1-1-0, Bennett lf 0-0-0-0, Stone dh 3-0-0-0. Totals 21-5-4-3.E — Caldon, Jackson, Yowell. LOB — Sanford 7, Limon 5. SB — Todd Crowther, M. Brown 2. Caught stealing — Mortensen, Kaufman. SAC — Kaufman, J. Brown. 2B — Schmidt. 3B — J. Brown.
Batteries — Edgar and Ty Crowther; M. Brown and J. Brown. W — M. Brown. L — Edgar. WP — Edgar. HBP — Miller (by M. Stone in seventh), Ewing (by Edgar in third), M. Brown (by Edgar in fifth), Dohe (by Edgar in fifth). PB — Ty Crowther, J. Brown 2. T — 1:39.
Custer County 12, Front Range Christian 5
PUEBLO — The Custer County coaches told senior outfielder Tyler Stolzfus he was their secret weapon. The No. 9 hitter went out and acted like it.
Stolzfus had three hits, including a triple, and stole two bases as the defending Class 2A state champions advanced to today’s final with a victory over young Front Range Christian at Hobbs Field.
The Bobcats (14-3) got hits from seven players and stole 10 bases to heap the pressure on the Falcons (16-5), who stayed close until giving up six runs on three hits in the top of the seventh.
“Well, as you can see, our lineup is stacked,” Stolzfus said. “They put me in nine-hole to be a second leadoff. They put me in as a secret weapon — my coach’s words.”
And what about the stigma of being the last batter?
“I love nine-hole. That’s all I got to say,” Stolzfus said.
The Bobcats will try for their third state title since 2001 here today at 1 p.m. against Limon.
Jason Frink went the distance on the mound for the Bobcats. The tall right-hander, who twice injured his ankles and missed most of the regular season, allowed eight hits and struck out seven.
Kyle Hershberger, Corey Barnes and Patrick Mortensen each had two hits. Hershberger drove in four runs.
The Bobcats trailed 3-2 after the first inning before tying it in the third and going up 4-3 in the fourth.
Aaron Mullett stole home for the Bobcats’ first run as third-base coach Craig Champagne turned them loose.
“He puts a lot of pressure (on teams),” Bobcats skipper Steve Schultz said. “We’ve got some guys with some speed, too, that always helps.”
The Falcons rode the arm and bat of lone senior Mark Nyhoff. Nyhoff pitched six innings and was tagged for seven runs. He went 3-for-4 with two doubles and drove in three runs.
Custer County 201 102 6 — 12 12 1
Front Range Chri. 300 010 1 — 5 8 3
Custer County — B. Mullett ss 4-2-0-0, A. Mullett 2b 4-2-1-1, Hershberger 3b 4-1-2-4, Barnes c 5-2-2-0, J. Frink p 2-0-1-1, Marron cr 0-0-0-0, Lewsader cr 0-1-0-0, D. Frink 1b 2-2-1-0, Byerly lf 4-0-0-0, Mortensenn rf 4-0-2-1, Stoltzfus cf 4-2-3-1. Totals 33-12-12-8.Front Range Christian — M. Fast 3b-c-rp 4-1-1-0, Nutsch ss 4-1-1-0, B. Fast rf 3-1-0-0, Valle lf 4-1-1-1, Meek 1b-3b 2-1-1-1, Nyhoff sp-1b 4-0-3-3, Robl cr-ph 1-0-0-0, Boileau pr 0-0-0-0, Lanting 2b 2-0-0-0, Brigandt ph 1-0-0-0, Ross c-rp-c 2-0-0-0, LeDoux-Hayes cf 3-0-1-0. Totals 30-5-8-5.E — B. Mullett, Nutsch, Ross, LeDoux-Hayes. DP — Front Range Christian 1. SB — Hershberger 2, Barnes 2, Stoltzfus 2, B. Mullett, A. Mullett, D. Frink, Mortensen, Ross, LeDoux-Hayes. Caught stealing — Hershberger. Picked off — Mortensen, Meek. 2B — Hershberger, Nyhoff 2. 3B — Stoltzfus.
Batteries — J. Frink and Barnes; Nyhoff, Ross (7), M. Fast (7) and Ross, M. Fast (7), Ross (7). W — J. Frink. L — Nyhoff. WP — J. Frink 3, Ross 2. PB — Barnes, M. Fast. T — 2:27.
