LAKEWOOD — He’s a 10th-grader, bats ninth and plays right field. In baseball terms, the implications are obvious.
But so what? hit two homers Tuesday, one a walk-off grand slam, for seven RBIs as the Columbine Rebels opened their Class 5A Jefferson County League season with a of Ralston Valley in six innings at Field at All-Star Park.
They were Anderson’s first two homers as a varsity player. The first came in the Rebels’ nine-run third inning, after he laid down a sacrifice bunt; the second employed the 10-run rule in the bottom of the sixth.
“It was nice,” said Anderson, one of the few wrestlers who plays baseball. “I had been stuggling at the plate, but I’m starting to hit the ball.”
Ralston Valley (8-4), ranked No. 7 in The Denver Post’s 5A coaches poll, threatened to blow the game open early. But the Mustangs, who were ripping the ball, stranded four runners and had to settle for one run in the first inning.
The Rebels (7-4) sent 12 batters to the plate in the third inning. Columbine right-hander was inconsistent, but he pitched out of trouble three times. And the Mustangs hurt themselves through a series of errors, walks and failed execution.
“We were flat,” said Mustangs coach .
The Rebels had 14 hits, including a two-run homer by , two doubles by and a double, single and two RBIs by .
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
Ralston Valley: 100 220 — 5 12 4
Columbine: 009 017 — 17 14 2
Ralston Valley: Coleman ss 4-1-2-1, Gibbs rf-p 4-0-1-1, Russell 3b 4-0-2-1, McCasky c 4-0-1-0, Skipper 1b 3-1-1-1, Farley dh 3-1-1-0, Knipp p 0-0-0-0, McKinney lf 2-1-0-0, Abram cf 3-1-3-1, Sawaya 2b 2-0-1-0, Jurney p 0-0-0-0, Moore p 0-0-0-0, Eden p 0-0-0-0, Schieferecke rf 0-0-0-0. Totals: 30-5-12-5.
Columbine: Burns ss 4-1-2-2, Durkin cf 4-2-2-0, Smith 2b 3-1-2-1, Lopez 1b 4-2-2-1, J. Mohr c 3-0-2-1, Ortiz cr 0-2-0-0, Fuller 3b 4-3-0-0, Dowling lf 4-1-2-2, T. Mohr dh 3-3-0-0, Thomas p 0-0-0-0, Anderson rf 3-2-2-7. Totals: 32-17-14-14.
E: McCaskey, Coleman 2, Burns 2, Russell, Schieferecke.
DP: Columbine. LOB — Ralston Valley 7, Columbine 2.
SB: Coleman, Lopez.
CS: Burns.
Sac: Anderson, Smith.
2B: Russell, Smith, Abram, Dowling.
HR: Burns, 1 on in 3rd; Anderson (2), 2 on in 3rd and grand slam in 6th; Skipper, solo in 4th.
Batteries: Knipp, Moore (3), Eden (5), Gibbs (6) and McCaskey; Thomas and J. Mohr.
W: Thomas. L: Knipp.
WP: Thomas.
HBP: J. Mohr (by Knipp).
Time: 2:07.
