The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate baseball team drew the regular season to a close Monday afternoon by splitting a home doubleheader with the Alamosa Mean Moose, and is now entering the 3A playoffs as the No. 28 seed.
The Pirates will now take on the No. 5 Coal Ridge Titans on Saturday for regionals, with that game set to be hosted by Coal Ridge at 10 a.m.
The Titans are 21-2 on the season.
“They’re the No. 5 seed, so obviously they’ve had a good season,” coach Ben Garcia said,
Garcia noted the Titans have played several of the same teams as the Pirates and that they are a “decent team, no doubt” with a strong pitcher.
He also indicated the Pirates have a chance.
“We are a good team. We can put together a very, very good game,” he said, adding, “We can play with anybody, I feel.”
He also noted that the Pirates are sound in first games.
“We hit the ball, we run, we play some good defense,” he said, adding, “The potential is there, no doubt.”
The winner of that game will take on the winner of No. 12 Montezuma-Cortez and No. 21 Valley.
“We definitely need to throw our best to try and get there,” Garcia said.
He added the Pirates are excited and focused on their next game.
“I’m excited, the boys are excited. They’re super pumped,” he said, adding, “Anything can happen this time of year.”
The Pirates ended the regular season with an 11-10 record and with a 4-4 record in the Intermountain League (IML).
Montezuma-Cortez won the league title with a 7-1 league record and 15-8 overall record. Bayfield follows in second with a 4-4 IML record and 7-15 overall record. Pagosa sits in third, with Alamosa following in fourth with a 4-4 league record and 7-16 overall mark. Centauri went 1-7 in league play and 7-15 overall.
The Pirates sat 27th in the final Selection and Seeding Index, which helps determine postseason seeding, with Montezuma-Cortez ranked 12th.
Helping the Pirates earn the No. 28 seed was the team’s 1-1 doubleheader Monday against Alamosa.
“We knew we had to win at least one game, but we really were shooting for two,” Garcia said.
The Pirates picked up a 15-5 win in five innings in the first half of the doubleheader.
Alamosa opened the game with three runs in the top of the first, but the Pirates answered with five runs in the bottom of the inning.
The Pirates tacked on another two in the second.
The Mean Moose scored in the top of the third, but the Pirates again answered in the bottom half of the inning, this time with six runs.
Alamosa scored one in the top of the fourth, and the Pirates scored two in the bottom of the fifth to log the 15-5 win.
The Pirates had 18 hits in the game and walked three times.
Chris Martinez went 4-for-4 in the game, with his effort including three doubles, four runs scored and two RBIs.
Hunter Pouyer and Zach Pouyer each tallied three hits. Hunter Pouyer, who had two doubles, also scored three runs and had three RBIs. Zach Pouyer also scored two runs.
Kyler Henderson and Dylan Dempster each had two hits. Henderson, who also drew a walk, scored one run and logged three RBIs. Dempster, who hit a double, also scored a run and had two RBIs.
Jaden Tuggle-Reed, Riley Laugel, Brodie Norton and Cooper Ralston each had one hit. Tuggle-Reed also drew a walk and scored a run. Laugel, who logged a double, also drew a walk, scored two runs and notched an RBI. Norton’s hit was also a double, and he scored a run and had two RBIs.
The Pirates had eight stolen bases in the game — three by Zach Pouyer, two each from Hunter Pouyer and Martinez, and one by Laugel.
Laugel pitched a complete game to earn the win, allowing five runs (two earned) on seven hits and one walk.
Garcia again highlighted Laugel’s outing, noting that, while he gave up hits, they were spread out.
The Pirates committed two errors in the game, while the Mean Moose had four.
The Pirates fell prey to the Mean Moose in game two, with the game ending at 17-13 in favor of Alamosa, despite three home runs, two triples, three doubles and four stolen bases.
Pagosa picked up a run in the bottom of the first before allowing three in the top of the second.
The Pirates scored another in the bottom of the second.
Alamosa scored one in the top of the third, and the Pirates took a 5-4 lead with three in the bottom of the inning.
Alamosa tied the game in the top of the fourth before Pagosa brought around seven runs to take a 12-5 lead in an inning that included back-to-back homers by Hunter Pouyer and Henderson.
The Pirates increased that lead to 13-5 with a run in the bottom of the fourth before Alamosa put up eight runs and tied the game in the top of the sixth.
The game went into extra innings tied at 12, with the Mean Moose scoring four in the top of the eighth to secure a 17-13 win.
“When it’s 13-5 and we’re cruising, we really should have shut the door,” Garcia said, adding the team was pitching decently, but the Pirates weren’t making plays.
The Pirates had 14 hits in the game.
Laugel went 4-for-5 in the game, hitting a double and a triple, and scored four runs. He also stole two bases.
Hunter Pouyer had three hits, including a double and a home run, scored two runs and picked up three RBIs.
Tuggle-Reed and Henderson each had two hits. Tuggle-Reed also reached on an error, stole two bases and scored two runs. Henderson, who homered and hit a double, scored two runs and logged two RBIs.
Zach Pouyer, Martinez and Dempster each had one hit. Zach Pouyer, who had a double and a triple, also scored a run and tallied two RBIs. Dempster also drew a walk, had an RBI and a run scored.
Cooper Ralston was hit by a pitch and scored a run.
Charles Washburn, Martinez and Ralston took the mound in the game, combining to allow 17 runs, 11 of which were earned, on 12 hits and six walks while striking out seven.
The Pirates committed seven errors in the game.
“We have a lot of potential but we seem to lose our focus sometimes,” Garcia said, adding the team needs to sustain its excitement over both games of a doubleheader.
He indicated the players who will return next season are already focused on improving their consistency during doubleheaders.
But, the coach noted the Pirates played well on the day, especially in the first game.
randi@pagosasun.com
