The Greeley West baseball team played their first game Monday afternoon against the Gateway Olympians, winning 11-1.
The Spartans were down early after starting pitcher Cooper Smith let up a run in the top of the first, despite striking out the side in the bottom of the first.
However, the tide changed in the third inning after Luke Ramirez put up a shutdown inning after coming on in relief. In the bottom half of the third, Andrew Salazar tied the game on a ground ball to advance Jaden Hernandez home from third base. That was only the beginning for the Spartans offense because after another shutdown inning from Ramirez in the fourth, third baseman Ethan Guest tripled to right center to drive in the second run pushing the score 2-1.
The Spartans broke the game open in the fifth after a Jeremiah Duhring single to score two runs with bases loaded, making the score 4-1. After the bases were loaded again on Guest taking a walk, another run was scored by Beau Schaller after a passed ball making the score 5-1.
After an RBI by Jacob Flores and 2 RBI by his brother Dominic Flores paired with another RBI from Salazar, the Spartans put the game out of reach at 9-1. They then sealed the dub in the bottom of the sixth inning after a Duhring double and a Jacob Flores single to put the score 11-1, ending the game on mercy rule.
Jacob Flores explained how this win feels to him as a team captain and how the team looks to carry the momentum into their Saturday matchup against Holy Family. “It definitely feels good. Started a little slow, but changed the momentum of the game a little bit there in the third, just gotta carry it on from here. We know what we did wrong. We know what we did right,” Flores explained. “So, a long week of practice ahead to work on a lot of things and we will be ready come this Saturday.”
Ramirez had a dominant day on the mound. He did not let up a run in his time pitching, which helped seal the victory over Gateway. He explained how he thought his pitching motivated the team to win. “I think it was keeping people motivated by having someone leading on the bump. Whenever your pitcher’s doing good, it helps your team,” Ramirez stated.
Duhring is what got the Spartans going in the fifth inning to break the game open. He explained how he wants to keep the momentum alive against Holy Family. “I think we can do it (win) if we play Holy Family like that. I think we got it in the bag. Just gotta stay locked in,” Duhring explained.
The Spartans play Holy Family this Saturday at home at 10 a.m.
