The Greeley West baseball team split its double header against Greeley Central and pitcher Luke Ramierez won the Bill Dressor Award for the game’s MVP.
In the first game, the Spartans struggled losing 15-1 with their only run coming in the fifth inning. In the first game they went through four pitchers, with all 15 runs earned. On the hitting side, they only tallied six hits and struck out seven times. Team Captain Jacob Flores explained what went wrong with the first game and what was the biggest motivator for the team going into the next
“For the team, I think we had down energy, when warming up we were high energy but as soon as the game hit the energy flipped… After the game we had a mini coaches meeting with teammates and Ethan (Guest) and I told them what they didn’t want to hear…” Flores explained “Told them that we need to get it together and have to hit the ball more.”
Luckily, their first game did not represent their play as the next game under the lights they brought the energy up and won 12-2 in six innings. Ramirez dominated on the mound pitching all six innings, giving up 3 hits with two of them coming in the sixth. He also struck out seven batters, and shut out the Wildcats after their 2-run first inning. The Spartans have struggled on the mound all season and Ramirez explained how they look to carry on the momentum pitching after his performance.
“We struggled the first game and to go in and beat them and dominate them I think will help us a lot,” Ramirez stated.
The Spartans tallied 10 hits, 4 extra base hits, and only struck out five times compared to their seven in the first game. Flores illustrated how the team brought the energy up to bounce back and win the second game of the double header.
“It was us talking to our team and the younger guys in the dugout keeping the energy up after that, putting up 7 (runs) in the first inning was good for us and we came out with a good win,” Flores explained.
Ramirez would go on to win the game MVP for his dominating performance, and he explained how this accomplishment felt: “It’s the best feeling in the world,” Ramirez said.
