MANITOU SPRINGS – With two wins needed to determine a division champion, the Manitou Springs baseball team didn’t want to leave anything to chance.
The Mustangs rolled to 9-2 and 14-7 wins over Buena Vista to take the title of the best of the Tri-Peaks West. This was a crucial step for Manitou as it now turns its attention to the Tri-Peaks crossover games next week where they’ll face either La Junta or St. Mary’s for the overall league championship.
“When we look at our vision every year, we’re looking at 16 wins, trying to get to Tri-Peaks West champions and then become the Tri-Peaks champions,” coach Brandon DeMatto said. “This is another steppingstone in the direction we’re trying to get to.”
The Demons (12-7 overall, 5-2 Class 3A/2A Tri-Peaks) entered the game sitting at No. 6 in the 2A CHSAANow.com coaches poll but found themselves getting tested early in the game.
Manitou senior Davis Mack was dealing early, striking out three of the first hitters he faced and not allowing a ball to get hit out of the infield in the first two innings. He threw a complete game and struck out 11 hitters while allowing just one earned run.
The Mustangs (15-5-1, 8-0) started slow, but started getting runs across the plate in the second inning. They plated five runs in the fourth inning alone to Mack a comfortable lead which made dominant on the mound.
“Whenever we put up big numbers like that, it boosts my confidence,” Mack said. “It really takes the pressure off and lets me just go out there and throw strikes.”
Senior Raymond McCaskey had great day at the plate between the two games. In Game 1, he went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI’s while scoring once.
In Game 2 he had another single and also reached base on a dropped third strike. Freshman Hayden Martinez and junior Andrew Rhodes each reached base in three of their four plate appearances and scored all three times.
A couple errors at the start of the second game gave the Demons an early lead but the Mustangs responded at the plate and eventually put up 10 runs in the bottom of the third.
“This shows us that we can compete against good teams,” McCaskey said. “We can stay in it for two games and just get stuff done.”
Overall, the Mustangs batted .344 on the day with just six extra-base hits. But it was enough to get the job done.
They’ll await the results of double-header between La Junta and Lamar on Monday to see who they’ll face for the Tri-Peaks title. If the Tigers sweep Lamar, the Mustangs will head to La Junta next Saturday. A split or a Lamar sweep would give St. Mary’s the East crown, giving the Mustangs a rematch against their crosstown rival. The Pirates got an eight-inning win over Manitou at UCHealth Park earlier this week and the prospect of a rematch is enticing for the Mustangs.
“All the boys are pretty heated and excited to get back at them,” McCaskey said. “I think we can hit them with a haymaker.”
