WHEAT RIDGE — A shaky start didn’t rattle Green Mountain in its Class 4A Jeffco League opener Thursday at Chuck Griffith Jr. Field in Wheat Ridge.
The Rams used a 7-run top of the seventh inning to finally take a comfortable lead against Wheat Ridge. Green Mountain grabbed a 10-2 conference victory over the Farmers to get off to the right foot in league play.
“I told our guys before the game that Wheat Ridge has a guy (senior pitcher Cian Phillips) that we played last year and he shoved it down our throat for four innings,” Green Mountain first-year head coach Cory Miller said. “He competed. I was very impressed by him.”
Green Mountain (4-4, 1-0 in league) scratched out three hits for three runs off Phillips over the first six innings before the senior hit his allowed pitch-count. All three runs were scored off of errors.
The Rams took a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth inning on a wild play were a throwing error led courtesy-runner Will Livingood scoring the go-ahead run due to defensive interference when he rounded third base.
“We came in here wanting to be aggressive, but we have to put the ball in play to do that,” Miller said.
Miller wasn’t happy with the Rams’ 11 strikeouts they had facing Phillips. However, with Phillips off the mound Green Mountain’s offense poured it on in the top of the seventh inning.
“Once we got their guy (Phillips) out our offense kind of exploded,” Green Mountain junior pitcher Jack Prosser said. “We would like to see that a little earlier, but it’s better late than never.”
The Rams batted around in the inning. Sophomores Demetreus Padilla, DJ Villalovas and Simon Lunsford, along with senior Cohen Cress and Prosser all drove in runs during the 7-run inning to seal the victory.
Green Mountain’s designated hitter — Villalovas — was the most consistent hitter going 3-for-4 from the plate, including a 2-run double in the 7th inning.
“DJ has been a huge surprise this year,” Miller said. “We started four sophomores today. That is going to be huge for us going forward and having those at-bats so we can compete down the line.”
Prosser was outstanding on the hill picking up the victory. The junior had a rough first inning giving up two run on two hits, along with two Ram errors. However, Prosser retired 14 straight Wheat Ridge batters before being taken out after pitching five innings.
“He (Prosser) competes his butt off,” Miller said. “He is a dog on the mound and is going to challenge everybody. He wants to strike everyone in the league out. That is just who Jack is and that is why he is our guy right now.”
Prosser will likely get the start for several league games. Junior Craig Busse was expected to be a big part in Green Mountain’s pitching rotation, but is dealing with an arm injury, forcing more of the pitching load on the rest of the Rams.
“I’m excited,” Prosser said of stepping into the ace role for the Rams. “It is exactly why I play baseball … to be the guy.”
Padilla was the guy to close out the game on the mound for Green Mountain. The sophomore walked three batters, but worked his way out of jams in both the sixth and seventh innings.
Senior catcher Jacob Barmore helped bail Padilla out when he walked the first batter he face. Barmore threw out Wheat Ridge senior DJ Miller trying to steal second base to help the Rams dash any Farmer rally. Green Mountain was only leading 3-2 at the time.
“That was huge,” Barmore said of Padilla coming in to get the 2-inning save. “I have confidence in him to come in and hit his spots. He is pretty accurate.”
Padilla dropped a full-count curveball for one of his three strikes over the final two innings. Wheat Ridge (1-6, 0-1) was held to just a pair of hits in its third straight loss. Junior Frank Erickson and senior Ayden Rameriz singled off Prosser in the first inning.
Wheat Ridge and Green Mountain are scheduled to meet in a non-league game at noon Saturday, April 8.