DENVER — Only two games into the spring baseball season Ralston Valley might have already found its late-inning pitcher.
Sophomore Tyler Phillips took the mound with two outs and the Mustangs clinging to a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning Saturday afternoon at Coors Field. Smoky Hill was threatening to tie the game with a runner on second base, but Phillips forced senior JR McDermott to ground out to third base to end the inning.
“In our intersquad and scrimmages he (Phillips) has kind of established himself as that role,” Ralston Valley’s first-year coach Robby Bales said after the Mustangs held on for a 5-3 victory. “When Smoky Hill hit the double to cut it to one run we decided to use him right then. He is a kid who has ice in his veins.”
Phillips retired all seven batters he faced to pick up the save. He struck out four and ended the game when Buffaloes’ senior Ryan Kim grounded back to Phillips for the final out of the seventh inning.
“I just had confidence in him (Phillips),” Ralston Valley senior catcher Gavin Schack said. “We’ve worked all off-season with him. Even thou he is a sophomore it really doesn’t matter. We are all a team here.”
Schack helped provide an insurance run for Ralston Valley (2-0 overall) going to the bottom of the seventh inning. The senior drove a double into right-center field to lead off the top of the seventh inning. Courtesy runner Thomas Linton scored on a throwing error to give the Mustangs a 5-3 cushion.
“I just cleared my head and didn’t really think about anything,” Schack said of his double.
Schack also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth inning that pushed Ralston Valley’s lead to 4-0. Smoky Hill (2-2) rallied with RBIs by juniors Parker Friedentag and Cal Stevens in the bottom of the fourth inning off Ralston Valley starting pitcher Reed Hutchin to cut the lead in half.
Hutchin picked up the victory going four innings giving up two runs on four hits while striking out four.
“Reed is our horse. He has a heavy ball and command of three pitches,” Bales said. “We would have extended him a little longer if we were later in the season.”
Lefty Joe Millar took the mound for Ralston Valley in the bottom of the fifth inning. After a leadoff walk, Millar got two straight outs. However, senior Justin Martinez ripped an RBI double to cut the Mustangs’ lead to 4-3.
“(Smoky Hill) is a scrappy team, it would have been easy for them to fold in the beginning. We came out hot,” Bales said. “In the end we had to get some good relief out of the bullpen.”
Ralston Valley’s Don Sherman, Josh Robinson and Hutchin cranked out back-to-back-to-back hits in the top of the first inning to give the Mustangs an early 2-0 lead. Robinson drove in senior Caleb Squire with an RBI single in the third inning to extend the lead to 3-0. Schack’s sacrifice fly scored Peter Carlson in the fourth inning for a 4-0 lead.
“It fun and a good experience. Once in a lifetime,” Hutchin said of playing at Coors Field.
The win also extended the Mustangs’ string of never losing a game at Coors Field.
Ralston Valley heads out of town for spring break. The Mustangs will play in the Chris Moon Tournament in Tucson, Arizona from March 24-27.
“It’s so early in the season. The fact that we play five games in four days allows us to see what our depth looks like,” Bales said. “It will give a chance for guys who haven’t had much playing time to show why they are varsity players.”
Smoky Hill gets right into its Class 5A Centennial League schedule at Eaglecrest on March 24. First pitch is scheduled for 4:15 p.m.
