Thursday, March 28, 2024

A ‘weird’ feeling

A ‘weird’ feeling

Shiprock baseball team is top dog in district competition

Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi | Navajo Times
A Shiprock player runs the bases agains the Wingate Bears last week. Shiprock swept the Bears in a doubleheader, 23-1 and 25-6, to go 4-0 in district play.

SHIPROCK

There is something different about the Shiprock High School baseball team and that difference is in the Chieftains themselves.

Shiprock has become something they’re not used to — the top dogs in Class 4A, District 1.

“It’s kind of weird because around this time, right now, we’d probably be playing Bloomfield or Kirtland (Central), and it would be a good game but now we just kind of feel like we go the easy route,” said Shiprock shortstop Pedro Tom. “It feels really weird.”

Shiprock stayed in Class 4A while rivals Kirtland Central and Bloomfield moved up to Class 5A. It’s made things easier for the Chieftains and, in some cases, too easy.

Last week Shiprock picked up two district wins over Wingate, 23-1 and 25-6, that gave them a 4-0 record in their district.

Being at the top isn’t always as glamorous as it may seem.

Shiprock head coach Alfred Baer said his team has struggled with the lack of competition.

“We were just kind of looked down upon because we were playing not as tough as competition,” he said. “Well, I raised the bar and we defeated a lot of opponents. Most of the time we’re just very competitive.”

The Chieftains are 13-10, which doesn’t sound impressive, but needs a closer look.

In their season opener, they defeated Bloomfield 5-3, then Monument Valley, 9-2, Kirtland Central, 3-2, and took a big loss to Aztec, 8-0, but rallied and defeated the Tigers, 7-2.
Baer said the tough competition set the stage for the new season.

“Right off the bat we were 3-1 and beat some of our rivals that have always given us trouble,” he said. “Our games most of the time are one or two-run games, no matter who we played.”


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About The Author

Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi

Sunnie Clahchischiligi has been the sports writer for the Navajo Times since 2008. She has a bachelor’s degree in print journalism from the University of New Mexico. Before joining the Times, she worked at the St. Cloud Times (Minn.), the Albuquerque Journal, the Santa Fe New Mexican, Sports Illustrated Magazine in New York City and the Salt Lake Tribune. She can be reached at sunnie@navajotimes.com or via cell at (505) 686-0769.

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