A ‘weird’ feeling

Shiprock baseball team is top dog in district competition

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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