Chieftains squeezes out victory over Panthers

By Cyrus Norcross
Special to the Times

SHIPROCK

The Shiprock Chieftain baseball team ended its four-game losing streak on March 22 with a victory over the Montezuma-Cortez Panthers 10-4.

During the first inning, Montezuma-Cortez scored a run against Shiprock. The Chieftains answered back, scoring two runs ending the first inning 2-1.

Going into the second inning, Montezuma-Cortez added two runs to the scoreboard, and the Chieftains had no runs. The second inning ended with 3-2.

In the third inning, Montezuma-Cortez did not score, and Shiprock was able to tie the game 3-3. During the inning, Shiprock head coach Alfred Baer substituted his right-handed starting pitcher, Melvin Lee for a left-handed relief pitcher Logan Pioche.

“Our trainer said his arm was sore, and I knew it was time to switch him out,” Baer said, “We had already planned on getting Logan Pioche in the game prior to the start of the game, and that was a good time.”

This would be Pioche’s first game pitching this season, and the switch would help Shiprock get a victory over Montezuma-Cortez.

“Once coach told me it was time to go in, I was ready, I’ve been ready since the season started,” Pioche said. “My mindset was calm, confident, and the catcher and I work well together. We both go back to middle school, and we have confidence in each other.”

In the fourth inning, the Panthers and the Chieftains scored a run and went into the fifth inning tied up 4-4.

During the fifth inning, Pioche held off the Panthers from scoring. The rest of the game, the Panthers could not score against Pioche left-handed pitching.

“He came in the top of the third and finished the game. They really didn’t have an answer for him,” Baer said. “Especially being a lefty, he completely shut down their running game.”

In the fifth inning, the Chieftains took the lead over the Panthers, scoring six runs, ending the inning 10-4.

Both the sixth and seventh inning did not make any runs ending the game 10-4.

Shiprock Chieftain Gerell Goldtooth had four hits and one RBI. O’Rye Franklin also had four hits and two RBIs, scoring two runs.

Melvin Lee got two hits and two RBIs.

“Before the game started, I told my team, we got to start swinging the bats, we got to start being more consistent,” Baer said. “We scored the first, took a break in the second, scored in the third, fourth and fifth.

“We scored 10 runs today, and that fifth inning was interesting,” Baer said. “We started really hitting the ball and running the bases.”

“It was a very good game, Cortez always plays tough, and we just got the better of them today,” Baer said. “We are a young team, and we knew it would be kind of a struggle to begin with.

“We are never out of the game,” he said. “We just have to get consistent.

“We just have to get fundamentally better, better at hitting, defense, eliminate our errors and continue to learn the game,” Baer added.

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