Prep notebook: Battle Mountain softball opens season against Rifle
Cross-country, volleyball and soccer teams all kicked off their fall campaigns on Thursday and Friday as well
Rex Keep/Courtesy photo
The Battle Mountain girls softball team opened its 2024 season against Rifle on Thursday. The Huskies scored three runs in the third inning but ended up falling to the Bears 20-3.
Rylan Petree, Ella Jackson and Katharine Santana each tallied three hits for Rifle, which improved to 3-0 on the year. Battle Mountain continues its campaign at Conifer on Aug. 31.
Eagle Valley improved to 4-0 on the year after defeating Brush 11-3 and Mountain View 12-10 on Friday.
The Devils jumped out to a 7-0 lead after two innings against Brush in the first game. Lily Brueck and Audrey Crowley led the way with three hits apiece. Crowley drove in four runs as well. Abby Talbot also went 2-for-4 with three RBI as Eagle Valley racked up 12 hits in the victory. Phedre Kempton struck out two batters and allowed just eight hits in seven innings of work to earn the win on the mound.
In the second game, Eagle Valley trailed 8-5 after three innings but scored seven runs in the fourth to claim the 12-10 victory. Talbot went 3-for-3 with two doubles and two runs scored. Freshman Sam Kolzak was 2-for-2 with two RBI, and Brueck had two hits and two stolen bases for the second game in a row.
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Cross-country notes: Eagle Valley and Battle Mountain compete at Cheyenne Mountain Stampede
Eagle Valley and Battle Mountain opened its cross-country campaigns at the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede in Colorado Springs on Friday. The annual pre-state meet saw more than 75 teams compete across small and large schools as well as championship junior varsity and varsity divisions.
The Eagle Valley boys placed ninth out of 22 teams — and third out of 4A squads — in the championship boys race, the most competitive division in the meet. Dylan Blair was the top finisher, placing eighth in the 184-member field. Blair went out with the eventual winner, Aiden Le Roux of Cheyenne Mountain, running the first mile in 4 minutes, 58 seconds.
Blair covered the Norris Penrose Event Center 5-kilometer course in 15:52.2 seconds, with twin brother Tyler Blair finishing 10th in 16:07.2. Cheyenne Mountain took the top two spots, with Le Roux taking the win (15:20.1) followed by Brogan Collins (15:31.4).
“The team was more than ready to race to start this season off. Our coaching staff was giddy with excitement to be underway,” stated Melinda Brandt. “We can’t wait to see how our team pack progresses throughout the season, dropping times and building stamina each week.”
Ruthie Demino (22:10.2) placed eighth in the large school girls varsity race, pacing Battle Mountain to a fifth-place team finish. Eagle Valley was led by Ginger Reilly (22:35), who placed 12th.
“Ginger did a really nice job pacing throughout the race today,” Brandt said. “Her splits were very even as she used her experience to move up throughout the course of the race.” Reilly was just within the top-60 after the first mile, but moved up to 23rd by the 2-mile mark before finishing 12th.
“Our senior leader is setting the tone for what can be accomplished this fall on the ladies side,” Brandt said.
The Battle Mountain boys also raced in the large school race, taking 20th. Nate Beuche (18:15.4) was the top runner for the Huskies.
Volleyball notes: Eagle Valley and Vail Christian win season openers
Eagle Valley cruised to a season-opening sweep of Grand Junction Central in Gypsum on Thursday. The Devils defeated the Warriors 25-20, 25-23, 25-20.
Eagle Valley hosts Montrose on Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. The Red Hawks went 17-11 and were 8-0 in the 4A Southwestern League in 2023. They’re led by outside hitter Maggie Legg, who led the team with 240 kills as a sophomore last fall.
Vail Christian traveled to North Fork on Thursday, opening the 2024 season with a 3-2 win over the Miners (26-24, 16-25, 26-24, 28-30, 15-8). The Saints home opener is Aug. 30 against Lake County, which went 23-2 last season.
Soccer notes: Denver East defeats Battle Mountain in season-opener
Friday’s game between Denver East and Battle Mountain was tightly contested, as expected. Locked at 1-1 after 60 minutes, the Angels — who came into the game as the No. 2-ranked squad in 5A — scored halfway through the second half to claim a 2-1 victory over the Huskies, the top team in 4A. Jakob Methvin scored the lone goal for Battle Mountain.
“Great game,” head coach Dave Cope stated afterwards. “Kids battled hard and played well.”
