Roaring Fork High School’s baseball team was the only ball sport active over the spring break, hosting the April 2-4 Trent Goscha Memorial Tournament ahead of the Easter holiday.
The Rams went 1-2, falling to eventual tournament champion and Class 3A powerhouse Montezuma-Cortez in the Thursday opener, 22-2.
“They were the best team here, by far. They’re an impressive baseball team,” Roaring Fork head coach Marty Madsen said of the Panthers, who cruised to 18-3 and 12-1 Friday and Saturday wins over Salida and Grand Junction Central, respectively, to win the trophy.
Meanwhile, Roaring Fork proceeded to take the snow-plowed Ron Patch Memorial Field on Friday to defeat Salida, 19-1, and went to an extra inning with Strasburg on Saturday before falling 11-10.
“It was a great three days of baseball, except for the snow on the field Friday morning,” Madsen said of a surprise spring snowstorm that delayed the day’s games.
“Our guys played good baseball and pitched well [against Salida], but we just didn’t get enough runs on Saturday,” he said of a game that saw the Rams up 5-2 going into the top of the seventh. Roaring Fork gave up three runs and failed to score in their half of the inning. Strasburg tallied 6 runs in the extra inning to Roaring Fork’s 5.
Roaring Fork was back on the home field on Monday against Montrose; a 5-1 loss for the Rams who prepare for the start of the 3A Western Slope League schedule with a win-loss record of 2-5.
“I think we’re right in there to compete in a really good league,” Madsen said. “Top to bottom, our league is probably one of the stronger leagues in the western part of the state.”
Among the usual contenders are last year’s 3A state champion Coal Ridge Titans, and the Delta Panthers, who the Rams face in a double header at home this Friday, April 10 (2pm and 4pm).
“We just have to make sure we put all three phases of the game (offense-defense-pitching)
together and we’ll be OK,” Madsen said.
The Rams are leaning on a quartet of
seniors to carry the team — Charlie Filliss, Donny Read, Andy McMichael and Kenny Riley.
“They’ve been with the program since day one as freshmen and have really worked their way to being our senior leaders,” Madsen said. “It’s been really cool to see that journey, from where they started to where they are now.”
A strong contingent of sophomores are also making progress and will be key to the Rams’ season success, he said.
Lacrosse/soccer
The 5-1 Roaring Fork girls lacrosse team was also back on the field Monday at Eagle Valley (result not available by deadline for this report). The Rams are home versus the 4A Mountain East League-leading Battle Mountain Huskies this Thursday, April 9 (5:30pm varsity game time).
And, the Rams girls soccer team had two games already this week, a 1-0 win at Basalt on Monday (goal by junior Tesame Hayes, assisted by sophomore Annalise Bumgarner), and a home match against Steamboat Springs on Wednesday (result not available by deadline).
The Rams improved to a win-loss-tie record of 1-3-2. They host Moffat County this Friday, April 10 (6pm varsity game time).
Track & Field
Roaring Fork’s track and field athletes were at the Eagle Valley Invitational on Saturday, April 4. Scoring team points by finishing in the top eight of their respective events were sophomore Levi Friday in the boys 1600-meter run, placing eighth (4:59.85), and the girls 4×800 relay team of senior Caroline Cole, juniors Sadie Silcox and Miley Stuart, and sophomore Sophia Warner, placing sixth (11:29.61).
Track athletes from up and down the Roaring Fork Valley will be competing at the Glenwood Springs Demon Invitational this Saturday, April 11. Events start at 9am at Stubler Memorial Field.