Roaring Fork High School’s spring sports schedule is back in full swing this week following spring break, with the marquee event being the three-day Trent Goscha Memorial Baseball Tournament starting Thursday at Ron Patch Memorial Field.
The Rams enter their home tournament with some confidence after a close game on the road at Class 5A Smoky Hill on Tuesday.
Though it resulted in a 5-4 loss, coach Marty Madsen said he sees some improvement every time his young team takes the field.
“We only have three seniors, so we’re still a young club that’s learning the game,” Madsen said. “We’re getting better every day, which is big, and we really loaded the front end of the schedule with some tough teams.”
The Rams are 2-6 going into this week’s tournament, and with the 3A Western Slope League schedule starting April 10 at home against Olathe (game time 3pm).
“That tough schedule will help us down the road, especially with the tournament and as we start facing the 3A competition,” Madsen said.
Against Smoky Hill, the Rams had a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the fifth inning, before the Buffaloes answered with two more runs that inning and then scored runs in the seventh and the extra eighth inning to win it.
“We made a few mistakes that extended innings for them, and some that shortened our offensive innings, but it was a good baseball game and fun for them to play,” Madsen said.
Junior Cole Fenton and sophomore Kenny Riley split pitching duties for the Rams, with Riley taking the loss.
The Goscha tournament is played in memory of Trent Goscha, an avid youth baseball player who died unexpectedly during his eighth grade year at Carbondale Middle School in 2016.
Roaring Fork opens the tournament at 2pm Thursday versus Montezuma-Cortez, then takes the field at 2pm Friday against Grand Junction Central.
The other pool of teams features Glenwood Springs, Pagosa Springs and Cañon City. Pool winners and runners-up are to play on Saturday for the championship and third place.
Girls lacrosse
The combined Roaring Fork girls lacrosse team got back into action with a 17-11 win Tuesday at Steamboat Springs. Goals came from Josie McKinley-Kitchell (7), Hailey Wolfe, Juliana Pittz and Grace Garcia (3 each) and Jordyn Miller (1).
The team stands at 1-2 overall heading into their 4A Mountain East League opener at 4pm Friday versus Eagle Valley. The Rams are also at home Saturday for a 12:30pm rematch with Steamboat Springs.
Boys lacrosse
The combined Glenwood Springs boys lacrosse team, which includes several Roaring Fork students, fell 19-4 at Telluride on Tuesday. Carbondale senior Cooper Chacos scored two goals, with one each coming from Carbondale sophomore Kiko Pena and Glenwood junior Tristen Bledsaw. Pena also had two assists.
The Demons are now 2-1 overall and 1-0 in 4A WSL play ahead of a home match at 5:30pm Friday versus Vail Mountain and then Monday at 4 pm versus Steamboat Springs, both at Stubler Memorial Field in Glenwood.
Track & Field
Roaring Fork’s coed track and field athletes had two multi-team meets over the spring break stretch. Here are the top eight scoring event finishes for the Rams.
Cedaredge Invitational, March 30: Sophomore Nikki Tardif – second 200-meter dash (28.66 seconds); second 400 meters (1:04.32); junior Isabella Moon – fourth 1600 meters (6:11.54); fifth 800 meters (2:42.99); senior Kyra Reeds – third 100 hurdles (18.57); second 300 hurdles (53.15); junior Aberdeen Kennedy – sixth 100 meter dash (16.71).
North Fork Invitational, March 23: Tardif – third 400 meters (1:03.52); eighth 200 meters (29.26); Moon – seventh 1600 meters (6:00.63); eighth 800 meters (2:48.01); Reeds – fifth 300 hurdles (54.98).
Girls soccer: The Rams come into the post-spring break schedule at 1-1-1 overall, with a home match against Coal Ridge at 6pm Thursday at Rams Stadium, ahead of an 11am Saturday match across town at Colorado Rocky Mountain School.
Girls tennis: The combined Basalt girls tennis team played at Aspen on March 21, falling five matches to zero, and was again at Aspen for a dual (no scores reported). They next play at Delta on April 9.