Not every opponent is going to give the Manitou Springs baseball team a quality battle. When those games roll around, it’s important for the entire team to take advantage of the situation and ensure that the Mustangs are consistently playing their style of baseball.
That was the case on April 23 as Manitou swept a Tri-Peaks double-header with Colorado Springs Christian School, getting 11-0 and 11-1 wins on the day.
Knowing the Lions are a struggling squad this season, the Mustangs (10-3-1 overall, 4-0 Tri-Peaks West) still see value in stringing together blowout wins.
“At this point, it’s important that we play our style of baseball and not play into the level of our competition,” coach Brandon DeMatto said. “I like it when we’re not trying to get too big at the plate and take big hacks when we don’t need to, and that we’re staying with our approach.”
That approach worked. The Mustangs batted .636 as a team in the Game 1 win. Sophomore Jake Thomson helped fuel that performance, going 2-for-2 with a double and driving in a team-high three runs.
Davis Mack was steady on the mound, throwing five innings, giving up just two hits and striking out five hitters.
The back end of the double-header was a similar story. Manitou didn’t hit the ball quite as well, batting just .417. But Thomson again had a stellar outing, going 3-for-3 and driving in another run. Sophomore Canon Feist went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs.
Nate Gentzel looked settled in on the mound as he went 4 and 1/3 innings and gave up just five hits. The Lions’ lone run was unearned.
What helped Gentzel’s approach was seeing the result of Game 1, which gave him a huge boost going out to pitch in Game 2.
“It was a confidence booster,” Gentzel said. “We had just blown them out, why can’t we do that again? Davis pitched well against them and I’m just as good as Davis and I can pitch up to his (level).”
The Mustangs head to Lamar on Thursday, April 28, and will be on the road Saturday, April 30, for their next league double-header. They’re in action against Florence and look to stay undefeated in league play.