Yuma High School’s baseball team needs to stay on the correct side of the ledger to maintain a chance of possibly hosting a Class 2A regional next month.
The Outlaws are 6-4 heading into Friday’s rescheduled game at Akron, followed by a home game Saturday against rival Wray. They then play two at Wiggins on Tuesday, April 30. They were supposed to play two at Akron this past Saturday, but the snowy conditions caused its cancellation. (It was rescheduled to just one game Friday.)
Yuma was No. 9 in the 2A CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index before Friday’s game at Haxtun.
The Outlaws pulled out a 4-2 win at Wray last Wednesday, but then dropped a 16-0 stinker at home to Highland on Thursday, followed by a 13-0 loss Tuesday at Sterling..
The top eight teams in the 2A Index at the end of the regular season will get to host four-team regionals. Yuma has plenty of opportunities to move back up the seeding ladder as it still has two games each against Holyoke, No. 3 this week, and Burlington, No. 7.
The Outlaws were supposed to play at Wray last Tuesday, but high winds prompted the teams to reschedule to Wednesday, which ended up having perfect conditions.
Yuma-Wray baseball likely is the most underrated series between the Yuma County schools. The games almost always are close, whether both teams are good, both are bad, or one is good and one is not.
Yuma went to Wray with a 5-2 record, while the Eagles entered 3-8, though the victim of several close losses.
Some miscues and a timely hit helped Wray take a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
Wray pitcher Jack Freirichs entered the game with not the fanciest of pitching stats. However, the senior stymied the Yuma bats through the first few frames.
A dropped third strike finally opened the door a bit in the top of the fourth as Carson Lynch reached first, then scored on Christian Thompson’s double down the left field line, cutting Wray’s lead in half.
Some more Eagles miscues helped lead to a three-run rally by the Outlaws in the fifth.
It was highlighted by Silas Baucke’s two-run homer to left center as Yuma took a 4-2 lead.
However, Wray did not go away easily. The Eagles loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth, but Baucke was able to strike out the side. The Eagles put two on in their last at-bat, but again Baucke was able to come up with the strikeouts as the Outlaws held on for the two-run win.
Both teams were solid in the field combining for just three errors, two by Yuma, but the teams also combined for just nine hits, five by Yuma. The rivals combined for 22 strike outs, nine by Yuma and 13 by Wray.
Reyli Trejo settled in after a rough opening frame, striking out five and walking two in 3-2/3s innings. He allowed just one hit, and both Wray runs scored in the first were unearned. Baucke came on with two outs in the fourth. He got the strikeout to end that inning, gave himself a lead with the two-run homer, then consistently dodged trouble down the stretch. He struck out eight and walked two, allowing three hits but no runs.
Offensively, Baucke had two hits with the homer, two RBI and one run. Thompson had the double and one RBI, Lennox Huwa one hit and one run, Angel Escobar one hit and one run, and Lynch one run.
The Outlaws were home the next afternoon against 3A Highland, and never really showed up against the Huskies. They were run out of the Outlaws Hangout in four innings with the 16-0 loss.
The Huskies put the game away with nine runs in the fourth.
Yuma’s two hits were a double by Baucke and single by Huwa. Yuma batters struck out nine times. Highland struck out only twice while racking up 11 hits and drawing 11 base on balls. Yuma committed five errors in its sloppiest defensive outing of the season.
Sterling entered Tuesday’s game 10-3 overall and ranked No. 7 in the Class 3A Index. The Tigers plated five runs in the first inning, added three more in the second, then closed it out with five more in the fourth.
Yuma again managed only two hits, a double by Baucke and single by Carson Lynch. The defense again struggled a bit with four errors. Yuma pitchers yielded 11 walks while striking out three, and giving up seven hits.