By Sandy Anderberg
The Clarendon Bronco baseball team defeated team after team this season but was cut short in the Regional Semi-Finals in Lubbock last weekend. The Broncos lost the first two games of the best-of-three series to the Stamford Bulldogs. The Broncos finished a commendable 26-8 for the year.
On Thursday, the Broncos fell 14-4 against a tough Bulldog team. For the first four innings, the Broncos were solid and the game could have gone either way. They led the game at that time at 4-3. But too many errors and walks at the plate allowed Stamford to get their bats going and they were able to put up 11 runs to take a commanding lead.
The Bronco pitchers struggled on the mound and the Bulldogs took the advantage to get the win. Kade Hunsaker opened the game as the Clarendon pitcher before Caleb Cobb came in to relieve him.
On Saturday, the Broncos were determined to even-up the series to force a third game. But a big scoring frenzy in the first inning for the Bulldogs set the tone for the remainder of the game, and the Broncos were defeated, 14-1.
Errors plagued the Broncos as they tried all they could to stop Stamford from crossing the plate. Chance Lockhart, who has been a standout for the Broncos all year, was on the mound first before being replaced by Clay Koetting who finished the game.
“(We) had two really bad innings in the entire playoffs, but at this level, you can’t have any,” coach Brad Elam said. “I was proud of the way Clay Koetting came in and pitched in game two. The boys had a great season and a lot to be proud of. They set many team and individual records. We were also well represented on the All-District awards.”
Disappointment from the semi-final loss flooded the team, but the Broncos had a great season and they have much to be proud of. They will lose four seniors; Bryce Hatley, Caleb Cobb, Ray Jaramillo, and Cooper Bilbrey. The rest of the team will be back stronger than ever.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.