COLORADO SPRINGS – Sometimes winning a baseball team can come down to which team can take the biggest advantage of the other’s mistakes.
Palmer Ridge and Discovery Canyon each made their fair share of mistakes, but for the second time in three days, it was the Thunder getting the better end of it. They rode two huge innings to come away with a 26-11 win over the Bears to complete a regular sweep of Palmer Ridge.
“We didn’t come into this thinking we were going to sweep,” junior Kellen Kurtz said. “We were just trying to split with them so it feels great to get the sweep.”
Early on it seemed like the split was likely. Discovery Canyon coach Justin Ross had said that the best game the Thunder (4-6 overall, 4-6 Class 5A/4A Pikes Peak Athletic Conference) had played all season was Tuesday’s 13-5 win over Palmer Ridge.
This game looked vastly different. The Bears (7-7, 5-6) took advantage of several Discovery Canyon miscues and put up six runs in the top of the inning, instantly putting the Thunder on its heels. Austin Rees and Chet Robinson each had 2-RBI singles in the inning and from the onset, it looked like it was going to be Palmer Ridge’s day.
But the error bug bit the Bears right back in the bottom of the inning. Two of the first three Thunder hitters reached on an error and overall, the home team scored 10 runs in the bottom of the inning to retake momentum.
It was a painful reminder for the Bears that in any PPAC game, every team has to be at its best to have a shot to win.
“You can’t take any days off, period. End of story,” Palmer Ridge coach Ty Baker said. “You have to come ready to play no matter that adversity that you’re facing.”
The Bears fought back to pull even at 10-10 at one point. Austin Rees played a big role in that, going 3-for-3 on the day with three RBI’s and two runs scored. The problem came from having to battle back after building an early lead. To win baseball games in a tough league in tough, windy conditions, teams have to take advantages of the circumstances that are given to them.
“We went into the bottom of the first inning in good shape,” Rees said. “But we kicked around a couple of balls and it just spiraled out of control.”
Later in the game, the Thunder found their groove at the plate. Cameron Whittle and Chase Ambuehl each blasted home runs to help put the game out of reach. It capped an amazing mental turnaround from where the team was after the top of the first inning.
“They don’t even need a coach for that type of thing,” Ross said. “Internal leadership, I have four captains, and those four captains do a great job at policing it. The best teams are the teams where the coach doesn’t have to beg the team to play hard.”
The Thunder is finding momentum at the right time. Kurtz has emerged as one of the hottest hitters in the league and continued that trend on Thursday going 4-for-4 with a walk and scoring five runs. He also drove in two.
Discovery Canyon heads to Elizabeth on Saturday before returning home on Tuesday to take on Rampart.
