The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“It was real baseball—both teams played well”
After dropping the first three games of a four-game home stand, the Crested Butte Blue Jackets baseball team rallied to beat Olathe on Monday, June 15.
The week of games opened with a tough loss to Cedaredge on Monday, June 8. The Blue Jackets looked to rebound the next game against the Gunnison I team two days later but fell short once again.
Their biggest test of the four-game stretch came on Friday, June 12 when they faced Hotchkiss. Hotchkiss was hot off a big win over the only undefeated team in the league and gaining momentum.
Hotchkiss carried their offense from the previous win into the game against the Blue Jackets, opening up a 7-0 lead capped by a five-run blitz in the top of the third inning.
The Blue Jackets capitalized on some miscues by the Hotchkiss defense to score two runs in the bottom of the third as Ben Reaman led off with a single and eventually scored on a passed ball.
Hotchkiss responded with two more runs in the top of the fourth inning, but Ryan Costello took over pitching, striking out two. Nolan Blunck chased down a pop foul to hold Hotchkiss scoreless in the top of the fifth.
The Blue Jackets bats came alive in the bottom of the fifth to score four runs.
Costello opened the barrage with a two-RBI double and then scored on another passed ball. Ian Kelly singled, reached third on a single by Dakota Wiggins and then scored to cut the Hotchkiss lead down to two.
Hotchkiss returned the favor in the top of the sixth inning to score six runs on a combination of base hits and errors to seal the 15-7 win.
“Every game has been a winnable game,” says coach Michael Blunck. “We seem to suffer a let-down in one inning that costs us the game. We battle back but can’t put them away.”
That is, until Monday, June 15, when the Blue Jackets played seven innings of near-perfect baseball to come away with a 3-1 win over Olathe.
“It was real baseball—both teams played well,” says Blunck.
The Blue Jackets struck first in the bottom of the first inning as Reaman led off with a single and scored on base hit by Troy Pike.
After a shaky start, Collin Dill threw nine strikeouts in five innings, giving up only a couple of hits and one run, leaving the two teams deadlocked in a 1-1 tie heading into the sixth inning.
With Pike in as the closer and their defense dialed, the Blue Jackets held Olathe hitless in the top of the sixth inning and then broke the tie with two runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Reaman led the charge again with a power bunt error-assisted triple. Nolan Blunck pushed Reaman home with a line drive single to center and then scored on a wild pitch to give the Blue Jackets a 3-1 lead in the top of the seventh inning.
After a couple of walks, the Blue Jackets defense got the first out and then Pike ended the game by throwing back-to-back strikeouts for the win.
“The team’s confidence grew as each inning went on,” says Blunck. “We had really nice defense in the outfield.”
Blunck looks for his team to continue to gain confidence, ending the season with a winning streak, he hopes.
“That win was a big confidence boost,” says Blunck. “We have the possibility to rattle off six straight wins to put us at 8-6.”
The Blue Jackets now hit the road for three games before returning to Gunnison to face Gunnison II on Wednesday, June 24 at 6 p.m.
