Bears take doubleheader against Huskies

Rifle puts up 10 points in each game while shutting out Battle Mountain

By Jeff Caspersen
Post Independent Staff
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
April 6, 2008

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RIFLE, Colorado — Some pitchers might have a gripe for their coach if pulled from a game while tossing a no-hitter.

Not Kyle Bond.

The Rifle right-hander, who had a no-no brewing through four innings against Battle Mountain on Saturday, was more than happy to step aside and let his teammate toss an inning or two.

Bond exited the front end of the day’s doubleheader with a 5-0 lead to afford teammate Zach Whitmore, recovering from November shoulder surgery, a little work on the hill; it was his first outing of the season.

Whitmore went on to toss two scoreless innings and the Rifle offense generated five runs to polish off a six-inning, 10-0 victory over the visiting Huskies, who didn’t put a hit on the board until the final inning.

But the Bears didn’t go without a no-hitter on the day, as Alex Haynes returned in the second game to toss five no-hit innings in another 10-0 Rifle triumph.

“We just needed to get our other pitcher healthy,” Bond said afterwards about handing the ball over to his Bear teammate. “It really wasn’t a big deal. We had a huge lead.”

Whitmore was a big reason Bond (2-3) was pitching with a comfortable lead. He tripled and scored in the first inning, and went on to single twice to finish 3-for-4 with three runs, four stolen bases and an RBI at the plate.

Asa Fix joined in on what was a Rifle hit parade. He was 2-for-4 with four RBIs, including a two-run double in the top of the fourth inning.

Haynes was 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI for the Bears, while Dwight Cerise contributed a pair of hits and an RBI in three at-bats. Cody Chick finished with a pair of singles, and Ryan Rebhan had a hit.

Rifle used a station-to-station attack to wear Battle Mountain down, swiping 12 bases.

“We didn’t hit the ball as well as we should have,” Bears coach Troy Phillips said. “We’re still struggling a bit in that area. It’s just little steps at a time. Hopefully, we’ll still get a lot better.”

The Huskies broke up the no-hitter in the bottom of the seventh — they were the designated home team in the opener — when R.D. Cordova doubled with a runner on first and two outs.

Unfortunately for Battle Mountain, that hit resulted in the game-ending play. Taking off from first, Cameron Brown was gunned down at the plate as Rifle center field ran down Cordova’s gapper near the fence, fired the ball to Fix at shortstop, who fired a strike to the catcher, Haynes, for a tagout at the plate to end the game.

Said Battle Mountain coach Jason Spannagel: “I sent Cameron there at the end because I thought we might not get another chance to get a run.”

Afternoon reprise

Haynes hit a three-run walk-off homer on top of a no-hit, five-strikeout pitching performance as the Bears rolled to a 10-0 mercy rule win in Saturday’s second game.

The Rifle hurler’s game-ending bomb capped a seven-run fifth inning for the Bears, who improved to 5-4 overall and to 2-2 in the Class 4A Western Slope League. Haynes finished with a hit and five RBIs at the plate and improved to 3-1 for the season on the hill.

Bond chipped in with two hits and an RBI for Rifle in the nightcap. Fix was 2-for-2 with a triple and two RBIs and Ernesto Mendoza was 2-for-2 as the Bears polished off a day in which they outscored the Huskies 20-0.

Battle Mountain is now 1-8 overall and 0-6 in the 4A WSL.