The Rifle Bears varsity baseball team took the first of two matchups from their I-70 rival, the Glenwood Springs Demons, but Glenwood evened the series with a massive 11-1 home win on Wednesday afternoon. 

Two of the top three 4A Western Slope League teams faced off at Glenwood Springs Middle School on Wednesday afternoon as Glenwood strolled to evening the series at one game a piece. Glenwood got even with Rifle on Wednesday with an explosive 9-run first inning. 

“I couldn’t have asked for a better response (after Monday’s game),” Glenwood head coach Rob Norville said. The Demons fell to the Grand Junction Tigers 15-0 in 4 innings on Monday. “We needed to bounce back in a strong way.”

The Demons sent 12 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first, nine of which came around to score. The extended half inning took nearly 30 minutes to complete, but Glenwood senior pitcher Jackson Irving kept throwing the ball as if it was a 0-0 game. 

“Staying confident in my pitches is really important,” Irving said after the game. He threw 96 pitches through five innings, striking out 11 while only allowing 4 hits and one earned run. “My curveball felt great in the bullpen, and it was big that I was able to establish getting those down while ahead in the count. When you can get a curveball down when you’re ahead in the count, the fastball plays a lot better for the rest of the game.”

Irving, the Demons leadoff batter, got Glenwood started by getting on base. He was the first of eight straight batters to reach without recording an out, six of which came around to score. Glenwood senior catcher Josh Doll got the Demons started, driving Irving in with an RBI triple as the second batter to step up to the plate, then capped the massive inning with an RBI double when he came back up with two outs in the first. 

“I really liked the approach that we took in the first inning, making sure to put the ball in play instead of striking out,” Norville said.

Glenwood’s next player up mentality was on clear display on Wednesday afternoon. The Demons struck out just one time through five innings, as they continued their home dominance. Through seven games at home, the Demons are averaging 8.5 runs per game. When the Demons have scored more than five runs this season, their record is 7-2. 

“We’ve been preaching the ‘pass the baton’ mentality since I took the job,” Norville said. “When we play like that, when we play like a team, we can play with anybody. Hopefully we can put together a little win streak to finish the season.”

After Wednesday’s home victory, Glenwood improves to 8-5 on the season, 3-2 in league play. The Demons are starting to find their stride as they turn the final corner of the regular season.

The Demons look to turn their mini win streak into a real tear down the stretch as they host the Aspen Skiers on Saturday at 11 a.m., at Glenwood Springs Middle School. 

After jumping out to a 7-3 record through their first ten games, Rifle has scuffled over their past five with a 3-2 record. After Wednesday’s loss, Rifle falls to the same 8-5 record as Glenwood, but maintains a slim division lead with a 4-2 record. They look to get back on track, but will have a tough opponent to do so against. The Summit Tigers will travel to Rifle on Saturday for a powerful doubleheader between the number one and two teams in 4A Western Slope division.