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Quigley, Bartels help Bears roar into playoffs

Staff Report

RIFLE — Triston Quigley and Danny Bartels found a way to cap the regular season for the Rifle High School baseball team in style Saturday. And their performances helped the Bears extend their season, also.

The Rifle seniors hit back-to-back home runs on the back end of a Class 4A Western Slope League doubleheader against Battle Mountain, capping a big offensive performance and helping clinch a postseason berth with a 15-2 and 24-0 sweep of the Huskies at Deerfield Park.

“That was the big highlight,” Rifle coach Troy Phillips said. “For those two seniors to do that on senior day was just huge.”



Quigley hit a three-run shot in the bottom of the fourth inning and, on the next pitch, Bartels hit one over the fence to help pad the score for the Bears (13-6, 9-5 league).

Those wins, coupled with a pair of losses by Eagle Valley (8-10, 7-6) to first-place Palisade on Saturday, gave Rifle the WSL’s third and final spot in the Class 4A state playoffs. The Bears needed a seven-game winning streak — which included a doubleheader sweep of Eagle Valley on April 27 — to do it.



“They went out and won their last seven games, and I’m pretty proud of how all of their hard work helped make this happen,” Phillips said.

Matchups for the 4A playoffs will be announced by the Colorado High School Activities Association on Wednesday.

Bailey Hoffmeister went the distance on the mound in the five-inning opener for the Bears, striking out seven with two walks. He also went 2-for-2 with a double and scored four times, and Quigley and Layton Stutsman also had two hits for the Bears.

In the second game, Bartels went 4-for-5 with three triples and his solo homer to accompany a 3-for-4, two-homer, seven-RBI outing by Quigley. Wyatt Robinson finished 3-for-3 at the plate, and Teig Hauer struck out six and allowed three hits in his complete-game outing.

Demons swept in season finale

GLENWOOD SPRINGS — Willie Salcido went a combined 4-for-7 at the plate in two games to go with a solid performance on the mound, but the Glenwood Springs baseball team was swept by playoff-bound Delta, 12-2 and 5-4, at the Glenwood Springs Middle School baseball field.

Salcido went 3-for-3 in Glenwood’s 12-2 loss, accounting for most of the Demons’ five hits. In the 5-4 Delta victory, he pitched a complete game, allowing two earned runs and three walks while striking out seven.

Glenwood (5-12, 3-9) will finish the season Tuesday with a doubleheader at Steamboat Springs.


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