Clutch hitting continued to be the engine powering the Grand Junction High School baseball machine as the Tigers cruised to a 9-1 victory over Vista PEAK Prep on Friday at Canyon View.
This time it was the back half of the Tigers lineup leading the way, as each of Grand Junction’s bottom four batters in the lineup recorded at least one hit and scored a combined six runs.
Junior Kaleb David turned in a three-hit day at the plate, scoring three times in the process. Clayton Scarbrough also had a nice day, driving in three runs and scoring twice in the winning effort.
Palisade dropped to 1-3 on the season after a close 5-4 loss to Fossil Ridge.
The Bulldogs struck first in the game, thanks to a Hunter Howard’s RBI double in the bottom of the first. But a four-run fourth inning for the Sabercats proved to be Palisade’s undoing, as the Bulldogs were unable to pull out of the hole despite a three-run fifth inning rally.
SOCCER
Fruita Monument defeated Roaring Fork 2-0.
Haley Graus and Kenna Celayeta were the goal scorers for the Wildcats, with Ella Hovland and Audrey Rhoden each picking up assists. Goalkeeper Brooke Davis recorded seven saves in the shutout.
BOYS LACROSSE
Grand Junction improved to 3-0 on the year with a 15-4 victory over Thompson Valley. The Tigers have scored double-digit goals in each of their contests on the season.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Colorado Mesa’s season ended with a 56-52 loss to Eastern New Mexico in the first round of the South Central Regional tournament at Denton, Texas.
The Mavericks (25-6) started fast, leading 10-2 with 5:25 left in the first quarter. From that point on, Eastern New Mexico outscored Mesa 54-42.
Olivia Reed Thyne led the Mavs with 28 points and 10 rebounds and Mykaela Moore added 11 points in the loss. Poor shooting contributed to Mesa’s downfall. After shooting 56.3% in the first quarter, CMU made only 25% of its shots the rest of the game.
COLLEGE WRESTLING
Dayson Torgerson, Owen Cline and Tyler Doyle are all still alive for Colorado Mesa at the NCAA Division II National Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Torgerson lost in the quarterfinals at 125 pounds, but then won his first consolation match to remain in the bracket. Cline won both of his matches at 157, winning 11-9 in the first round and 10-7 in the quarterfinals. Doyle escaped the preliminary round at 285 with an 11-3 major decision, won his first-round match, lost in the quarters and rebounded with a 4-2 win in the consolation bracket.
Augustus Dalton (174) lost in the quarterfinals and then fell in the consolation bracket to end his season. Gabriel Carranza (197) lost two preliminary matches at the tournament.
COLLEGE SWIMMING AND DIVING
Colorado Mesa junior Agata Naskret collected her program-best seventh career national championship Friday, finishing first in women’s 100-yard backstroke in a blistering 51.52 seconds. Agata broke her own NCAA record in the event in her championship-winning swim.
Andrew Scoggin was the top individual finisher for the Mavericks men’s program, taking fifth in the 100 backstroke with a time of 46.86 seconds.
Through day four of the national championships, the Colorado Mesa women are third in the team standings with 284 points. The Maverick men are in eighth, with 119 points as a team.
TRACK AND FIELD
Colorado Mesa’s Antone Higgs finished 15th in the nation in men’s long jump with a top distance of 7.02 feet Friday morning.
Sophomore Gaby Horton did not qualify for the final heat in the women’s 200 yard dash. She finished in 21st place in the event with a time of 23.98 seconds.