Lutheran Lions end Pueblo County Hornets' baseball season at state tournament

On a sunny day in Colorado Springs, the Pueblo County Hornets took on the Lutheran Lions on the second day of the CHSAA Class 4A baseball state tournament. The Hornets took their best team in school history to the final out in this one but ultimately lost 6-4 to the Lions, ending their season at 23-5.

The game against the Lions was a back-and-forth one with lots of action in the first four innings. The Hornets jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second inning thanks to three walks in a row and a hit batsman to notch their first run in the game. The second run came on an RBI single up the third base side.

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Each team scored a run in the fourth inning, with the Hornet's score coming off a long-shot homerun by senior Dax Davis to keep the lead at 3-2 for County. However, the fifth inning would be a battle for the team in gold and green.

Uncharacteristic actions lead to three counted errors, but even head coach Matt Eades would admit later on that there were more that the team committed in that inning alone. The Hornets would let up three runs in the top of the fifth inning to give the Lions the lead 5-3.

The Hornets did show some life in the next inning when they were able to scratch across another run on the Lions to keep it a 5-4 game. But in the top of the sixth inning, the Lions scored one more time to give themselves a cushion of lead, and then came in a shut the door on the Hornets in the bottom of the next two innings, leading to the final score of 6-4.

The Hornets’ season comes to an end with a 23-5 record. The team set the best regular season record in school history this year with a 22-3 overall record in the regular season and an 8-2 record in the South-Central League. They lose three seniors this year in Davis, Braxton Vail and catcher Colton Simpson. Eades was heartfelt after the game discussing the loss and the way the team performed Saturday and throughout the whole season.

“I didn't think we were clean defensively,” Eades said. “I thought Johnathan Gonzales was so gritty and gave us a chance; Dax, too. We gave up six runs, they gave us credit for three errors, and it was probably more like four. That's the type of game our offense usually comes through and wins it for us. We had our chances in the fifth, and we had our chances in the sixth, we just didn't come through the big hit.”

To take a loss like this at the end of a spectacular season is difficult, but Eades said he was still proud of the way the team handled the season and how far they have come from the start.

“It's really hard to take a step back and see the perspective of that,” Eades said. “That was the best regular season in school history, and they did so many things. They hit the balls so much better than everyone thought they would hit the ball and, I mean, it was unexpected on our end. But you hear stuff about other teams and what they got coming back and we were really excited to get this group together. They met every expectation we had for them all along the way. It was a really fun group and three special seniors with Dax, Braxton and Colton. That's going to leave a hole in this program.”

Despite losing those three seniors, the Hornets are excited about the prospect of new talent being brought up to the varsity level to add to this team that made a run at the state tournament.

“The three guys (seniors), they played as sophomores on the team that made a run and got to the state tournament, and that paid dividends — and it's not just Pighetti and it's not just Luke Rohrer and it's not just the juniors that are coming back," Eades said. "I mean we went 53-3 as a total program and our freshmen and JV didn't lose a game. We're really excited about where we're at as a program, and when I say the work starts work now, I mean it. We want to be back here; we want to end this the right way. We're tired of this sour taste at the end of this tournament.”

More: Pueblo County baseball advances to state after regional playoffs

Christopher Abdelmalek is a sports reporter for the Pueblo Chieftain and can be reached at cabdelmalek@gannett.com or on Twitter: @chowebacca.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo County Hornets lose to Lutheran Lions in CHSAA baseball playoff