IGNACIO – The Dove Creek baseball team struggled to find its rhythm during the midway point of this season, prompting questions about whether it could rediscover its winning formula ahead of the postseason.
The Bulldogs erased those doubts with an impressive pair of victories in the District 1-1A tournament Friday at Ignacio. Dove Creek crushed Antonito 20-2, then followed up with a 7-6 comeback win extra innings against Nucla to win the district tournament title and secure another trip to the regional round of the state tournament.
In the district championship game against Nucla, Dove Creek (7-11) trailed 5-3 but soon turned the game around with a timely hitting display.
Five Bulldogs collected multiple hits, including seniors Aiden Chadd, Taber Dejane, Gage Buffington and Jonathan Purkat, along with junior Liam Hassell. The same quintet accounted for six of the Bulldogs’ seven runs, including the go-ahead run in the ninth inning, in spite of 17 Nucla hits.
Buffington did the majority of the work on the mound, striking out four Nucla batters while working six innings of the extra-inning encounter.
Dove Creek won three of its four matchups against Nucla this season. The Bulldogs advanced to the 16-team state tournament bracket, with the first two rounds of the single-elimination 1A state tournament starting May 11.
In its district tournament opener, Dove Creek put its game against No. 4 seed Antonito to rest early, scoring 14 runs in the first inning.
Eight Bulldogs collected hits and 10 reached base safely, including seniors Jarrett Cressler and Hunter Daves. Junior Sheldon Gardner scored three runs in the game. Freshman Cael Beanland safely reached base five times between the two contests.
Dove Creek’s district victories helped the team break a nine-game slide, and now the Bulldogs are eyeing a state title. Dove Creek is just four wins away from the school’s first state title in baseball since 2015.
