The sound of aluminum pinging a fastball had fallen silent at McAndrew Field.
On Wednesday, it returned with a bang.
In their first home game in two weeks, the Montezuma-Cortez Panthers roared back into action Wednesday with an emphatic 13-0 thumping of Del Norte, extending their winning streak to three games and lifting the Panthers back above .500 again.
Shaking off the rust after the previous week’s snows had postponed their engagement with the Tigers, head coach Tim Passell’s squad seemed to barely skip a beat in the mercy rule-shortened contest.
Junior Evan Lamunyon calibrated his arm on the mound to near-perfection, mowing through the Tigers (6-6). He fired a complete game to take the win, leaning on a couple of fine outfield grabs in the final inning by freshman Bobby Likes and senior John Carver to seal the shutout.
The Panthers offense, meanwhile, brought a deluge of base hits, rattling the ball into every corner of McAndrew Field – highlighted by thunderous doubles by sophomore Miles Frost and junior Braden Hallman to plate a steady stream of base runners.
“We’ve just been wanting to play,” said Passell of the team’s 18-day layoff, “so it was good to see the bats get going.”
The heart of the batting order has helped key many of the big Panther rallies, including in Wednesday's victory. “Miles [Frost] and some of those guys have really been seeing the ball well,” credited Passell, “and our guys have been more dedicated to doing the little things – moving runners over and laying down bunts.”
While the win served as a satisfying return to action after two straight weeks of intrasquad competition, the Panthers' focus quickly shifted to what promises to be a massive week in the Intermountain League. M-CHS (6-5) is the only IML team yet to play a game in the league, but that will change in a hurry, as the Panthers travel to Bayfield (11-4) on Tuesday, April 26 for a doubleheader with the defending league champs. From there, M-CHS returns home to take on Pagosa Springs on Saturday, Apr. 30th.
“I think we've got the crew that we're wanting to have to take on Bayfield,” added Passell. “Our guys are hitting the right pitches, which has been the biggest difference between our last few games and when we were struggling earlier this season.”
The Wolverines sit No. 8 in the most recent CHSAA coaches poll in the 3A classification, while the Panthers have lingered on the fringes of the top 10 for most of the season.
“We're all excited for the week ahead,” said Passell, “and with the way we’re hitting and the depth that we have in pitching, it’ll really serve us well moving into league play and the playoffs.”
