As goes the Bears offense, so go the Bears.
Such was certainly the case last week, at least, as Dolores High School baseball team split a home doubleheader against Dove Creek on April 25.
Bears dominate Game 1
Showcasing powerful bats in Game 1 of the doubleheader, the Bears dominated from start to finish, cruising to a 16-6 victory.
After a scoreless first inning and a scoreless top of the second, the Bears came out firing, scoring six runs in the bottom of the second.
The inning's decisive hit came courtesy of first baseman Evan Moore, who, batting with two outs, drove in three runs with a bases loaded double.
Although Dove Creek came back with three runs in the top of the third inning, the Bears offense continued cooking, scoring one run in the bottom of the third and four runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Leading 11-6 entering the bottom of the fifth inning, Dolores put the finishing touches on its victory, scoring one run after Moore singled, a second run on a sacrifice fly by Josh McCoy and three consecutive runs on Dove Creek errors.
Pitching all five innings to earn a complete-game victory was Bears starting pitcher Ethen Upton, who utilized a consistent fastball and deceiving change-up to keep Dove Creek hitters off balance.
Bears fall in Game 2
Unable to follow up their impressive game one performance in Game 2, the Bears struggled to score runs, losing 7-3 in their final game of the regular season.
After scoring the game's first run in the bottom of the second inning on a sharp single by Guy Wallace that allowed Andrew Morgan to score, the Bears relinquished the lead for good.
Plagued by an error and two bloop singles and an infield single, Bears starting pitcher Kellen Gatzke surrendered three runs in the top of the third.
Trouble continued for the Bears in the top of the sixth inning after Dove Creek center fielder Nick Jones drove a three-run triple over the head of Bears center fielder Mikeal Ford.
As a result of Jones' big hit, Dove Creek pulled ahead 7-2 and held on for the 7-3 victory.
With the loss, the Bears wrapped up their regular season with a 7-9 overall record and will next play against Rangely in the first round of the district tournament.
The game will take place in Cortez at 4:30 p.m.
