Montezuma-Cortez baseball continues to build something special.
The Panthers added another piece to the foundation, even in a loss, as they battled hard against one of the top 10 teams in the 3A classification, dropping their regional game Saturday against No. 10 seed Manitou Springs, 3-0.
Head coach Tim Passell’s squad entered the postseason on a strong run, thanks to its pitching. Senior Trinidad McDonell, just two days after collecting his diploma at Panther Stadium, brought out some of his best stuff in his final start for the orange-and-black.
After giving up two runs in the first inning, one of which was unearned, McDonell dug in and shut down the Mustang bats for the rest of the outing. He struck out eight, while walking four and allowing three hits.
However, the Panthers couldn’t shutdown the opposing pitcher, senior Davis Mack, who kept the M-CHS offense at bay while punching 10 strikeouts.
The best offensive opportunity for the Panthers arrived in the second inning after the Panthers loaded the bases with two out, only to see a hit taken away by a great catch by Mustang center fielder Hayden Martinez.
McDonell tried to help his cause by leading the Panther offense with a multi-hit day, but M-CHS (11-11) struggled to find the rhythm that had carried them to a three-game winning streak entering the postseason.
Manitou (18-6-1) added a single run in the sixth inning, and the Panthers couldn’t find a rally in their last at-bat. The Mustangs closed the door and advanced to the regional final.
Manitou Springs knocked off regional host Lamar in the regional title game, 11-9, to advance to the eight-team 3A state tournament.
As for M-CHS, 2022 proved to be another season of trending in the right direction. McDonell and classmate John Carver wrapped up strong careers for the Panthers, supporting an offense that hit .341 as a team.
Junior Jake Blackmer posted a season-record 36 hits, and classmate Evan LaMunyon scored a season-record 31 runs for the Panthers program.
The Panthers will return a wealth of talent in 2023, with a number of current team members continuing to hone their skills over the summer with American Legion ball and the Connie Mack World Series. Back-to-back .500 seasons have the Panthers sitting on the precipice of contending for a league title next spring, and holding ambitions of a deep postseason run in their bright future.
