Despite seeing its Class 3A state tournament appearance come to an end, the Montezuma-Cortez Panthers softball team walked away from the Aurora Sports Complex on Friday afternoon with plenty to celebrate.
The No. 14 seed Panthers tested one of the top teams in Class 3A, hanging with No. 3 University during the opening innings before ultimately succumbing to a 13-3 loss in Friday’s Round of 16 matchup.
A half-dozen senior Panthers made their final appearances in orange and black, and most of them played in their first-ever state tournament game. After University jumped out to a 7-0 edge through two frames, the Panthers responded with three runs in the top of the third inning.
The Panthers had a chance to mount a possible comeback in the bottom half of the third inning, but the Bulldogs answered with a shutout inning to keep Montezuma-Cortez’s rally at bay.
University then beat sixth-seeded Rocky Ford (16-2) and second-seeded Strasburg (15-1) to reach Saturday’s 3A state championship game against top-seeded Eaton.
The Panthers (14-11) won the Western Slope League title and made their first state tournament appearance since 2021.
