All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
With masks at the ready, Niwot softball hosted Roosevelt in the first home game of the season on Aug.22.
"Defensive communication and energy" are two areas that Niwot head coach Bobby Matthews' has targeted for improvement for his young team.
Freshman Anne Booth pitched well against Roosevelt in Niwot home opener on Aug. 22, but didn't get much support either in the field or at the plate.
Niwot softball gave up three homeruns to Roosevelt during their home opener on Aug. 22.
Freshman Zoe Cameron had the only hit of the day for Niwot , a single in the third inning.
A relentless Roosevelt RoughRiders offense spoiled Niwot softball's home opener by a score of 18-0 on Saturday, Aug. 22. The Cougars dropped to 0-3 on the young season and are still looking to hit their stride in all facets of the game.
Head Coach Bobby Matthews is tasked with developing a young Niwot team that includes five freshmen and just one senior. While you can't control every outcome in softball, Matthews targeted defensive communication and energy as two areas Niwot can improve upon after Saturday's loss.
Freshman Anne Booth started in the circle for Niwot and pitched well despite her ill-favored final line. Booth, who Matthews praised for her "lights-out" performance just two days prior in a 6-5 loss against Mountain View, allowed 18 runs (six of them unearned) on 17 hits and struck out two in her three innings.
"I thought Anne (Booth) overall was pitching fine," Matthews said. "It was just soft contact. We just weren't making adjustments (defensively) to seeing where they're hitting and playing there. "Niwot struggled with the finer points on defense but junior shortstop Ayva McComas continued to be a rock in the infield.
Matthews remains high on his freshman pitcher and understands the learning curve that comes with it. "Being a freshman comes with some growing pains and understanding that if you put the ball in certain places against a junior or senior, they're going to hit it hard or out," Matthews said. "But overall [I'm] impressed with how she continually gets soft contact and really a lot of outs that we should have made for her. I'm really proud of the way that she pitched and I look forward to seeing how she grows."
Booth lost steam in the fourth inning and junior Jasmine Aldama came in and registered the final three outs without allowing a run.
Offensively, there is also plenty of room to grow for the Cougars. Niwot mustered just one single, courtesy of freshman Zoe Cameron, and struck out six times in four innings. After the game, Matthews credited poor plate approach and plate discipline to his team's shutout.
Looking at the big picture, Niwot is nearly a fourth of the way through its coronavirus-shortened 16-game season and will have to get things going quickly for a shot at the playoffs.
Niwot will seek its first win on Aug. 25 against Riverdale Ridge before heading to Fort Lupton to face the Bluedevils on Saturday at 11 a.m.
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