Niwot baseball falls in opener

The Ken Rosales era of Niwot baseball got off to a delayed start, as last week's wintry weather postponed the Cougars' original opening day, scheduled for March 10. So the boys in green got underway on March 12 instead, on the road against cross-town rival Skyline.

Alas, future memories of the Rosales era at Niwot will not include a win in the storied coach's debut, as the Cougars went on to drop the opener 10-9. Worse still, it was on a walkoff single with two outs, giving Niwot no chance to mount a comeback. Understandably, Rosales was disappointed in the outcome, but said he was impressed with the way the Cougars battled and ultimately came together as a team.

"They had that small letdown which cost us, but they played very, very well," the first-year coach said. "Normally, if you score nine runs in a game, you're going to get a win. I always tell them, we've got to win innings, and that one we didn't win."

The Cougars came out swinging, and quickly amassed a 3-0 lead, thanks to singles by Walt Van Riper, Jack Brooker, and Spencer Olson, plus some early season jitters on the part of Skyline's pitcher and infielder. That didn't seem to be a problem for Niwot's infielders in the next at-bat, but the Falcons did manage three hits and a pair of runs against senior Van Riper, who was on the mound for Niwot.

Skyline tied it up 3-3 in the second inning, and that was the end of the offense until the fourth, when a two-out RBI triple by senior Easten Leatherwood touched off a five-run outburst from Niwot. Up next was Van Riper, who singled Leatherwood home, followed by Brooker with a bases-clearing home run, making the score 7-3. But Niwot wasn't done. Senior and designated hitter Nick Yard tripled to left during the next at-bat, and then scored on a single by Jaedyn Adler, putting the Cougars ahead by five runs.

It was not a lead destined to last, however. Skyline answered back with five runs of its own on four hits, including a double and triple, plus a pair of walks and a hit batter.

The fourth inning would be the last for both pitchers. Van Riper ended with eight runs on nine hits, plus four walks and two strikeouts. He was replaced in the fifth by sophomore Brock Rothstein, making his varsity debut. The right-hander would go on to pitch a scoreless fifth, but gave up a crucial ninth run to the Falcons in the sixth. However, the Cougars came right back to tie it in the seventh, on a double by Charlie Shaw that scored catcher Diego Castro, who earlier reached base on a single.

That, unfortunately, is where Niwot's good fortune ended. Rothstein retired Skyline's first two batters in the bottom of the inning, but gave up a triple to senior Wynne Drewes, followed by the heartbreaking single that ended the game with Niwot on the losing end. Rothstein took the loss, despite a commendable performance that included three strikeouts.

"Brock Rothstein played incredible," Rosales said later.

Rosales was perhaps most impressed with Niwot's offensive output against the Falcons. Collectively, eight Cougars had 11 hits on the day, five of them for extra bases, as well as five stolen bases. Leading Niwot was Booker, who went three-for-four, with two RBIs, and also two runs scored. Van Riper helped his own cause with a pair of hits and a stolen base, while Olson had two steals.

"Getting on base and steals, that was our game plan," Rosales said. "And we got it done."

Despite the stumble against Skyline, Rosales remains optimistic about the 2022 season, and even thinks the stinging loss might have a silver lining.

"It was a good start to the season, because that's something that we're going to build off of," he said. "And the team is going to be looking back at this loss all the time, because we'll win that nine times out of 10."