Niwot baseball looking to regroup amid two-week break

While Niwot High School baseball’s 2-1 start to the season yielded several positives, the Cougars still aim to improve in certain areas. Fortunately for them, they have ample time for some in-season introspection.

After beating Timnath and Weld County high schools to open the season, Niwot fell to Silver Creek High School, 4-1, on Tuesday, March 12 — two weeks before its next scheduled game on March 26. Niwot head coach Ken Rosales believes his players have already flushed that home loss and remain motivated to get back on track.

“The intensity is still there,” Rosales said. “We're ready to move on. That loss that we had on Tuesday? We've already forgotten about it. We're moving on.”

Rosales plans on giving his Cougars a few days off before resuming official practices on Thursday, March 21. Niwot will then travel to Thornton High School on Tuesday, March 26 for a non-conference game against the Trojans.

In Niwot’s final game before the break, senior pitcher Brock Rothstein threw five shutout innings before allowing Silver Creek four runs in the sixth, ultimately swallowing the loss. Rothstein struck out five Raptors and didn’t walk any in his second start of the spring.

“The pitching was great,” Rosales said. “Brock was phenomenal as usual. I wouldn't say that (sixth) inning was more of his fault, it was just the way the ball bounced. They had a bunt in there that we were in position for but didn't make the play.”

Junior southpaw Kaige Kennedy took over for Rothstein and pitched a clean inning in relief.

Charlie Shaw, who finished 2-for-3 at the plate with a triple, scored Niwot’s lone run in the fourth inning. Fellow juniors Arlo Richards, Haden Shaw, and Kennedy also provided one hit each in a difficult afternoon for the Cougars’ bats.

“We weren't prepared at the plate,” Rosales said. “Defense, we played really well. The batting was not so good. We let a lot of good pitches go by and we just couldn't get anything going.”

Niwot struck out nine times and left 10 runners on base.

Charlie Shaw continued his hot start to the season, boosting his batting average to .750 (6-for-8). “Right now, he's our team leader at the plate,” Rosales said.

After losing four key seniors to graduation last year, Rosales remains impressed by how his leaders have approached this season. The Cougars are still fairly young with only four seniors (Rothstein, shortstop Sergio Pimentel and utility players Julian Wu and Bo Gardner), but several others have also assumed bigger roles.

“They've stepped up and filled the gaps,” Rosales said. “We have a goal this year, and that's what we're reaching for.”