Niwot baseball looking for bats to complement strong pitching

Despite its recent dominance on the mound, Niwot High School baseball has been held back by some nagging offensive struggles.

On Wednesday, April 17, the Cougars dropped their fourth straight low-scoring game, a 4-2 loss to Thompson Valley High School. Niwot, which fell to 6-6 (3-5 Class 4A Longs Peak League) on the season, managed only 10 total runs throughout the four-game losing streak.

“We just have to get back to hitting like we're used to,” said third-year Niwot head coach Ken Rosales. “Our defense has come around and pitching has just been phenomenal. We just need to give our pitchers some run support.”

Senior ace Brock Rothstein threw all seven innings for the Cougars in that 4-2 home defeat. Niwot’s top starting pitcher struck out four Thompson Valley batters and didn’t walk any, but was ultimately charged with the loss. Rosales shared that while Rothstein has racked up a high number of innings pitched this season (28.1 through Sunday, April 21), he has yet to shy away from taking the hill.

Offensively, the Cougars produced only six hits and two runs. Junior Haden Shaw stayed hot with two knocks while twin brother Charlie Shaw, Henry Noblin, Sergio Pimentel, and Rothstein each had one.

“We were hitting the ball right to somebody and we weren't making the right adjustments,” Rosales said. “After that, we met as a team and we talked about what needed to be done. Hopefully, we just get it done now. They're all on board.”

The prior afternoon, Tuesday, April 16, Niwot fell to those same Eagles, 5-4, in dramatic fashion. After coming back to tie things up at four, the Cougars watched Thompson Valley senior Karsten Lewis deliver a walk-off home run in the seventh.

Although Rosales’ players weren’t happy with the end result, they recognized that both teams’ fight produced an excellent game.

“They were disappointed we lost, but at the same point, they were like, 'That was a baseball game,'” Rosales said. “We were there and we played it.”

Kaige Kennedy tossed six stellar innings in relief before giving up Lewis’ game-winning homer — the only earned run charged to him. Still, the junior lowered his earned run average to 0.76 following another impressive outing.

At the plate, Niwot’s Shaw brothers combined for five hits, including one double each, and three runs batted in. Noblin also had three hits, helping him sport a .324 batting average through Sunday, April 21.

Niwot was set to host Skyline High School on Saturday, April 20, but the game was postponed due to wet field conditions. The two Longs Peak League foes agreed on playing a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 23.

After that, the Cougars have a two-game series against Frederick High School on April 25 and 27.

NHS baseball alumni will be on hand and recognized in conjunction with the second game of that series on Saturday, April 27. Alumni and their parents will be admitted free, with a barbeque, sponsored by Niwot Baseball, Inc., to follow. Old uniforms will be available for sale to alums as part of a fundraising effort to cover the cost of equipment needs and field maintenance. The first pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m.