Niwot baseball heating up at the right time

Fueled by cold bats and inconsistent gloves, the Niwot High School varsity baseball team entered the final day of April riding an eight-game losing streak. However, while their frustrations grew with every narrow defeat, the Cougars never lost faith that their struggles would cease.

At Mountain View High School on Tuesday, April 30, the Cougars' trust in themselves was finally rewarded in a 10-8 win over the Mountain Lions. Junior left fielder Jagger Kilpatrick cranked his first high school home run, junior first baseman Drew Stapp had a team-high three hits and Niwot played errorless defense for the second time this spring.

Third-year head coach Ken Rosales was pleased to see Niwot (9-10 overall, 6-9 Class 4A Longs Peak League through Sunday, May 5) back to playing its style of baseball.

"I'm very proud of them," Rosales said. "I felt that they never gave up. They were in the same boat I was, just frustrated."

In that same game, Niwot's bats connected on a season-high four doubles. Kilpatrick, sophomore Henry Noblin, and junior brothers Haden and Charlie Shaw each had one.

Two days later, Noblin threw a complete game in Niwot's 7-4 home win against Mountain View, cementing a regular season sweep of the Mountain Lions. Niwot's young pitcher struck out a career-high seven batters and walked only one. At the plate, Kilpatrick, Haden Shaw, and Stapp each drove in two runs.

The Cougars' winning ways continued on Saturday, May 4, as they completed a 12-0 mercy-rule win at Fort Morgan High School. Five different players - Charlie and Haden Shaw, Stapp, Kaige Kennedy, and Sergio Pimentel - had multi-hit performances. Stapp, who enjoyed his second three-hit game of the week, received some praise from his head coach.

"He's seeing the ball better," Rosales said of Stapp. "He's not hitting the pop flies. We've been working on a lot of drills with line drives, and that has paid off big time with Drew."

After dropping eight straight, Niwot produced its first three-game winning streak of the spring, giving life to its postseason aspirations. With three regular season games remaining as of Sunday, May 5, the Cougars stand No. 39 in the Class 4A RPI standings and No. 28 in the MaxPreps rankings, putting Niwot 35th overall (the top 32 teams qualify for regionals). Rosales believes Niwot will likely have to win out to reach regionals for the second straight year.

"This is where we need to be," Rosales said. "If we can make it to the postseason, I think we should do well because we're playing very well, we're hitting the ball, and our pitching is getting very well rested."

Niwot will host Fort Morgan on Tuesday, May 7, before challenging Northridge High School twice to close its regular season. Pimentel, Brock Rothstein, Johnny Wu, and Bo Gardner will be honored on their home diamond on Thursday, May 9, as part of Niwot's Senior Day celebration.