Niwot softball drops season opener despite freshman's impressive debut

Head coach Bobby Matthews witnessed a mix of good and bad throughout Niwot High School softball’s season-opening loss at Golden High School on Saturday, Aug. 17.

Looking at the positives, Niwot’s offense limited the strikeouts and freshman second baseman Payton Stokes shined during her varsity debut. However, the Cougars’ seven defensive errors were too much to overcome in the 12-8 defeat.

“It definitely showed our lack of experience together,” Matthews said. “We only really have three girls playing the exact same position as they did the year before, and that was Madison Dodge, Kianna Butler, and Saleen Amaya. They were the only ones playing the same position. The rest of them were playing a little bit different position. I think it showed that we haven't had a lot of practice time together.”

Butler, back in her familiar role in the circle, allowed six hits across six innings pitched but due to Niwot’s seven errors, none of Golden’s 12 runs were earned. The returning senior starter also struck out nine, walked three, and plunked three Demons.

“She was definitely a little rusty,” Matthews said. “It would have been nice to have a scrimmage or a few days to have her bullpen. It's always hard when from her competitive season to now, there's been about a month... Overall, she definitely did a good job and had a lot of strikeouts.”

Playing in her first career game, Stokes recorded two of Niwot’s six total hits, stole two bags, and picked up an RBI. While nerves may have been an issue for Niwot’s other underclassmen, the big stage didn’t shake Stokes.

“The nerves did not get to her,” Matthews said. “She came out and had very disciplined first two at-bats to get walks. She was very patient at the plate and did a good job, and then to come out and get two hits in her next two at-bats [was encouraging].”

Matthews was equally as stoked about Stokes’ defensive performance.

“Defensively, she made some great plays,” Matthews said. “One of the things that I really, really liked about her was how vocal she was in the field. You could always hear her. As a freshman, your first varsity game, they tend to be maybe a little quieter. She showed her leadership talking all the time, and that's huge. The moment wasn't too big for her.”

Freshmen Angela Arosemena and Mandy Roth also made their varsity debuts, with the latter going 0-for-2 at the plate.

Senior Payton Johnson was Niwot’s other top offensive contributor. She finished with two hits, including Niwot’s lone double, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Additionally, Butler and sophomore May Herrera each had one single and an RBI.

“We did a good job of moving runners, especially in the first inning with situational hitting,” Matthews said. “As the game went along, we tightened up a little bit at the plate. We started out great and if we kept that same mentality all game, we would have produced more hits and probably more runs. But overall, I think that they had a good approach at the place, especially with two strikes.”

On Wednesday, Aug. 21, Niwot will get the rare opportunity to play on a college field. The Cougars are scheduled to face The Academy at the Metropolitan State University of Denver at 6 p.m. “I think it’ll be a cool experience for them,” Matthews said.

The Academy, a Class 3A program from Westminster, has two former Niwot coaches on its staff. Head coach Ryan Sanchez was once an assistant basketball coach at NHS while his assistant coach, Bob Bote, led the Cougar baseball program to five state titles in 28 years at the helm.