Niwot baseball struggles in double-header week against local rivals

The Niwot High School baseball team endured a challenging week, dropping consecutive games to local rivals Monarch High School and Fairview High School.

In Tuesday's matchup on April 15, the Cougars fell to Monarch 9-1 in a game that gradually slipped away from the visiting Niwot squad.

Monarch broke a scoreless tie in the third inning with a double that brought home the game's first run. The home team maintained control and delivered the decisive blow in the sixth inning, when they exploded for five runs on four hits.

Niwot pitcher Kaige Kennedy took the loss after a four-inning performance in which he allowed four runs, though only one run was earned. Kennedy yielded four hits while recording six strikeouts and issuing three walks before exiting the game.

At the plate, Charlie Shaw led the Cougars, going 2-for-3 on the day at the top of the lineup. Kennedy provided Niwot's lone run batted in. Additional hits came from Haden Shaw, Henry Noblin, Drew Stapp, and Jagger Kilpatrick. Overall, the Cougars managed seven hits in 27 at-bats, scoring just one run while drawing three walks.

Thursday's contest against Fairview saw the Cougars show more offensive life, but ultimately fall 14-9 in a high-scoring affair.

Fairview jumped ahead early with three runs in the top of the first inning. Despite a leadoff walk to Charlie Shaw in the bottom half, Niwot couldn't capitalize. The Cougars kept Fairview scoreless in the second and third innings, but the Fairview visitors broke the game open with a five-run fourth inning to extend their lead to 8-0.

Niwot finally broke through in the sixth inning with three runs. The rally began when Charlie Shaw and Arlo Richards were both hit by pitches, followed by Stapp, who also took one for the team to load the bases. Noblin then worked a walk to force in Niwot's first run, and Kilpatrick followed with a single that scored both Shaw and Richards to make it 8-3.

Fairview responded with six runs in the top of the seventh, seemingly putting the game out of reach at 14-3. However, the Cougars showed tremendous heart with a six-run rally of their own in the bottom half of the inning. After Matias Castro walked, Kilpatrick singled, and Charlie Shaw walked to load the bases, Richards delivered a bases-clearing triple to cut the deficit to 14-6.

With two outs, Noblin singled to drive in Richards, followed by a Cameron O'Connor single to left field. Kennedy then singled to right field, bringing home two more runs. Castro collected his second hit of the inning to put two runners on, but Niwot couldn't extend the rally further.

Richards, Kennedy, O'Connor, and Noblin each went 1-for-3 in the game, while Kilpatrick finished 2-for-4 and Castro finished 2-for-3. The team totaled eight hits in 29 at-bats, scoring nine runs with seven RBIs and four walks. Richards led the RBI column with three.

Saturday's scheduled game was postponed due to inclement weather, giving the Cougars extra time to regroup after the difficult week. Niwot, whose record is 5-9, will go on the road and play Erie High School on Tuesday, April 22 at 4 p.m., before returning home to host Broomfield High School on Thursday, April 24 at 4 p.m.