ROUNDUP

BASEBALL

La Junta 7, Florence 5

At Florence: Florence coach Tony Royer had the quote of the night for the game of the night Thursday. "If it was on ESPN it would have been an instant classic," Royer said of the Huskies' 11-inning loss to La Junta (8-2 3A Tri-Peaks, 13-3). Both squads had no trouble scoring early on, with Florence (4-6, 7-9) taking a 4-0 second- inning lead after Brandon St. Laurent's two-run home run. However, La Junta rallied in its next at-bat, tying the game with four runs of its own, and after each team scored once in the fourth inning, things changed. What started as an offensive free-for-all soon turned into a pitching duel. The schools battled for six shutout innings with Clint Buderus throwing for Florence and Sean Gleason for La Junta.

Finally - after each team had survived numerous scoring threats from the other, including bases-loaded situations for La Junta in the seventh and eighth innings - the Tigers used a double and a sacrifice fly to score the winning run. "We have only been playing so, so, but our kids showed today that they can play with good teams," Royer said. "They did some things today they can be proud of."

Fountain-Fort Carson 9, Falcon 5

At Fountain-Fort Carson: Sophomore Chris Cortinez threw a complete- game four-hitter and struck out nine, to help the Trojans (3-7 4A Metro, 4-14) upset the Falcons and win their third Metro League game of the season.

"Fountain-Fort Carson is playing the role of spoiler and trying to end the season on a good note," Trojan coach J. Armstrong said. "We were able to put together one of our best games."

With Fountain-Fort Carson's defense well in hand, all that was missing was for someone to step up at the plate. Jon-Michael Cronin did just that, going 3 for 3 with two RBI and two runs.

Braden Keith did it all for Falcon (5-4, 8-6). The senior came into the game hitting .619, fourth-best in the area, and went 2 for 4, with one home run, three RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases.

Colorado Springs Christian School 13, Lake County 3

At CSCS: The Lions (5-4 3A Tri-Peaks, 8-4) totaled 16 hits but didn't really need them, as Alec Shepherd and J.D. Dravecky combined to throw a three-hitter. Shepherd allowed no hits in three innings and struck out six, then was relieved by Dravecky, who fanned four and walked none while working the final two innings. Joe Kenney led CSCS at the plate, knocking in three RBI and scoring once himself.

GIRLS SOCCER

Widefield 3, Mesa Ridge 0

At Widefield: Sophomore Bridgett Berg scored twice and senior Lauren Mason had the shutout as Widefield (5-4-0, 8-5-0) tried to keep pace with the front-runners in the 4A Metro League. Mesa Ridge fell to 3-6-0 and 6-7-0.

Muranda Gestes got the ball rolling for the Gladiators with an unassisted goal in the ninth minute. Berg followed that up with an unassisted goal in the 10 th minute. Then, 10 minutes into the second half, Berg scored again, this time on an assist from Gestes.

GIRLS LACROSSE

Air Academy 17, Cheyenne Mountain 0

At Cheyenne Mountain: In a dead heat for the top spot in the Southern Conference, Air Academy (6-0-1, 11-1-1) couldn't afford to let Cheyenne Mountain score a goal when the teams met.

The Kadets are tied with Denver East for first place in the conference, and if the schools end the season that way, goals- against in league play would be used as the tie-breaking method.

"We're tied in that too," Air Academy coach Shawn Harmon said. "So the pressure was on us to keep the goals to zero."

Copyright 2003
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