Baseball on top of the Marawood – North

The mark of any championship caliber team is the ability to find a way to push past the doubts and find ways to win in gut-check moments, The Abbotford/Colby baseball co-op has done all that and more in 2021. Time and time again the co-op has found a way to get out of tricky situations, and as a result of that skill, the co-op now sits atop the Marawood - North standings and is riding a four game win streak after dropping a May 4 home tilt to Rib Lake.

The scoreboard stood empty as pitching dominated the proceedings in Red Arrow Park on Tuesday, May 4. Hunter Soyk dueled with Rib Lake’s Carter Scheithauer through five innings, and neither team could round the bases in their Marawood - North clash.

Things changed once Soyk reached his pitch count, and Rib Lake rode Scheithauer’s arm for the win. Abby/ Colby could only muster three hits, with Marco Olvera, Blake Bargender and Ross Elmhorst the only players recording hits.

Rib Lake tacked on two runs in the sixth and two runs in the seventh inning to hand Abby/Colby its first conference loss of the season.

Things looked a lot different two days later when Abbotsford/Colby travelled to Rib Lake to see if they could even the season series. Rib Lake would be without the services of Carter Scheithauer at the pitcher’s mound, and Abby/Colby took advantage, taking a 2-0 lead. That was just a sign of things to come as Abby/ Colby racked up 12 hits.

“We came out hitting the ball right away, put up two runs in the first and just kept attacking all night,” Abby/Colby head coach Ryan Bargender said. “Tuesday night we had trouble adjusting to curve balls. We worked a lot on that on Wednesday in practice, and on Thursday the bats really got going.”

Rib Lake tied things up at 2-2 in the bottom of the second, but between the pitching of Ross Elmhorst and Mateo Lopez, along with the improved hitting, the coop tacked on four runs in the third, one in the fifth and three in the sixth.

Elmhorst got the win on the mound, pitching four innings and striking out seven while giving up three hits and two earned runs. Lopes pitched three innings and struck out three batters.

Elmhorst and Brandon Diedrich had three hits apiece. Hunter Soyk, Lopez and Cade Faber all had two hits. Lopez and Faber picked up a double and Elmhorst blasted a home run.That firepower is something Bargender wants to see more of down the road.

“We want to be a team that puts pressure on the defense. When we get a lead we can do that. Against Rib Lake we did a good job of getting that lead and making them uncomfortable all night.”

Marathon, 3-2

The mark of any good team is their ability to win close, tight nerve-wracking matches. The Abbotsford/Colby coop took a big step in cracking that code when they ousted the Red Raiders at home on Friday night.

“It shows that when the game is on the line we can make plays,” Bargender said in the aftermath of the co-op’s one run win over Marathon. “Tonight was our best defensive night by far. We played good defense, had timely hitting, and against a great program.”

Pitching dominated the first three innings as Marathon’s Grant Warren struck out three and gave up no runs. Nick Olvera returned the favor, but it was the Red Raiders who struck first, scoring a pair of runs at the top of the second.

If it was 2019, the co-op might have panicked and lost the game, but two years later the co-op took the runs in stride, took a deep breath, and got their three outs.

After that, it was Abby/Colby’s turn to crack the bats and make some noise. Ross Elmhorst hit a single down third base, and he would be the first to score. Marco Olvera would eventually steal home, and Brandon Diedrich would add another run as the co-op scored all three of its runs in the fourth.

From there, neither team could make any in-roads in the other’s defense. Abby/Colby made the plays when they needed them, and closed out the contest to earn a character defining win.

“They got a good team, and this is a big win for us,” Bargender said. “We showed we can throw strikes and Nick Olvera pitched amazing.”

Olvera took the win and Brandon Diedrich showed his slugging skills, picking up two of the co-op’s hits, including a double. Cade Faber and Ross Elmhorst both struck singles.

16-5

Abbotsford/Colby got off to a rough start in the first game of their Saturday double-header with the Spencer Rockets, but quickly turned the tables on their non-conference visitors from the Cloverbelt.

After trailing 4-1 at the top of the second inning, the co-op regrouped and from then on, it was all Abby/Colby. The co-op gashed the Rockets to the tune of 11 hits, and took advantage of poor errors from the Rockets in the third and fourth innings.

Abby/Colby scored six runs in the fourth, and tacked on seven more runs to effectively put the game away. Brandon Diedrich got the win, pitching all five innings and giving up just one earned run while striking out four.

Mateo Lopez and Ross Elmhorst each had two hits. Keith Kalepp crushed a double deep that drove in three RBIs.

12-0

Abby/Colby carried over their momentum into the second game on Saturday. The co-op’s bats were singing in Red Arrow Park, but the real story of the game was the sensational pitching from Marco Olvera.

Olvera threw a no-hitter, striking out 11 batters over five innings and the coop took an early 4-0 lead into the third.

“Marco has been pitching his whole life, so we trusted in him to do his job,” bBargender said. “He was composed on the mound and throwing strikes and that put us in a great position to get the win.”

Five runs in the third followed, along with three more in the fourth. Elmhorst tallied three hits. Cade Faber had two hits and two doubles. Brandon Dierich added a double and a single. Hunter Soyk added two more hits.

The two victories gives the co-op a 7-2 record. It’s a good beginning, Bargender says, but there’s still work to be done.

“We’re excited about the momentum we’ve built, but we also understand that we still have a lot of work to do.”

I’M TOO FAST FOR YOU -Colby High senior Ross Elmhorst beats a throw at third to successfully steal base. Elmhorst has been enjoyed a stellar start to his senior campaign leading the co-op with 17 hits, 17 runs, 10 RBIs, a pair of home runs and two wins on the pitcher’s mound.

ROUNDING THE BASES - Christian Ploeckelman races to third base during the co-op’s first game with Spencer on Saturday.