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Show Sports Thursday, April 10, 2008 The Gunnison Valley Gazette Page 7 Double trouble for Bulldogs by MITCH PETERSON Max Sanders with a stand up triple against North Sevier. Larry Childs/Gunnison Valley Gazette Busy week for the Dogs ANDY HILL Coming back off Spring Break, the Bulldogs looked to get going quickly on Tuesday as they headed south to take on the North Sevier Wolves. The game quickly moved through the first three innings and found the score knotted with no runs for either team. But that quickly changed in the top of the fourth for the Bulldogs as they pounded out 10 runs in the innings. Max Sanders and Jace Anderson led the charge offensively with three hits and two RBI’s a piece on the day. On the mound, the Dogs pitching staff was led by Kevin Nay, who scattered five hits and struck out six for the win. Taylor Newman and Shawn Gubeli also added to the solid effort scattering two hits through three innings. After a big win in Salina, the Bulldogs traveled to Monroe to take on the South Sevier Rams in a region match-up. This game did not take long to get going as Gunnison scored nine runs in the first three innings and never let it get close after that. Offensively the Dogs were led by Max Sanders who had three hits on the day, including a towering home run. Kevin Nay and Jace Anderson also added two RBIs on the day. Bradley Jackson set the pace defensively for the Bulldogs by allowing only one run through four innings. He also struckout seven while giving up three hits. Shawn Gubeli closed out the last three innings with a solid effort, allowing only three runs on four hits. With a wins against South Sevier and North Sevier, the Bulldogs played their biggest game of the year against the Richfiled Wilcats. This would be a rematch of the 2007 2A State Championship game, which the Bulldogs ended up winning. On paper this was set to be a great game, and both teams did not disappoint. In the first, the Bulldogs scored on a perfectly executed first-third situation and took the opportunity to score first. But it did not take long for the Wildcats to bounce back and in an almost exact situation, ended up scoring on fluke error that netted two runs. But that lead was short lived as Gunnison executed the “small game” perfectly as Heston Neal laid down a squeeze bunt to score a run. They also added another run in the inning to retake the lead 3-2. In the fifth, the Wildcats pushed across three runs to make the score 5-3. But the Bulldogs were not done as they scored one in the sixth which was matched in the top half of the seventh by Richfield. It was down to the wire as the Bulldogs headed into the bottom of the seventh, down by two. With rally caps on, Gunnison started off perfectly as Taylor Newman drew and walk and Heston Neal was hit by a pitch. It looked like the momentum was swinging to the Bulldogs, but as quickly as the rally started it ended with an infield fly and a double play that was turned by the Wildcats. This was the first region loss for the Bulldogs in 17 games. Gunnison will match up this week against the Grand Red Devils in Moab on Tuesday and then will return home on Friday against the North Sevier Wolves. Make sure not to miss any of the Gunnison Bulldogs baseball action. Some key injuries last week played a big role in a couple of road losses for The Gunnison Bulldog boys soccer team. At Beaver last Tuesday, the Bulldogs twice lead by two goals, but the Beavers came back to win it 6-4. Justin Allred scored two goals for Gunnison, while Ricardo Mendoza and Brian Granda scored one each. Against Manti last Thursday, Mendoza netted his 12th goal of the year but the Bulldogs gave up two early scores, leading to a 3-1 Manti win. The Bulldogs started fast against Beaver, grabbing a 2-0 lead after 12 minutes. Mendoza put the Bulldogs up 1-0 when he took a pass from Alfredo Gonzalez and headed it in for his 11th goal of the year. A couple minutes later, Mendoza sent a cross to the middle, and Granda was there to put it in for his first goal of the year, giving the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. “At that point, we were controlling the game, everything was going great,” said Gunnison head coach Jaron Jensen. Then, the Beavers scored on a penalty kick after a questionable call in the box and got another goal two minutes later to tie the match at 2-2. Allred scored both of his goals in a two minute span around the midway point of the second half. DJ Gatsos threw a sideline toss to the middle of the box and Allred headed it in, giving the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead. A couple minutes later, another Allred header found the back of the net and the Bulldogs were up 4-2. Mendoza sent the pass for his second assist of the day. After Beaver cut the Bulldog lead to 4-3, Gunnison middle defender Jacob Johnson injured his hand. “We had to take Jacob out the rest of the game since his hand was possibly broken,” Jensen said. The Bulldogs struggled after that and Beavers scored three unanswered goals to win the match 6-4. “We showed some really good things off our set pieces and had pretty good control in the midfield,” Jensen said. “We Mitch Peterson/Gunnison Valley Gazette Gunnison senior defender DJ Gatsos heads away a pass during last week’s match against Manti. took the lead early and controlled the game, but not having Jacob back there late really hurt us.” Against Manti last Thursday, the Templars went up 1-0 in the 2nd minute, and 2-0 in the 14th. The Bulldogs had to juggle their lineup to start the match, while Johnson played with a hand cast. “I think that really influenced how we started off against Manti,” Jensen said. “They got those two goals in the first few minutes, and we finally realized we need to play soccer. After that it was a pretty competitive game.” In the 28th minute, Mendoza scored his 12th goal of the season on a perfectly struck free kick from about 20 yards out, cutting the Manti lead to 2-1. “Again, we made some smart decisions on set pieces,” Jensen said. “That one got us a score because we lined up correctly.” Gunnison goalkeeper Freddy Villanueva left the game in the second half with a badly injured finger. “His pinky was dislocated in two joints and it ripped the tendon,” Jensen said. “Medically, he’s cleared to play, but I’ve got to do some tests on The Gunnison Valley Swimming Pool Monday’s thru Friday’s 6 - 9:30 a.m. 3:30 - 7:30 p.m. Saturday’s 12 Noon - 6 p.m. Follow Spring Sports in the Gazette *** Baseball *** Soccer *** Tennis *** Softball *** Track Lotsa Motsa Sports Calendar Gunnison Valley High School will sponsor a Fri Apr 11 Fri Apr 18 Sat Apr 19 Softball Clinic for ages 14 and under to be conducted by the high school coaches and players. Saturday April 19th Age groups: 10 & under and 11 thru 14 Two one-hour sessions for each group 10 & under 9:00 - 10:00 Throwing, Catching & Fielding 10:30 - 11:30 Hitting & Base Running 11 - 14 12:00 - 1:00 Throwing, Catching & Fielding 1:30 - 2:30 Hitting & Base Running Please sign up by April 16th with one of the players or coaches. Coaches- Bret Ashton 528-7100 Boyd Allred - 528-7658 Wayne Jones - 835-9685 Bring your own ball gloves and the shoes you plan to play in. No Cost All we need is name and age. him. We can’t afford to lose him. It would be a real blow,” Jensen said. Granda finished the match in goal and made some nice saves. Manti scored late to claim the 3-1 win. BJ Starks missed the Manti match fulfilling other school commitments, and the Bulldogs missed his play. “BJ Starks is a kid that just doesn’t quit,” Jensen said. Junior Todd Moosman has missed most of the season with a foot injury, but he’s expected back in a couple of weeks. “That will help our control in the midfield a lot, and he’s somebody who isn’t afraid to take the shot on goal either,” Jensen said. “We’ve missed that in the midfield.” Grand and Richfield are tied for Region 12’s top spot with identical records of 7-1-0 for a total of 21 points. Manti is third with 15 points; followed by Millard and Beaver with 13 points, Gunnison with 6, and North Sevier and South Sevier with 3. “We’ve got plenty of opportunities to move up in the standings,” Jensen said. “We’ve got a good team and Ricardo, Justin, and Alfredo are strong goal scorers.” This week, the Bulldogs host South Sevier in a Region 12 re-match on Tuesday, then travel to Fillmore for a re-match against Millard. Gunnison beat South Sevier early in the season, while Millard snuck out of Gunnison a few weeks ago with a 2-1 win. Next week, the Bulldogs play at Grand on Tuesday, April 15th, then host North Sevier on Thursday, April 17th. Fri Apr 11 Fri Apr 18 * Thur Apr 10 Tue Apr 15 Sat Apr 11 Tue Apr 15 Tue Apr 15 Wed Apr 16 Boys Baseball No Sevier @ Gunnison 3:00/4:00/5:30 Gunnison @ Richfield 3:00/4:00/5:30 Gunnison Grand Slam Tournament Girls Softball No Sevier @ Gunnison 3:30/5:30 Gunnison @ Richfield 3:30/5:30 Boys Soccer Gunnison @ Millard 4:00/6:00 Gunnison @ Grand 4:00/6:00 Track Track @ Juab 3:00 Track @ Gunnison 3:00 Tennis Gunnison @ So Sevier 3 pm Gunnison @ Delta 3 pm Pizza • Calzone Breadsticks • Salad Free Delivery (Limited Area) 528-3792 57 South Main • Gunnison Happy to Serve You |