Montrose Softball continues strong start & Fruita rides late rally

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - The Southwestern League is once again shaping up to be one of the more tightly contested in the state, and Tuesday’s Western Slope high school softball doubleheader showed why.

First up, last year’s defending champs, the Grand Junction Tigers, took on the early season stars of the league, the Montrose Red Hawks. Montrose had won its first three league games and taken only one loss all year. The Tigers came into the game after a weekend doubleheader sweep of Durango, while Montrose had won four straight and outscored opponents 47-2.

Zuri Balleck got things started with a liner the opposite way, and the Red Hawks gave the green light. A play at the plate was ruled safe, and the Hawks struck first to go up 2-0.

Grand Junction pitcher Kloe Donahue started finding a groove with the punchouts, finishing with five strikeouts on the day.

The Tiger bats began to break through when Jacquelyn Boyd found some outfield grass and Ashlyn Warinner wheeled around to score, cutting the Montrose lead in half, 2-1.

But the Hawks got it right back. Maya Yacovetta’s bunt attempt wasn’t a rocket off the bat, but it landed in no man’s land, where no one in orange could get to it in time, and Cheyenne Whitcomb came in to score. That made it 3-1.

Later, with Montrose up 4-1, a ball got behind the backstop and allowed Bentley Shiller to come in and score. A play at first put a bow on this one.

The Hawks move to one win away from double digits at 9-1, and 4-0 in league play, taking down the defending champs by a final of 5-1.

For the second act, over at CMU, the Palisade Bulldogs took on the Fruita Monument Wildcats, a pair of teams looking to vault themselves into the top tier of the league standings.

Early on, this game seemed to be a race to get to just one or two runs with the way the pitchers and defenses were playing. Not at the hot corner, though Cadence Segers handled a rocket there to get Chloe Cummings and company out of an early jam. Fruita’s pitcher, Kensley Hassenstab, was slowing the Bulldog bats too, getting a strikeout looking as things stayed pretty quiet out of the gates.

The Bulldogs broke things open with a liner down the left field foul line off the bat of Lexi Trottier, putting the gals in maroon up 2-1 at the time as a pair of Palisade runners came across to score. Trottier came around to score on her own after a ball got by the Fruita Monument backstop, as Palisade staked its claim to the lead early, up 3-1.

If Palisade broke things open in the top of the third, it’s hard to describe what the ‘Cats did in the bottom of the sixth. With their backs against the wall, Fruita Monument struck for a seven spot to complete the comeback and best Palisade, at a final of 9-5.

Addison Cutshall finished with a pair of doubles and a pair of runs driven in the win. Macy Veek brought in three of the Fruita runs in the win.