The Manitou Springs High School baseball team played their rivals last Tuesday on April 11. This is always a well-rounded game and looked forward to for both teams. 

The last time the Mustangs beat St. Mary’s baseball was in 2016, so this was an important game for the Mustangs. The Mustangs ended up winning 7-2. 

Head Coach Brandon DeMatto wanted the team to relax and have fun in this game. The Mustangs have been struggling to score in the first innings of the game, that’s been very tough for them in the later innings of the game since they are down a few runs. Before every game the coaching staff always tells the players “Score early and often”. 

The team’s energy has been lacking in the past, but the team was different this game. “It’s like something was in the air. We were all locked in all game because we knew we’d need to win this game,” senior outfielder Tyler Maloney said. Manitou is ranked 14 in the state for 3A baseball, and St. Mary’s is ranked 9 for 2A baseball. 

The Mustangs goal for this year is to make it to the State Championship tournament again this year and place higher than last year and win the whole thing. 

The team is focusing on not letting the things you can’t control bring the morale of the team down. “My favorite part about the game was it was in the bottom of the 6th inning and there was a terrible call and it just gave the team so much more drive to go out and win the game 7-2,” senior shortstop Andrew Rhodes said.

The team is 9-4 right now after the April 21 La Junta game was canceled due to snow.  The University game on April 25 is also canceled due to rain and lightning.  The Mustangs will play a doubleheader in Lamar on Saturday April 29. “I’m just super excited to play against Lamar after an almost 3 week break of no games played,” Maloney said.  “I’m just excited to see how we play.”