THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Grand Junction High School Athletics

Grand Junction High School's softball team had mixed results Friday in the first day of the Southwestern Classic. Grand Junction (7-11) opened with a 19-9 victory against Mead (7-9) but lost 17-6 to Grandview. "Against Mead we hit the ball well," Grand Junction coach Si Espinoza said. "We just had quality at-bats and got production out of every spot in the lineup." Fruita Monument and Central also went 1-1, and Palisade was 0-2 on the opening day of the tournament, which continues today at the Columbine and Kronkright softball fields. The Wildcats beat Mead 16-7 but lost to Grandview 8-3. Central's rally came up short in a 7-5 loss to Thomas Jefferson, but the Warriors handled Monarch 16-4. Palisade lost 17-12 to Monarch and 11-0 to Thomas Jefferson. Grand Junction scored in all six innings against Mead, including five in the first. The Tigers widened their lead to 10-3 after three innings, but Mead rallied for six runs in the fourth. Grand Junction responded with nine runs over the final three innings. Breck Smith led Grand Junction with three hits and five RBI. Kali Kisselburgh pitched all six innings, striking out three. She also recorded three hits and drove in four. The second game was a much tougher challenge for the Tigers, with Grandview (7-9) coming off its win against Fruita Monument in its first game. The Wolves quickly established a double-digit lead, going up 11-1 after three innings. Grand Junction put the brakes on Grandview's momentum in the fourth, scoring four runs to cut the deficit to 11-5 before the Wolves pulled away. Jordyn Stephenson and Emilie Angel each had two hits and one RBI in the Tigers' second game. "We just came out flat against Grandview," Espinoza said. "We want to play a full seven innings, but sometimes we're beating ourselves." Fruita Monument is also searching for complete games. "We tend to be kind of roller-coastery," Fruita coach Bob Bledsoe said. "We go up and we go down. I'd like for us to find some consistency." Fruita scored all three of its runs against Grandview in the first inning before the bats went cold. The Wildcats got better hitting in its second game against Mead. Freshman Bella Didonato led Fruita with three hits, including a first-inning home run.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Grand Junction High School Athletics

GJ ENDURES HIGHS AND LOWS ON FIRST DAY OF SOUTHWESTERN CLASSIC

DAN WEST

The Daily Sentinel | 9/25/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Chancey Bush