Bulldogs kick off 2023 baseball season with perfect 4-0 record

Spring sports seasons are in full swing and the Haxtun Bulldog baseball team is off to a perfect, 4-0 start. The Bulldogs kicked off the 2023 season in Akron on Monday, March 20 where they picked up double-header wins over the Rams. Just four days later, the team returned to the field, this time in Holyoke where the Bulldogs added two additional notches to the win column in the record books.

This year's team boasts a whopping 34 members under the direction of Head Coach Trent Ham and assistant coaches Ryan Nolin and Rob Martinez. The group opened in Akron with an 11-4 win in game one of two. Both teams remained scoreless throughout the first two innings until Haxtun took a three-run lead in the top of the third. Akron answered back with two runs in the bottom of the third to make it a one-run contest. Haxtun went on to score two runs in the fourth and three in the sixth to go up by six runs. The Rams added two in the sixth in an attempt to narrow the gap but three additional runs by the Bulldogs in the seventh and final inning gave the guys in red an 11-4 victory in the season opener.

Freshman Kanin Koberstein went 1.000 at home plate in game one. He had one run from two hits and the team high of three runs batted in. Junior Keegan Colglazier went .667 from the plate with three runs and one RBI. Junior Kaiden Schelling and sophomore Kash Workman batted .500. Schelling had two runs from two hits and tallied one RBI. Workman had two hits and two RBIs.

Mason Bornhoft, Michael Gerk, Grant Statz, Colglazier and Ryland Wolff each registered one stolen base.

Senior Jerron Turney faced 16 batters from the pitcher's mound. Of those 16, he struck out seven and walked five. Koberstein and Colglazier also took the mound, both of them facing five batters and each registering two strike outs.

Following a short intermission, the Bulldogs returned to the field for the second contest of the day in Akron. This time, Haxtun would earn a four-run win. Game two started slow, neither team crossing home plate in the first inning but Haxtun changed that in the second with four runs. The Bulldogs held onto that advantage until the seventh inning when they upped the score even more, this time adding three runs to the scoreboard. Akron had three runners cross home plate in the final inning but it wasn't enough, Haxtun was up, 7-3.

Koberstein led at the plate again, going 1.000 on the day. He had one run and two hits. Schelling earned a .600 average in game with one run from three hits. Colglazier earned the team's solo RBI in the second game. He batted .500 as did Turney. Turney had one run from one hit.

Turney led the Bulldogs with three stolen bases. Workman and Colin Cone each registered two.

Schelling took the win on the pitcher's mound. Of the 10 batters he faced, Schelling struck out five and walked just one. Cone saw eight batters, sitting down five of those. Gerk also pitched, tallying two strikeouts of the six batters he faced.

The Bulldogs were originally slated to take on Holyoke last Saturday but winter weather forecasts forced organizers to move the games to Friday, and thankfully they did as a winter snowstorm blanketed the area over the weekend. Friday's games both went in favor of the Bulldogs.

Haxtun and Holyoke each tallied one run in the first inning of game one but Haxtun edged out on top early in the third with six runs. The Bulldogs held their advantage throughout the next three innings. The Dragons fought for a late seventh inning run but Haxtun fielding held on for the 7-6 win.

Koberstein kept his perfect batting average alive in Holyoke as he went 1.000 in game one with a single hit. Colglazier earned a .667 average at the plate with one run and two hits. Cone, Wolff, Schelling and Turney all went .500 at home plate. Schelling registered two RBIs followed by Kyle Fryrear, Gerk and Statz, each with one.

A host of Bulldogs tallied stolen bases in game one in Holyoke on Friday including Schelling, Cone, Colglazier and Wolff.

At the mound, Turney threw to 22 batters, sitting down 10 and allowing just four walks. Schelling closed out the game striking out two of five batters.

The Bulldogs completely dominated game two against the Dragons, rolling to a 18-0 win that ended the game in just four innings. Haxtun scored four runs in the first, tacked on 12 in the third and two runners crossed home plate in the fourth to leave the team undefeated thus far this season.

Colglazier, Gerk, Chase Goddard and Turney all were perfect at the plate with 1.000 averages. Gerk registered the team high of five RBIs followed by Colglazier with four, Turney with three and Statz with two. Colglazier led in stolen bases, with two, followed by Turney who registered one.

Schelling struck out seven of 11 batters in game two. He allowed just one walk. Carter Lock closed out the game on the mound, sitting down two of three batters.

This week the Bulldogs were slated to face Sedgwick County on Tuesday but more winter weather pushed the games back to later in the week. Plans are to play on Thursday at whoever's field is in the best shape.