Bears lose tough battle

Bear Creek opened the softball season Aug. 23 on the road against Arapahoe. It was a well-played game as expected from two talented teams. Bear Creek came from behind to take a 4-2 lead in the top of the third inning. The lead held up until the bottom of the sixth when Arapahoe scored three runs and went on to win the game, 5-4.

Key moments

The Bears used aggressive base running to advance players into scoring position, then got a key hit to score a run in the top of the first inning. Arapahoe responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first and led 2-1 until the top of the third. The Bears mounted a three-run rally to take the 4-2 lead. The key hit in the rally came when Ciara Navarro drove a ball over the left-center field fence with a runner on base.

Key players/statistics

The Bears scored four runs on 10 hits. Peyton Propp had three hits, including a double, and teammates Abby Tyrell and Felice Fresquez each had two hits. Propp also went the distance on the mound for the Bears. She pitched six innings, gave up seven hits and struck out nine.

“We are a young team with two seniors on the roster and two freshmen starters. However, I feel we are have a lot of talented players on our roster this season,” Bears Coach Don Salbato said after the game. “We do have a few things to fix as coaches to get them to come around and start playing better. I think our team strength is fielding and catching, but we will be working on throwing accuracy and working to do a better job of swinging the bat. I think we have the potential to be a solid team this season.”

This is Salbato’s first season coaching the Bears. He had about 50 players out for the program, and is fielding varsity, a junior varsity and a C-level team.

“I was an assistant softball coach at Wheat Ridge for 10 years,” he said. “I figured it was time to move on so I could coach my own program.”

They said it

Junior Peyton Propp said she has been pitching for 10 years.

“I decided to try pitching when I was younger, I fell in love with it and really stuck with it,” she said. “I work to improve my pitching all the time. Right now, I feel my best pitch is my rise ball, a pitch it took about a year of practice to perfect. Right now, I am working to improve my curve ball.”

Propp said she felt she threw pretty well against Arapahoe.

“I know I threw better early, so I need to work on staying strong the whole game,” she said. “I also want to work on maintaining good control of all my pitches, particularly late in the game.”

Going forward

The schedule is busy early in the season and the Bears play their next home game Sept. 6 against Mesa Ridge.

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