Alamosa clinches IML with sweep of Bayfield

Alamosa's Chance Strand comes downhill with some heat during Alamosa's back to back wins over Bayfield on Saturday.(Courier photo by Stephen Jiron)

ALAMOSA — The Mean Moose took the final step towards hosting a regional tournament on Saturday. Alamosa added two more wins to their league record thereby clinching the Intermountain League. Alamosa (10-4-0) survived a late surge from the Wolverines (8-7-0) to take the first game 6-4, then created a spark of their own to come from behind and win the late game 3-2.

The Moose have been on the warpath taking seven wins in a row, Bayfield makes it 9 straight. Add to that the Moose have taken four of those nine wins by 10 runs or more.
Saturday both teams added a run to the board in the first, Alamosa then collected the next five runs between the third and fifth inning to create a 6-1 advantage. A madcap dash in the seventh inning for the Wolverines couldn't cover the gap and Bayfield fell short of completing the comeback. Tyler Zimmerman led the Moose in runs in the first game with three while Chance Strand and Caden Alonzo tied for the team lead in RBI with two apiece.  John Lujan lead off the mound in the first game for the Moose collecting four strike outs in his appearance.

In the second game Alamosa’s offense struggled to get out of the starting blocks. The batters couldn’t seem to solve Andrew Morgan of Bayfield’s curveball. Meanwhile The Wolverines batted in two runners on sacrifice pop flys in the first and third inning to create a 2-0 gap.

At the bottom of the fifth, Morgan’s curve no longer held its sway. The Moose got on the board when with loaded bases Tyler Zimmerman earned a base on balls to bring a runner home. In the fifth Alamosa Caden Alonzo batted in the equalizer with an infield single. Jared Carson gave Alamosa the lead in the sixth when he singled to center field to score Ben Wuckert. From the mound Chance Strand held down a 1.00 ERA with 9 strike outs only walking three batters in the second game.

Alamosa will go on the road to face Dolores Huerta Prep April 25 with the first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. Alamosa looks to be through with the toughest part of their schedule, after Dolores Huerta the Moose’s final four games will take place against Montezuma-Cortez and Trinidad. The Panthers and Miners combine for a record of 3-18.