Girls’ Soccer Team Shows Vast Improvement
Trevor Phipps
Now that the high school spring break is over, the local sports season moves into high gear, with a bombardment of key games determining whether our teams will see postseason action.
That time has now arrived. For the next month and a half, WP student athletes must compete in multiple matches per week for the remainder of their teams’ respective spring seasons.
The other spring sports teams have also looked promising. The high school track and field stars have had a good season, and now they are focused on improving to the point where they qualify to compete at the state championship tournament, which takes place in May.
The girls’ soccer team, meanwhile, has experienced its ups and downs, but they are well on their way to an improved season from last year.
The following are a few highlights from two local highly watched team sports this time of year, boys’ baseball and girls’ soccer.
WP Baseball Team Continues to Shine
The WP baseball team has continued to show fans that they mean business by pushing towards a perfect season. So far, the Panthers have dominated virtually every opponent they have confronted on the diamond, winning by large margins.
At press time, the Panthers were sporting an 8-0 overall record and a 2-0 league tally. In fact, at 8-0 the Panthers had the best record in 3A baseball statewide.
Unfortunately, the Panthers incurred a slight drop in the state ratings due to the fact that they haven’t played any top-notch teams. Last week, the Panthers were ranked 39th in Colorado overall and fourth statewide in Division 3A.
Before the Panthers rested for spring break, they stomped the St. Mary’s Pirates at home 13-4. The game was mostly one-sided with the Panthers’ stellar pitching forcing many strikeouts. The Panthers’ hitting game was also on point.
Then once the boys returned from spring break, they were slated to play the Palmer Terrors at a home. But according to head coach Chris Becker, the Palmer Terrors were forced to forfeit the match.
Overall, the Panthers have continued to look impressive on both offense and defense. With a number of star pitchers, the team has made their opponents struggle while at home plate.
According to Becker, the team’s pitchers are really showing improvements. The coach’s son and the team’s star pitcher, Cody Becker, has dialed in his fastball and can throw at speeds up to 88 miles per hour.
Pitchers Link Bryden and Nathan Vieux have also proven their worth as they can throw fast balls in the high 70s to low 80s. Where these two really shine, though, is through their mixture of fastballs, sliders and curveballs that seem to throw off batters just about every time.
When it comes to batting, senior pitcher and catcher Gavin Strouse leads the team with a whopping .529 batting average and seven stolen bases. Out of the team’s four top pitchers, Vieux still holds a super impressive .00 ERA (earned run average), while the other three are right around or under the 2.00 ERA mark.
The Panthers take another brief hiatus this week before they return with a string of road games. On April 15, the team travels to battle the 4-1 SkyView Academy Wolverines. Then on April 18, the Panthers play an away double header against the 1-7 La Junta Tigers.
Lady Panthers Look to Finish Season Strong
At press time, the Lady Panthers girls’ soccer team had only played four non-league matches, but the team has fared quite well. Before their spring break, the girls won a huge home match against the Ellicott Thunderhawks 11-1.
The girl kickers also played tough against St. Mary’s with a nail-biter contest that ended in a 3-3 tie. At press time, the Lady Panthers had a 1-2-1 overall record, and they had not yet played any league games.
But starting last week, the team now will start playing the bulk of their matches as well as battling league opponents. This Tuesday, the girls play a home match against the 3-2-1 Coronado Cougars at 6 p.m. The girls then play their first league match at home on Thursday against the 2-2 Lamar Thunder.
