On Friday night the Mustangs, made up of Nucla and Norwood players, won the district high school baseball tournament and will now advance to regionals as one of 16 teams competing for the chance to play at the state level. The young team who has been infamous for errors, and who coaches have said needs way more playing time on the field, proved it in a double-header at Ignacio on May 5.
Then, the Mustangs beat Sierra Grand in the first game to secure themselves a chance to play for the district title. They faced Dove Creek, a team who’d beaten Nucla three times in regular season play. Dove Creek had already beaten Centennial in the first district game — and by a lot.
Starting pitchers this season have been Steele Arnold, of Nucla, and P.J. Hulst, of Norwood. Hulst pitched the first game until he got a lead and was relieved by Jake Hulst. In the second game, Steele Arnold pitched six and a third innings, with three strikeouts in 10 pitches.
“He was on a roll,” said assistant coach Ben Kirk. “That’s something that doesn’t happen every day. It was strike, strike, ball, strike, strike.”
Next Hulst was put back in the game to pitch and close it out. There was one out, and a tying run on second base and third base.
“It was a big moment for sure,” Kirk said. “The game could have gone either way.”
Next, Hulst got a strike out, making a “crazing diving catch off the mound.”
Hulst “caught the ball and then casually threw it to first base for the last out,” Kirk said.
“P.J. shut them down.”
It was a celebration for the Mustangs indeed, and most all of the guys lost their voices from the yelling afterward.
Head coach for the Mustangs Randy Gabriel said last week he was hoping for two wins. On Monday he told the Forum he was very proud.
“For this group of kids, it was just amazing,” he said. “For the everything we’ve been through, the distractions … For this small group of kids to stay together, to believe and to persevere … it was amazing.”
Gabriel added it was very gratifying to beat a team that had beat the Mustangs three times this year.
“To know how much better you got by the end of the year, that’s what it’s all about,” he said.
Many families and Mustang fans traveled to Ignacio for the district tournament, something coaches and players are grateful for.
The Mustangs compete in regionals this Saturday. Nucla-Norwood is the No. 5 seed and faces No. 12 McClave. The winner will play the victor of No. 4 Flatirons and No. 13 Evangelical Christian Academy.
Gabriel said he’s excited, but the guys have to play just one game at a time.
“You don’t look ahead,” he said, though he’d love to see his guys move on.
He said records don’t matter at this point.
“You can beat anyone on a given day,” he said.
In fact, the Mustangs in 2018 had the same record in districts and upset Dove Creek then. They went on to beat the No. 1 Cornerstone, now Flatirons.
Gabriel said the Mustangs need to go in and throw well, not make errors and hit the ball.
