Baseball Recap: Ralston Valley Comes Up Short

Ralston Valley extended their losing streak to three on Saturday, dropping their season record down to 10-9 in the process. They fell 8-5 to the Arvada West Wildcats. The Mustangs were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Wildcats apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in May of 2024.

Grant Belcher was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching five innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits. He is becoming a predictor of Ralston Valley's success: when he allows at most one earned run the team is 4-2 (and 6-7 when he doesn't). Belcher was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, four RBI, and one double.

Bret Baldwin

Runs

04/26/25 @ Columbine	4
04/21/25 @ Monarch	4
05/03/25 vs Arvada West	2
04/24/25 vs Columbine	2
04/10/25 @ Bear Creek	2
+ 6 more games

Belcher wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Bret Baldwin, who went 2-for-4 with two runs and one stolen base. Ralston Valley is 5-2 when Baldwin posts two or more runs, but 5-7 otherwise.

As for Arvada West, the win was the tenth in a row for them, bringing their record up to 17-2-1. The team dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 7.4 runs.

Like Ralston Valley, Arvada West also got a great game from a two-way player: Beau Friesen. Throwing, Friesen tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Meanwhile, Brayden Reiner struck out 11 batters over five innings while giving up four earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits (and not a single walk). He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. At bat, Friesen went 2-for-4 with two runs and one double, while Reiner went 3-for-5 with three RBI. Those three RBI gave Reiner a new career-high.

In other batting news, Keegan Millikan was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI. Those four hits gave him a new career-high. Luke Alonso was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.

While Ralston Valley had to take the loss, they won't have to wait long to give it another shot: the pair's next game is a rematch scheduled at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday.