Manitou Springs has gone 9-1 against Salida recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Saturday. The Mustangs will face off against the Spartans at 11:00 a.m. Manitou Springs will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each contest than the last.
Manitou Springs made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Peyton, but they still couldn't quite topple them. The Mustangs blew past the Panthers 11-1 on Wednesday. Manitou Springs' victory was all the more impressive since the Panthers were averaging only 3.5 runs allowed on the season.
Cooper Frojen
| 04/02/25 vs Peyton | 7 |
| 03/15/25 vs Resurrection Christian | 5 |
| 03/25/25 vs St. Helens | 3 |
| 03/12/25 @ Pueblo East | 2 |
| 03/20/25 vs The Classical Academy | 1 |
Cooper Frojen made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out seven over five innings pitched. Those seven strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI.
In other batting news, Hayden Martinez was excellent, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3. Dillon Ornelas also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Manitou Springs always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .567. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Peyton only posted an OBP of .273.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Salida). They never let Florence get on the board and left with a 20-0 win on Tuesday. The Spartans haven't had any issues with the Huskies recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive victory against them.
Like Manitou Springs, Salida also got a great game from a two-way player: Scout Presley. He struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and not a single walk). Salida is undefeated when Presley allows one or fewer hits, but 2-4 otherwise. Presley was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last four games he's played.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Anthony Taverna, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, six RBI, and three runs. Another player making a difference was Canin Becker, who went 2-for-4 with five RBI, one run, and one double.
Manitou Springs' win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 3-6. As for Salida, they now have a winning record of 5-4.
Everything went Manitou Springs' way against Salida in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, as Manitou Springs made off with a 16-2 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Mustangs since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
