All Local, All The Time

Back at Scott Carpenter Park, Boulder Collegians finding success

In a not-so-normal summer, a scrappy Boulder Collegians squad is making wins the norm. Led by first-year Collegians' manager Mark Goodman, Boulder boasts a 14-10 record through July 4 and looks to make a run at the Rocky Mountain Baseball League crown.

Nine of Boulder's 14 victories have come by three runs or less and whether you chalk it up to luck or not, the Collegians are getting the job done. General Manager Matt Jensen believes the Collegians' unique capacity to win close games could be valuable in the long run and his team realizes those games could go either way.

"An old coach of mine always used to say in order to have a successful season, you need to kick somebody's butt, you need to get your butt kicked, you need to win a close game and you need to lose a close game," Jensen said. "Because at that point, you've gone through the whole gauntlet of things that can happen to you and you're prepared for all of it."

Looking at a few stats, it's quite impressive the Collegians continue to find the win column. Jensen noted the Collegians have left a myriad of runners on base, and on the mound, walks are still prevalent. In their 4-1 win on June 30, Collegians hurler Terry Strauber walked nine Colorado Sox in five innings, but didn't allow a hit or run.

"I don't believe in baseball gods but metaphorically speaking, the baseball gods have smiled firmly upon us," Jensen said.

In late June, the "baseball gods" (or Boulder County coronavirus regulations, depending on your viewpoint) allowed the Collegians to return to Scott Carpenter Park. Boulder was previously playing home games at Bigfoot Turf Sod Farm in Kersey and Jensen was excited to see his team return home and play in front of fans.

In order to stay at Scott Carpenter Park during the pandemic, Jensen has erred on the side of caution. Two RMBL teams are now quarantined after a COVID-19 outbreak and Jensen wants to avoid the same fate.

"We're really trying to up our game with mask wearing and temperature checking guys," Jensen said. "...What we've said to our guys is because they're in the number one demographic of people that are getting COVID(-19), that in order to play baseball this summer, it comes with a certain amount of sacrifice. And that sacrifice means you can't go party up on the Hill, you can't go hang out with all these other college kids, even if you went to high school with them. You have to still continue to social distance yourself because there's 25 other guys on the roster and (if) you get it, it affects everybody."

At Scott Carpenter Park, fans must sign a waiver, take a temperature check and wear a mask until they are socially distanced in the stands. Jensen is searching for volunteers to help enforce mask wearing and is asking that fans comply.

Moving forward, Boulder is set to play the newly integrated RMBL foe Hays Larks in Boulder on July 5 and in Fort Hays, Kansas for three games from July 8 to 10. Jensen touted Sunday's matchup the "biggest home game in Collegians' modern day history."

With meaningful games on the horizon, a renewed culture of accountability and a scrappy mentality, Jensen said the 2020 Collegians "are maybe one of my favorite teams the Collegians have had in the [eight-year] modern era."

 

Reader Comments(0)