Cougar baseball falls short in pair of nail-biters

In a heartbreaking week of baseball, the Niwot High School Cougars suffered two narrow defeats, falling to Skyline High School 11-10 on Thursday, March 27, before losing 5-3 to Riverdale Ridge High School on Saturday, March 29.

Thursday's home contest against Skyline was a back-and-forth battle that saw multiple lead changes. The Cougars jumped out to an early 3-1 advantage after the first inning, highlighted by Charlie Shaw's triple that drove in Haden Shaw. Henry Noblin added a two-run double to cap the early scoring.

After Skyline rallied to tie the game 3-3, Niwot responded with three runs in the third inning. Nico Castro delivered a two-run double, scoring Jack Schrock and Drew Stapp, before Arlo Richards singled home Castro to put Niwot ahead 6-3.

The Falcons stormed back with seven unanswered runs to take a 10-6 lead, but the resilient Cougars fought back to tie the game in the fifth. Stapp tripled and scored on Castro's single, followed by a two-run double from Haden Shaw. Charlie Shaw then singled to drive in his brother, knotting the score at 10-10.

Skyline pushed across the decisive run in the sixth inning, and despite getting runners on base in the final frame, the Cougars couldn't find the equalizer. Jagger Kilpatrick pitched the first five innings for Niwot, with Jack O'Hara handling the final two frames in relief. Errors once again cost the Cougars as most of Skyline's runs were unearned.

Charlie Shaw led the Cougars offensively, reaching base four times in five plate appearances with a triple, two RBIs and a run scored. Castro also contributed significantly, going 2-for-3 with two runs.

Saturday's road game against Riverdale Ridge saw the Cougars fall behind early. After trailing 4-0 through three innings with three of the runs unearned due to errors, Niwot mounted a comeback in the fourth when Charlie Shaw cleared the bases with a triple to cut the deficit to 4-3. However, Riverdale Ridge added an insurance run in the fifth, and the Cougars couldn't close the gap.

Despite collecting nine hits against the Ravens, Niwot was unable to capitalize on several scoring opportunities. O'Hara handled the pitching duties for the Cougars through the fifth inning, with Kaige Kennedy coming in for relief in the sixth.

The two losses drop Niwot to 3-5 on the season, with the Cougars having lost five of their last six games. Niwot will look to bounce back when they travel to face Longmont High School on Tuesday, April 1, at 4:00 p.m. They will then face Mead High School at home on Thursday, April 3, at 4:00 p.m., followed by an away game at Thompson Valley on Saturday, April 5, at 11:00 a.m.