Comanche baseball off to 3-1 start in first week

The Comanche baseball team is off to a 3-1 start after beginning the season last Tuesday. The Indians picked up wins over Lawton Eisenhower, Cache and Davis and lost a back-and-forth battle with Lone Grove.

There are several new faces on the team for the players and coaching staff. There have been some move-ins this year and it is the first year for head coach Jarod King.

King said he likes how his team looks this year though he had to wait a while to get his complete team as basketball and wrestling seasons had to conclude.

The Indians have a lot of youth on the team. In the opener on March 1, only Bryson Evans and Owen Bigford were upperclassmen in the starting line-up though that has changed slightly in the past few games.

“I think the sophomore group is really good,” King said. “They’re young but they’re experienced. They all played summer and they play a lot of baseball. So, having those guys is really going to help with the guys we already have like Evans. Defensively, we’re pretty talented and we swing it pretty well. If we can pitch the ball, we’re going to be a good team. Our season is going to depend on how well we pitch.”

Monday’s 13-3 win over Davis was a big one as it was the district opener.

The Indians scored six runs in the second inning and then added seven more in the fourth to win by run-rule.

Evans went 2-for-4 with a double, 2 RBI, and a run scored. Gunner King went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Ian Essex, Gabe Diaz, Landon Steele and Dillon Ellis all had hits in the game. Brady Dobbins went 1-for-2 with a double.

Evans was the winning pitcher, pitching all four innings, giving up three hits, three runs, no earned runs, striking out one and walking one.

Friday

Lone Grove 15

Comanche 12

The game had two ties and four lead changes before Lone Grove took it for good on the fifth lead change.

The fifth and sixth innings proved to be the most crucial. With Comanche up 6-4, the Longhorns scored four runs to take an 8-6 lead and then followed it up with seven runs in the top of the sixth to put the game out of reach. The Indians scored three runs each in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings, but it would not be enough.

Evans and Dobbins each had three hits with two runs scored. Evans had one double and Dobbins had two to go along with his three RBI. Essex, Bigford, Dillon Ellis and Colby Shannon had a hit each.

Colby Shannon took the loss on the mound for Comanche.

Thursday

Cache 9

Comanche 13

Cache took an early lead with four runs in the top of the first and held a 6-3 lead going into the bottom of the third when the Indians exploded for eight runs to take the lead and Cache was never able to catch up.

Essex went 3-for-4 with a homerun, three RBI and two runs scored to lead Comanche at the plate. Evans, Steele, Myles Ellis, Dillon Ellis and Dobbins had a hit each with Dobbins getting a double.

Steele was the winning pitcher, going three innings, giving up five hits, five earned runs, striking out seven and walking four.

Tuesday

Eisenhower 2

Comanche 10

Eisenhower scored both of their runs in the top of the first, but they would not score again as the Indians scored in every inning but the fifth to win by run rule.

Evans, Shannon and Steele each had a pair of hits to lead Comanche. Evans and Shannon had doubles in the game and Steele drove in three runs. King, Essex, Bigford and Ellis had a hit.

Evans was the winning pitcher, going four hits, giving up one hit, no earned runs, striking out four and walking two.