Pueblo baseball team came away with a big win Wednesday afternoon, when it knocked off three-time defending state champions Desert Christian 4-2 at home.
The win over the top-ranked Eagles likely locks up a section championship and signifies the continued rise of Pueblo’s baseball program. The Warriors entered the game ranked seventh in Division IV and have three games left in the regular season.
“There’s been a lot of hard work here,” Pueblo coach Ray Camacho said. “This is my second year here and we want to keep it up. Last year we went through a lot of growing pains, and this year we are causing a lot of pain. This is a big win for us and a big win got our program.”
Warriors posted a 7-13-2 record last season, but returned key players such as Isaias Lucero, Joseph Sullivan and team captain Frankie Gomez.
Even though Pueblo struggled last year, the players were anxious and ready to test themselves against a challenge like Desert Christian, which had won 53 straight power-point games.
“When we saw they were on our schedule we knew it would be the biggest game of the season,” Gomez said. “As soon as I saw their name I highlighted it, circled it on my calendar, and started taking notes. We wanted this game because we wanted to shock everybody.”
Desert Christian went returned 11 players from last year’s championship team. If that was not intimidating enough they were also riding the moment of a nine-game winning streak.
Pueblo’s win is a sign that the team is headed in the right direction as the season winds down, with the state tournament set to begin next week.
“We’re rolling right now, we are playing good team baseball,” Camacho said. “We’re getting ready for the playoffs, and at the right time we are gelling as a team. Even when we make mistakes, we pick each other up and that is what good teams do.
Things this season may not have started the way Camacho and his team would have hoped, with the Warriors winning one of their first six games. However, the team continued to improve and has everyone feeling confident heading into the playoffs.
“I think we’re ready for the playoffs, and we’re going to be a tough out,” Camacho said. “We have good pitching and the rest of the team is playing well.”
Lucero has 61 strikeouts on the season in 38 innings and has an overall record of 4-1 and the Warriors have five players batting .400 or better.
This Pueblo team might be ready and primed for the postseason, but it is not something that the program is used to and something the players on this roster want to change.
“This was our goal from the very beginning,” Gomez said. “We have the talent, we had nine seniors coming back, and were feeling good. This was our goal and we’re just getting started.”
Pueblo really is just getting started with nine underclassmen on the roster and impact players including Adrian Madero, who had to sit out this season after transferring from Cholla. The cupboard looks full and the future is bright.
“Adrian couldn’t be with us this year because he transferred, but he will be with us next year and we will be even stronger,” Camacho said. “He is an outstanding student, an outstanding player, and an outstanding young man.”
The victory over Desert Christian did not win a division or state championship, but certainly signifies a change in culture for the Warriors.
“We’ve worked so hard all off season for this, all the workouts, all the extra miles, all the fun runs were for this,” Gomez said. “We wanted this so bad because a lot of people didn’t know about us, but I bet you they know who we are now.”
