PBR Colorado Game of the Day 4-27-19: Legacy Defeats Monarch 3-1

BROOMFIELD – Both Legacy and Monarch needed a win and each team’s starter was determined to outlast the other at Legacy High School on Saturday.

Legacy 2019 Dylan Grierson and Monarch 2020 Peter Nickerson allowed just two hits apiece through four scoreless innings to open the game. Eventually, host Legacy pulled ahead to win 3-1 in the Front Range League game.

But regardless of the result, both Grierson and Nickerson enjoyed going toe-to-toe with one another for the majority of the contest.

“It was a good battle,” Grierson said. “In a game like that you just want to try to one-up the other guy every inning. I struggled a little bit at the beginning with a couple walks but I just tried to maintain confidence and outpitch him.”

Grierson threw 5.1 scoreless innings for Legacy (9-9, 6-2) on Saturday, allowing just two hits while walking five and striking out six. On the season, he has a 2-3 record on the mound with a 3.36 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 41.1 innings this season.

Nickerson went five innings, eventually allowing two runs while giving up just three hits, walking five and striking out six. Having recently returned to the Coyotes (5-8, 2-3) from injury, Saturday’s game was just his second outing of the season.

Legacy 2019 Noah Anderson walked, stole second base and scored on a single by 2021 teammate Macully Sehr in the fifth inning. Monarch answered with a run in the top of the sixth when the Coyotes strung together three straight singles by 2020 Sean Sieden, 2020 Nate Leash and 2019 Ben Kowalski.

With the game tied in the bottom of the sixth, the first two Legacy batters walked to start the inning. Making his first appearance of the game as a pinch hitter, 2020 Cole Jaeger singled to drive in teammate Cale Claridge and give the Lightning the lead. With two outs later in the inning, Jaeger scored on a passed ball to give the Lightning their third run of the game despite tallying just four hits.   

“You have those games where you’re waiting for that one key hit, that one key thing that pops up,” Lightning head coach Ty Giordano said. “Fortunately, they got some hits but not with guys in scoring position, and we got that big hit from Cole Jaeger with guys in scoring position to stick us up.”

Since Legacy opened the spring with a 3-8 record, the Lightning has won six of its last seven games and has reached the .500 mark. Despite outhitting the Lightning, 6-4, the Coyotes left seven runners on base and have now lost back-to-back games by a combined three runs.

Neither team had an extra-base hit in the game.

“It was a well-pitched game,” Monarch head coach Scott Weiss said. “Both pitchers were dueling it and it was unfortunate that the game was decided on a couple walks but it was a well-fought battle. This has just kind of been our typical scenario where we just can’t close out games and our record reflects that.”

Legacy will play at Loveland on Tuesday. Monarch will host Lakewood on Monday.  

Legacy 3, Monarch 1

At Legacy H.S.

Monarch (5-8, 2-3) 000 001 0 – 1 6 0

Legacy (9-9, 6-2) 000 012 0 – 3 4 0

W – Sehr. L – Nickerson.

Monarch hitting (ab-r-h-rbi) – Phillips 3-0-1-0, Trofino 4-0-1-0, Martin 2-0-0-0, Siedem 3-1-2-0, Santman 0-0-0-0, Leash 2-0-1-0, Messman 0-0-0-0, Kowalski 3-0-1-1, Cowan 2-0-0-0, Fish 2-0-0-0, Elliott 1-0-0-0, Given 2-0-0-0. Totals 24-1-6-1.

Legacy hitting (ab-r-h-rbi) – Esplin 2-0-0-0, Sehr 3-0-1-1, Lyons 3-0-0-0, Claridge 2-1-2-0, Labuda 2-0-0-0, Garcia 2-0-0-0, Jaeger 1-1-1-1, Maestas 2-0-0-0, Mari 3-0-0-0, Anderson 0-1-0-0, Shelton 1-0-0-0. Totals 21-3-4-2. SB – Anderson, Jaeger.

Monarch pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) – Nickerson 5-3-2-2-5-6, Hadeen 0-1-1-0-0-0, Garcia 1-0-0-0-1-1.

Legacy pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) – Grierson 5.1-2-0-0-5-6, Sehr 1.2-4-1-1-0-3.