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Softball: Basalt beats Delta to open season

The second year under head coach Marianne Gardner-Smith is off to a good start for the Basalt High School softball team.

The Longhorns opened their season Tuesday at Delta, winning 11-8 in eight innings.

“We are going to do good things this year. Delta was a good win for us because they are a 4A team,” Gardner-Smith said. “It was a good way to start the season. Our little pitcher, Morgan Ash, pitched the whole ball game.”



Delta (0-1) took a 2-0 lead after an inning but was shut down by Ash, a junior and the team’s lone pitcher, and her defense for the next four innings.

Basalt scored three runs in the fifth and five in the top of the sixth to lead 8-2, but Delta rallied with two in the bottom of the sixth and four in the seventh to force the extra inning.




The Longhorns answered with three runs in the top of the eighth and the defense did the rest to preserve the win.

The win is a positive sign for Basalt (1-0) after an up and down 8-11 season a year ago.

“We only have two seniors, so we are really young. They have a much more positive outlook than they had last year,” Gardner-Smith said. “Our downfall is we basically only have one pitcher. We depend on her for every game. We have a whole bunch of young kids.”

Next on the schedule for Basalt is its home opener today, at 4 p.m. against Meeker. There also will be a junior varsity game at 6 p.m.

The Aspen High School softball team, in its second year under coach Dave Fuentes, also opened its season Tuesday, a 19-0 loss at Cedaredge. The Skiers are off until Tuesday when they travel to Basalt.