Late Peyton rally ends Ignacio’s season
Despite sliding feet-first and dangerously close to opposing Peyton’s dugout railing, with any number of Panthers undoubtedly trying to distract him, Ignacio freshman first baseman Stephen Romero nevertheless kept his concentration and caught PHS senior David Martin’s pop-up in foul territory.
Having also caught senior Bradlee Nonaka’s foul pop mere moments before, Romero’s risky squeeze combined with senior catcher Gabe Archuleta’s celebration – meant for not only Romero’s, but also the enemy’s ears – not only closed out five innings of Class 2A-Region VIII semifinal action Saturday afternoon, May 16, but should have probably sufficed to subdue the Panthers at event-hosting Las Animas’ Robert ‘Sonny’ Smith Field.
After all, the Bobcats – seeded 24th in the 2026 CHSAA Class 2A State Tournament’s opening Round-of-32 – had built up and again protected a 4-0 advantage, with senior right-hander Ambrose Valdez ignoring the 94-degree heat, allowing just three PHS players to reach base and three times retiring the designated home team in order.
Ignacio freshman Zackariah Loudenburg (1-3, R) then led off the visitors’ sixth doubling to left off Peyton starter Bryce Love, and scoring two batters later when Archuleta tripled over PHS rightfielder Martin’s head. Still Valdez’s equal in most aspects, save for runs against, Love then got Romero (2-4, R, RBI) to ground out to senior shortstop Zayden Ebbert, but Archuleta scored on the play and increased IHS’ lead to 6-0.
“It was HOT hot – I kept having to pour water in my hair, put a water towel on my neck!” Archuleta (3-4, 3 R, RBI) said. “But knowing that the season was coming to an end, and it’s my senior year, I just did my best to get on base and leave it all out there. We knew he threw hard, so … just had to throw our hands at the ball and make contact.”
Love then managed to freeze Bobcat senior Sonny Flores (1-4, RBI) with a called third strike – the senior righty’s 11th K (against zero walks and zero beaned batters) on the day – and keep the ninth-seeded Panthers from sinking into any deeper of a hole. There was next to no indication, however, how swiftly and shockingly they’d surface.
Valdez walked leadoff man Love to start the bottom of the sixth, and Ebbert doubled him over to third. Senior Trent Gregg (2-3, BB, R) then reached via error when second baseman Loudenburg couldn’t field his high-bouncing chopper – allowing Love and Ebbert to score and get Peyton on the scoreboard. Sophomore Brennan Christiansen then flew out to rightfielder Shaun Sanderson, and PHS junior Brayden Nonaka knew he had to re-stoke the developing rally before Valdez could snuff out its spark.
“The heat kind of got to us, but other than that we just weren’t locked in. We really had to focus those last few innings,” said Nonaka, “and I kind of approached it like any other at-bat. I knew my guys needed me so I just stayed calm, you know?”
Nonaka (1-3, R) proceeded to single into left and Valdez inexplicably then walked the next two Panthers before head coach Isiah Valdez decided to bring the left-handed Romero onto the mound with bases loaded and one out.
“It was pretty hot out there. But, you know, we drank a lot of water and stayed hydrated, and I think we kept our heads up,” Ambrose Valdez said. “I just went out there and tried to get it over the plate. Lot of pressure … but you’ve just got to keep your head, do what you’ve got to do.”
For the Panthers, that meant staying just as, if not more disciplined at the plate against a fresh arm firing from different angles. And sure enough, senior Bradlee Nonaka (0-2) drew an RBI-walk and Martin (0-2) did likewise to bring Love up for the second time in the frame. To the Bobcats’ horror, Love (1-3, BB, R, 2 RBI) singled to left, scoring Joseph Ornelas – the last batter Valdez faced – and Nonaka, and suddenly putting Peyton up 7-6.
Romero (L; 0.2 IP, H, R, ER, 3 BB, 0 HB, 0 K) then got Ebbert (1-4, 2B, R) to fly to Evan Maez in left, and after walking Gregg got Christiansen (1-4) to line to shortstop Flores. But every bit of momentum had swapped sides, and the Panthers knew it.
“Later innings … we grind and we don’t give up – that’s how Peyton rolls,” said Gregg. “Once you get late into a game, you want to try to get the counts super-deep, which allows you to get walks. Also, you start to see patterns with the pitcher.”
“We start with the leadoff guys, Bryce and Zayden; they got on and made it happen,” he continued. “I had to put the ball in play, and the rest? You know, baseball’s like that; it just happens like that.”
Brought in to relieve Love (W; 6 IP, 12 H, 6 R, 6 ER), Ebbert got Valdez to chase a third strike in the dirt, and PHS catcher Ornelas completed the strikeout by throwing to first baseman Gregg. IHS’ Joseph Atencio, however, drew a walk and took second when Max Mendoza (2-4, RBI) fanned and Ornelas had to again toss to Gregg. Atencio (1-3, RBI) reached third base when Ebbert pitched wild to Maez (1-4, 2B) but was stranded 90 feet from home when Ebbert (SV; IP, 0 H, BB, 3 K) got Maez swinging.
Primed to next face 8-seed Las Animas – the Trojans (18-6 overall) had overcome No. 25 Ault Highland (9-15) in the previous semi, 10 to 8 – in the regional’s finale, Peyton improved to 17-5 while Ignacio dipped to a finalized 13-11.
“It was a very big honor to be out there, and on the mound starting for us today,” Valdez (ND; 5.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 0 HB, 7 K) said. “We had a lot of good heart and showed good effort out there today. That’s all we could do.”
DID YOU KNOW
Smith Field was voted the Colorado Dugout Club Coaches Association’s 2025 Small School Field of the Year.