HARTLINE — The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Diamond Ducks fell in their home doubleheader against the KC Cowboys on Thursday afternoon, 0-13 in the first game and 1-2 in the second. Despite the loss, Head Coach Hunter Lee said he is still pleased with what he’s seen from the team so far this season. 

“They’re a really good team,” said Lee. “We had a chance to win at the end, so really pleased at how we turned around that second one, so it was a very good learning experience for sure.” 

In game one, the Cowboys were the first on the board with a single run in the first inning. The Diamond Ducks struggled to respond through the duration of the game. Eventually the Cowboys won in the sixth inning on the 10-run rule after going up 13. 

Haydon Boyd took to the mound for the Diamond Ducks in the opening game where he allowed six hits and eight runs over five innings while throwing six strikeouts. L Oliver pitched an inning of relief where he allowed four hits and five runs while throwing three strikeouts. 

Boyd, Nolan Grindy, Brody Pitts and Esai Gonzales each had one hit for ACH in game one. 

“First one was a tough one,” said Lee. “We kind of got our behinds kicked.” 

The Diamond Ducks stepped up defensively in game two, holding the opposition scoreless for a majority of the game. After three scoreless innings, ACH was the first on the board with a ground out by Pitts scoring Grindy in the bottom of the fourth inning. 

In the top of the fifth inning, the Cowboys tied the game with a single run and after holding scoreless ACH at the bottom of the inning, scored again in the top of the sixth. The Diamond Ducks were persistent through the end of the game but unfortunately came just short of tying things up in the bottom of the seventh. 

Diamond Ducks player Cade Carstensen pitched all seven innings of the second game where he gave up three hits and two runs while throwing one strike out.  

“He was awesome, throwing the complete game there for us and limited them to two runs,” said Lee. “That was a huge part of (game two).” 

The coach also highlighted another defensive effort made by Boyd as the shortstop, which helped limit the amount of runs for the Cowboys. 

“It was a team effort too in that second one,” he said. 

Lee said their goals throughout this summer season are focused on giving the players more opportunities to develop over the summer. 

“We have a saying here that we play summer baseball to win state championships in the spring,” said the coach. “There are a lot of kids that play summer ball to get looked at by colleges and go to these showcases and they kind of prioritize summer more than spring and that’s not how we want to be. We take a lot of pride in winning around here and representing our school.” 

Though ACH is working toward improving what they can accomplish for the high school program, the players and coaches have also found their own identity in the Tillage League. Lee said the players came up with the name “Diamond Ducks” and were adamant about having light blue as their main team color. 

This is something the coach said he has seen across the entire Tillage League as the players personalize their own teams for the summer. 

Though the coaches don’t get to spend as much time practicing with the players during the summer season, they still find opportunities during games to teach their players important lessons. 

“Going through the mental side of the game, you know, if I have a guy even in the dugout who’s not playing, asking him, ‘What would you do if you were at the plate in this scenario’ or ‘If that ball was hit to you what would you have done,’” said Lee. “Just a lot of talking to them and getting them to think baseball.” 

The Diamond Ducks team is made up of a lot of upcoming ACH sophomores, some of which had the opportunity to play varsity in the spring. The coach said that he is already very impressed with what he has seen from the young team so far this summer. 

“They’re still really young,” said Lee. “The fact that they’re out here just speaks a lot to their development and their commitment to want to be better.” 

The Diamond Ducks will have a week of rest before returning to the ball field June 26 for a doubleheader against the Zillah Leopards. The first game of the day starts at 3 p.m. 

BOX SCORES 

GAME ONE:  

KCCW: 1-0-3-3-1-5-x: 13 

ACHD: 0-0-0-0-0-0-x: 0 

GAME TWO:  

KCCW: 0-0-0-0-1-1-0: 2 

ACHD: 0-0-0-1-0-0-0: 1 

    Diamond Ducks player Esai Gonzales sprints toward first base after connecting a hit Thursday afternoon.
  

    Nolan Grindy from ACH takes a swing at the pitch during Thursdays game against the KC Cowboys.
  

    ACH player Haydon Boyd gets ahold of the ball at shortstop and gets ready to throw the ball back towards first plate for an out.
  

    Up to bat for the Diamond Ducks, Brody Pitts eyes the opposing KC Cowboys pitcher.
  

    Jackson Elder from the Diamond Ducks catches the pitch from Cade Carstensen to earn a strike against the KC Cowboys batter.