LONGMONT — Leadership is everything in the ever-changing world of high school athletics. Jacob Moats more than proved that on his home diamond on Friday afternoon.
Much like the unforgiving spring wind that plagued the later innings, Longmont’s senior starting pitcher played with ice in his veins over visiting Mead, both from the mound and in the batter’s box.
When he wasn’t holding down his defense — which also excelled in the outfield to stymie the Mavericks’ power hitting — he was putting on a master class on offense, first with a sac fly in the third frame and later with a stealthy line drive past third that flirted with the foul line.
A monster fifth inning, during which the Trojans drove home six runs while batting around, eventually gave way to a 9-2 victory over the Mavericks. Friday’s win, Longmont’s fifth of the season, extended its perfect streak just a little longer.
“It starts in practice every day — hard work, doing the little things right,” Moats said after allowing one earned run. “We can’t stress that enough and we can’t stress being a team enough either. It’s not won with one swing or one guy. We all got to play together and play connected. I think we got great team chemistry.”
The Trojans connected for 10 hits as senior first baseman Griffin Taylor collected three RBIs. Moats and senior center fielder Jack O’Brien each added two more. That trio, which helped lead Longmont last season, has stepped up even more to guide a group of guys that are finally getting their day in the sun.
They’ve more than reversed the fortunes of a team that lost six of its last seven games in 2022.
“They’ve really made big strides since last spring,” head coach Tom Fobes said. “They came in this spring and it’s evident right away. It’s like, ‘Wow, you’ve really worked hard.’ They’ve really gotten better and we’re playing pretty good right now.”
While the Trojans have enjoyed strong game play and success through their first handful of contests, Mead’s road has been a bit tougher. Already eight games into the season, the Mavericks fell to .500, at 4-4, with Friday’s loss.
Their aim proved to be their ultimate downfall every time they hit it deep. Longmont’s outfielders were ready for whatever Mead hit at them.
“We’ve been working on our approaches at the plate a lot. I feel like today, we finally find some barrels and just hit it right to people,” Mead senior second baseman Taylon Adler said. “We put the ball in play, and they played great defense. You can’t do anything about that. That’s just the game of baseball.”
Adler, for his part, began the game with his own highlight reel. The Trojans started by hitting the ball right up his alley before finding ways to avoid him altogether, instead opting to hit it straight into the centerfield hole or deep center.
Once they figured that out, they were unstoppable.
Now, the Trojans will look to extend their unbeaten streak to six when they hit the road for a rematch against the Mavericks, this time in enemy territory, on Monday at 4 p.m. Mead is already itching for a little revenge.
“The best thing for us is we actually saw them get after some pitches and hit the baseball,” Mead head coach Joe McKenzie said of his team. “We’ve been kind of tentative in the last three or four games. It was good to see them have some better approaches at the plate and just hit the fastball.”
