For the past half-decade, Montezuma-Cortez softball has turned contests into track meets.
Clobbering the ball to all corners of the park and circling the bases at a blinding speed helped the Panthers pile up five consecutive winning seasons, a couple of district titles and multiple trips to the 3A state tournament.
Now, the Class of 2025 will have a large say in the Panthers continuing that trend, as a group of juniors will carry the leadership banner for fourth-year head coach Anthony “Hippo” Frost.
Many of the rising upperclassmen saw significant playing time in the 15-7 campaign from a season ago and hope to carry over similar success. The opening-game battery of pitcher Devon Cornett and catcher Emily Carver bring consistency both on the field and at the plate. Both batted above .440 in 2022, while the duo have plenty of innings under their belts working together on defense.
Cornett led the team with appearances and strikeouts last year in the circle, with Carver receiving virtually all of her pitches.
Infielders Kenzie Whipple, Nevaeh Istenes, and Aubrey Rutherford, along with outfielder Abigail Coffey enjoyed plenty of highlights during their sophomore seasons, and now look to be impactful for a Panthers squad that has historically taken an aggressive approach at the plate. Senior outfielder Trenity Tillahash looks to continue to be a productive bat at the top of the lineup.
The Panthers add a number of new faces to the lineup this year, with the focus on continued production. Freshmen Reagan Veach, Jayden White, Hailey Loyd and Saylor Martinez look to make an immediate impact for Frost’s squad this fall.
M-CHS got their season underway with the offense finding immediate productivity, pushing across 44 runs in their first two doubleheaders against Cedaredge on Aug. 19 and Gunnison on Aug. 12. After dropping a pair of contests to Gunnison, 16-14 and 21-6, to open the campaign, the Panthers bounced back with a sweep of the Bruins, 11-0, and 13-6, to level their early season record.
Carver and Martinez opened the sweep of Cedaredge with three-hit outings, while TIllahash drove in two runs and scored twice herself. Cornett pitched a gem to open the weekend, striking out 14 Bruins and limiting the visitors to just two hits in a complete-game shutout.
Freshmen continued to feature in the second game, as Veach tallied a three-hit contest, while classmate Hailey Loyd reached base four times and scored twice. Cornett and Rutherford both drove in three runs apiece, with Coffey adding two more.
In the circle, White picked up her first high school victory, firing a complete game to help the Panthers get back on pace in the district standings.
Montezuma-Cortez (2-2) looks forward to plenty of stern challenges on the schedule, including their annual home-and-home series with Durango, which will begin on Tuesday, Aug. 22 in Durango, with the Panthers hosting the Demons a couple weeks later. The next home contests for the Panthers arrive on Aug. 29, when Alamosa visits for a 3 p.m. doubleheader.
A trip to Delta on Sept. 1 and doubleheader against Meeker on Sept. 23 will pit the Panthers against some of the typical contenders for the 3A Western Slope League title. A visit to Rifle in early October winds down the regular season, before the Panthers turn their focus to regional play.
