The Bulldogs may look back on this past week as a watershed moment in their season.

After a loss to Nucla on April 5 sent the Bulldogs to their fourth straight loss and a 2-5 start to the season, Dove Creek has reemerged with a different energy over the past four outings, most recently sweeping past Grand Valley 7-2 and 11-1 to move north of .500 for the second time this season.

The sweep comes on the heels of a pair of twin bill victories over Sanford, which saw the Dove Creek bats come to life after a slow start.

Perhaps the biggest boost for the Bulldogs (6-5) over that span, however, came on the mound, as the Bulldogs enjoyed a pair of complete games from their pitchers – backed up by solid defense from the other eight players on the field.

Sophomore Hunter Daves took the ball in the opener against the Cardinals (0-7), and took command of the game. He shut down the visitors’ bats for the opening five innings, before running into a jam in the sixth. However, the Bulldogs stranded the tying run on the base paths to retain a 3-2 lead heading to their half of the inning.

From there, Dove Creek made sure to give Daves some insurance, with sophomore Jonathan Purkat providing the heroics, lacing a double down the right field line to drive in two runs and build the lead to 5-2. The Bulldogs would add RBIs from senior Ryan Jarmon, and sophomore Gage Buffington to balloon the lead to 7-2, before Daves closed the door in the seventh for the win.

Among the strong numbers for Daves, the sophomore didn’t allow a walk in the contest – a number that head coach Trent Daves made special point to mention after the game. “Throwing strikes was key,” said the head coach, “when we’ve struggled this year, we gave up too many walks – so it was great to see both Hunter and Cole Taber work the strike zone.”

Daves required less than 90 pitches in the CG, keeping Cardinal hitters off-balance, while striking out seven, and leaning on nearly error-free defense to take care of the rest.

“I was thrilled with our defense today,” said Daves. “We know that when our pitchers are throwing well, we can’t give the other teams free outs.”

Junior Cole Taber picked up where Daves left off in the second contest, as the right-hander also went the distance in a mercy-rule shortened 11-1 win. More so than in the first contest, the Bulldogs provided Taber with big early innings of run support, pushing across two in the first and four in the second to put Grand Valley on the back foot.

Taber also sat down seven Cardinals via strikeout, walked two and gave up a lone hit in the five-inning affair to complete the sweep.

The Bulldogs offense did their part to make sure that the pitching gems had plenty of support. In the second contest, four Bulldogs collected multihit efforts, including Taber himself, along with Jarmon, Daves and senior Preston Spigner.

Junior catcher Kendall Gardner drove in a pair of runs, joining Purkat, Jarmon, and freshman Sheldon Gardner with multiple RBIs in the second half of the doubleheader.

Gardner’s work at the plate complemented a solid day catching Daves and Taber deliveries.

“We’re pleased with the way that Gardner is managing the games from behind the plate,” said Daves of his junior backstop. “We trust him and his pitcher to be able to call the game, and recognize how to approach each batter.”

In the opener, Buffington led the way with three hits and a pair of RBIs, while sophomore Taber Dejane got on base and tallied a big run in the Dove Creek fourth inning, which would ultimately stand as the winning run in the game.

Over the course of the afternoon, the Bulldogs accumulated a total of 23 hits, swinging at better than a .400 clip through the pair of contests.

“We’re a young team,” said Daves, “and so games like this are going to help us build confidence – I think we’re all excited to see where this takes us.”

A big week faces Dove Creek, as the Bulldogs play host to Ignacio and Nucla in a pair of doubleheaders over the next seven days. The Bobcats visit the Soper Sports Complex on Tuesday, April 19 for an afternoon twin bill before a rematch against the Mustangs awaits on Saturday, April 23 at 11 a.m.