It’s a bit late, but wanted to add a blog for the day.

I got to take in Cooper/Odessa High baseball today, and both teams looked solid. Cooper probably could have won the game (the Bronchos won, 7-3), but Cooper’s Andrew Jacques had a few pitches get away from him in the fourth, helping OHS to a five-run frame.

That said, the Bronchos are going to win a fair amount of games this season because of their solid hitting. The strike zone was pretty large today, and pitches going outside at the numbers were getting called for Ks. That can be a tough spot to hit, and Jacques was placing the ball pretty well there and around the plate. OHS, though, managed to track a lot of those balls down. The big thing was that not only were the Bronchos making contact, they were driving the ball, getting it past the infield for a solid base hit.

For Cooper, both Jacques and Zach Stewart looked good at the plate, and Kolter Harless was solid at first. Jacques also proved he can hang in a long game, throwing 126 pitches in the loss.

(Odessa's Tito Gavaldon, by the way, was incredibly efficient, throwing 96 total pitches, 66 for strikes. He read the strike zone well early and was constantly getting Cooper to chase his pitches for ground-outs and pop-ups.)

For OHS, there were several standout performances. Catcher Hector Aguilar was a force at the plate with three hits, while three other Bronchos — leadoff Michael Herrerra, cleanup Virgil Mancha, centerfielder Sal Covos and left fielder Daniel Rivas — had a pair of hits. The Bronchos were sharp in the outfield too and had several highlight plays. One to watch this season will be shortstop Hector Aguilar.

Cooper has the pieces to make a nice run, too, but will need to be sure to have a steady performance on the mound through all seven.

I’m looking forward to Tuesday’s crosstown game. It may be a nice early season battle.