GRAND JUNCTION — One thing’s for sure. Grand Junction can hit.

The Tigers hitters took center stage in the team’s 6-3 win over Central Tuesday at Suplizio Field, pounding out extra base hits at a time they needed them most.
One of Grand Junction’s three extra base hits — a three-run home run by Bubba Higgins in the fourth inning — broke the seal on a tight game after the Tigers took a slight 3-2 in the third.

“I was just trying to focus on the ball like I do. I put the bat on the ball and took care of the rest,” Higgins said of his long blast over the right-field wall on loser Travis Moody.
Moody set up the big inning by walking the first two batters. Yet Higgins was still wary of Moody’s ability to recover in the at-bat before hitting the homer.

“Last year when we faced him, he lasted a long time,” Higgins recalled. “He shut us down last year. So I knew he was a good pitcher and could come back at any time.”
Most importantly, the win gives the Tigers sole possession of second place in the Southwestern League at 3-1, a game back of current SWL leader Fruita Monument who was idle.

Central falls to 2-2 in league standings with the loss.

The Warriors took advantage of some loose Grand Junction defensive play to take their only lead in the first.

Errors by outfielder Joe Arnold combined with a throwing error by Tigers shortstop Eric Bergman set the table for Brandonn Jamison and Austin Tipton, who socked back-to-back base hits on winning pitcher Dylan Wiman for a 2-0 lead.

Grand Junction started to chip away at Central’s lead right after Tipton ended the inning on Adam Hesse’s tapper back to the mound.

Zeph Quigley and Tim Gastineau strung together hits to cut Central’s lead to 2-1. Higgins also had a big hand in the Tigers gaining the lead in the third inning.

After leading the inning off with a single, he scored the tying run on Ross Koepsell’s triple to the gap in left center. Koepsell scored on a wild pitch.

Grand Junction continues league play with a home game at Canyon View Park Thursday against Montrose. Central has a week off before taking on Fruita on Apr. 15 for a twilight game at Suplizio.

Bulldogs pitcher Jesse Kirstatter induced Delta hitter Preston Boyd into a game-ending outfield pop up with the tying run on second base to preserve a 3-2 league win over the host Panthers Tuesday.

With the victory, Palisade, in earning its seventh straight Western Slope League game, took a two-game first-place lead heading into this weekend’s doubleheader against Moffat County.

Kirstatter scattered seven hits and limited Delta to two fifth inning runs in the complete game win while striking out eight. The senior wiggled his way off of the Panthers rally on an inning-ending double play.

Palisade scored their runs in separate innings.

Jesse Brannon singled in leadoff hitter Hank Stewart in the first. Travis Del Moral raced home on David Henry wild pitch from second base to go up 2-0 in the third.
Nate Davis opened the fourth with a triple. Jake Appling raised Palisade’s lead to 3-0 with a RBI single.