The Summit High School varsity baseball team split a doubleheader on the road at Battle Mountain Wednesday, May 12.

The Tigers won the first of the two games 9-6 and lost the nightcap 10-7 to the Huskies in a doubleheader that was postponed to Wednesday and moved to Eagle County due to Tuesday’s weather in Summit County.

In the first game Tigers sophomore pitcher Zach Willms pitched three scoreless innings to help Summit race out to a 6-0 lead at the bottom of the third. Willms finished the day with five strikeouts and one walk to pick up the win, though he gave up two earned runs in his fourth and final inning on the mound.

“His command and location were on point,” Tigers head coach Patrick Stehler said.

Summit sealed the seven-inning game as they added three runs at the tops of the sixth inning. Tigers junior pitcher Jax Boyd pitched the final three innings for Summit and only gave up two hits while striking out a pair of Battle Mountain batters.

The Tigers were bandits on the base paths in the first game, with seven total stolen bases from five different players. That included a pair of swipes each for Boyd and senior Zach Misch.

At the plate, Willms and Summit senior Foster Krueger drove in a pair of runs while sophomores Will Koll and Cassius Bradford scored two runs each.

Summit’s batters had a keen eye at the plate, getting nine walks. The team’s ability to get on base and savvy baserunning put Battle Mountain’s pitchers and defense on their heels.

“It was more of a team effort of good baserunning along with getting the ball in play, Stehler said. “Our offense got going and got their starting pitcher out of the game very early.”

Stehler said Krueger was a standout player through the doubleheader, including the 10-7 loss where seven early runs through two innings had Summit in a 7-1 hole early.

Summit still maintained their precision at the plate, registering nine hits — four more than the opener — including two runs in the fifth and sixth to tie the game at 7-7 entering the bottom of the sixth. Battle Mountain rallied for three runs in that frame before sealing the game in the top of the seventh.

Krueger and Boyd led the Tigers with two hits each in the nightcap as Boyd and Bradford led Summit with two RBIs each. On the basepaths Misch added two walks and two stolen bases in the loss.

Stehler highlighted the contributions of junior pitcher KJ Slaugh in relief in the loss. Slaugh took the mound and amassed eight strikeouts in five innings pitched, with just three total earned runs.

Now 1-2 on the season, Summit will next play at 11 a.m. Saturday in a doubleheader at Palisade before returning to the Frisco Peninsula for a home doubleheader versus Eagle Valley 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 18.