When the Summit High School boys baseball team fell to Alamosa High School on March 13, it was clear that the season-opening loss cut the team deep.

Wanting to give first-year head coach Coley Thompkins his first win, the Tigers quickly turned things around, securing a 11-0 win over Eagle Valley High School the same afternoon.

The huge win gave the team the momentum and reassurance it needed to close out its opening weekend of games, defeating Montrose High School the next day on March 14.

Since the team’s first two wins of the season, Summit has stayed hot, rolling to three additional wins over the last few weeks. 

The Tigers secured their third win of the season on Thursday, March 20, when the team traveled to Denver to take on Thomas Jefferson High School. Summit got off to a slow start against the Front Range team, trailing 5-1 after the first inning. 

Summit even trailed 7-2 after the fifth inning, but the Tigers’ bats really started to get going at the tail end of the game. Scoring seven runs in the sixth, and nine in the seventh, Summit secured an 18-8 win over Thomas Jefferson. 

Junior Jojo Gambino, junior Sam Eldredge and sophomore Forrest Downing led the team from the batter’s box, recording three hits each and going four for five from the plate. Gambino had two runs brought in (RBIs) while Eldredge and Downing had one each.

Eldredge and Gambino also put together strong games from the pitcher’s mound. Eldredge struck out eight batters while Gambino had four strikeouts.

Five days later, on Tuesday, March 25, Summit was back on road to take on the Lobos of Conifer High School. Wanting to extend the team’s win streak to four games, Summit put on another hitting clinic. 

After trailing 1-0 after the first inning, Summit brought in two runners in the second, four in the third and three in the fourth. The onslaught of hits and runs was enough for the team to secure a 10-8 win over Conifer and advance to 4-1 overall on the season.

In the win, Gambino and Eldredge once again led the team in hits. Gambino and Eldredge had three hits each with Gambino recording two RBIs. Additionally, senior Lucas Comcowich went two for two from the plate and had two hits.

Summit’s most recent win occurred against Evergreen High School on Friday, March 28. In the non-league game, the Tigers were able to get several runners across the plate and pulled to a 4-2 lead after three innings of play. 

Despite the early runs from Summit, Evergreen kept the game within reach and tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh. Not wanting to see its winning streak come to an end, Summit came alive in extra innings.

The Tigers scored five runs in their half of the eighth inning before holding Evergreen to a run. With a 9-5 win, Summit advanced to 5-1 overall.

“5-1 is our best six game start in at least the last 18 years so we’re very excited about that,” Thompkins said. “We have been able to beat three Front Range teams in the last three games and that’s always an accomplishment for us. … It’s been a full team effort, our bench has been loud and enthusiastic and we feel like our chemistry is in a great place for this point in the year. “

Gambino and Eldredge each recorded three hits and had two RBIs. From the pitcher’s mound, Eldredge had 14 strikeouts and Gambino had three. In terms of fielding, freshman Alex Knipp had 17 put outs and sophomore JP Vietti had four.

Through six games, Eldredge and Gambino have combined for a total of 60 strikeouts and only six walks.

Summit was scheduled to play its first home game of the season against Northfield High School on Tuesday, April 1. Although the field at Kingdom Park looked ready for play on Monday morning, a spring storm postponed the game to Wednesday, April 9.

Weather and conditions permitting, Summit is slated to take on Battle Mountain High School on Wednesday, April 2, in Edwards.