Fort Lupton's Daniel Becerra asks for time as Greeley Central's Luke Arguello looks to continue to apply the tag after a pickoff attempt March 29 in Fort Lupton.

Steve Smith

Fort Lupton High School baseball coach Jackie Campbell has one thing in mind for this season.

Campbell knows that the Bluedevils also have to improve their play on the field if the postseason is going to be part of the plans.

Greeley Central spotted FLHS three runs in the first inning March 29, then took advantage of errors and miscues to beat the Bluedevils 14-4 on a  blustery day in Fort Lupton.

FLHS started fast. Danny Rodriguez, who injured his leg in a game before spring break, reached on an error and advanced to second when Eloy Lezama walked. Both runners moved up on a passed ball. Jesse Ceretto walked to load the bases. Daniel Becerra’s infield single drove in one run. A wild pitch brought home Lezama, and Ceretto scored on a dropped third strike.

But then, the bats went silent and the defensive lapses took over.

“We beat ourselves .. lots of errors,” Campbell said. “They played in it (cold temperatures and wind) too. The coaches have to get better, and the players have to get better. We haven’t played a team that’s better than us. That’s disappointing.”

Through the first four games this season, FLHS was batting .169 as a team, Campbell said. FLHS added six hits to their season total against the Wildcats. But FLHS wasn’t able to string two hits together in a single inning.

“Pitchers are usually better this time of the year,” Campbell said. “Hitters don’t like cold weather. We just have to work. We’re not going home.”

“Four runs is not enough in high-school baseball,” Campbell said. “Pitchers did a good job in this weather (Campbell singled out starter Scotty Sanders. Sanders struck out four in three innings). We had too many passed balls, wild pitches, dropped fly balls. That’s on me. If we’re not hitting, we’re going to bunt. It got us moving. And then we didn’t hit again until Jesse hit in the last inning.”

Campbell wants to see the Bluedevils in motion.

“Too much standing around,” he said. “I like fast-break baseball. I want everybody running like their hair is on fire. You get on that field, you go full speed all the time. We don’t do that all the time, and that’s on me.”

Rodriguez finished with two hits and an RBI. Ceretto had a seventh-inning base hit and an RBI. GCHS’ Reid Richardson had three hits, including a double, and drove in three runs. Mari Hernandez had three hits, two of which were doubles, and drove in two runs.

“I liked the pitchers and their toughness,” Campbell said. “I liked that we started good. But you have to continue it every inning. Their pitcher (Richardson) threw a lot of fastballs. You have to hit fastballs to win high-school baseball games. That’s what we have to do. And defensively, we’re a lot better than we showed. But everybody is frozen.

“I like my senior class,” Campbell added. “It’s a good group of kids. We have eight seniors, and they come from good families. That’s what’s huge. I like the younger guys that are coming up. The goal is to build it for the future. We have a bright future. That’s what’s exciting.”