On April 18, 2023, 6:00 pm. 9 members of the Grants Pirates Baseball team took the field at the Port of the Pirates Stadium to take on the visiting and perennial nemesis, St. Pius Sartans in what would be a chance for the Pirates to win the District Championship!
Going into the game, the Pirates were ranked #2 in the state in 4A while the Sartans were ranked #1. However, in District Play, those placements were reversed since the Pirates came into the game with an undefeated record of 5-0 while the Sartans were 3-2 in District play.
The game began in a hailstorm of baseballs flying off of bats by both teams! At the end of 2 innings, the score was 9-8 in favor of the Pirates. An exchange of body blows and several headshots by both clubs followed. Plays made in the field and pitchers finally settling in for a dogfight, the Pirates showed their dominance over their archrival by only allowing 2 more runs the rest of the game while putting up 8 more of their own making the final score 17-10 in favor of the Pirates. Clearly setting a tone for what's to come in the rapidly approaching State tournament.
With the victory over St. Pius, the Pirates solidified their grasp on the district and took ownership of the 2023 District Title by sweeping the season series over the Sartans as well as the Valencia Jaguars. With 2 more games remaining in the regular season schedule, the Pirates will play in Albuquerque against the Highland Hornets on April 21st and at home against the Belen Eagles on April 25th, the Pirates continue work to prepare for the big dance and should find themselves among the top teams for seeding. However, Head Coach Mike Furbee knows that there is still work to be done in those final two games as they want to take as much momentum into the tournaments as possible.
This team is doing something that no other team from Grants High School has ever done and the level of excitement shows it. I've been to many games at the Port of the Pirates and the crowd last night was clearly the largest I've ever seen there.
All of us at GCCS wish continued success to the Pirates and their coaches as the bid for the coveted blue trophy pushes forward. We encourage everyone to get out and support these student/athletes and let them know that what they are doing is AMAZING!
