Eagle Valley Softball Stays Undefeated in League Play

Aspen —How does a team that lost half its roster last spring manage to go undefeated in league play?

The answer lies in a specific Tuesday night in Gypsum, where Eagle Valley softball proved that "rebuild year" is often a misnomer. The Devils beat Aspen, extending their league record to 6-0. On paper, the overall record is 8-8. In practice, the momentum is entirely with the home squad.

Let’s do the math on the offensive explosion. In the first inning of the first game, Eagle Valley scored 12 runs. That is not a typo. Dagny Bartlett, a sophomore, was the engine of that surge. She hit a triple with the bases loaded. Junior Luvlyn Ward singled up the middle, scoring another. The score became 6-0 before the inning was even over. The final tally for that game? 17-2.

But the headline moment wasn’t the 17-2 blowout. It was the end of the third inning of that same game. Leading 15-2, Bartlett stepped up to the plate. She connected, sending the ball to left field. It was her first high school home run.

“[There’s] no other feeling like that,” Bartlett said, describing the sensation of the ball leaving her bat. “I can’t even explain it. It feels so good.”

The entire team circled home plate to celebrate with her. One proud father went home with the special home run ball. It is a small detail, but it captures the culture of this program. This is not a group of veterans coasting on talent; it is a group of underclassmen building something new.

Coach Jesse Meryhew noted that the record does not fully reflect the effort. “I don’t think our record shows how hard they played, but the sky’s the limit with this team,” he said. He highlighted the development of players like Teegan TerBush, who has shown significant improvement in her swing since the summer.

For context, the remaining schedule is critical. The Devils are 6-0 in the Western Slope League. They have two final league games: against Basalt on Oct. 1 and against Battle Mountain on Oct. 8. Both games are hosted in Gypsum. These are not exhibition matches; they determine playoff seeding.

The practical bottom line for locals is simple. If you value high school sports, show up on Oct. 1 and Oct. 8. The tickets are likely cheap or free, but the entertainment value is high. You are watching a squad that has beaten every opponent in its division. Whether they make the state playoffs depends on those final two weeks. But for now, the streak is alive, and the scoreboard reflects a roster that is very much onto something.