2022 Alpine Cowboys Season Recap - Alpine Returns as One of the Pecos League's Strongest Teams

The 2022 Alpine Cowboys season was another strong summer of baseball at Kokernot Field as the Cowboys continued to establish themselves as one of the most consistent organizations in the Pecos League. After finishing 30-25 and returning to the playoffs in 2021, Alpine took another step forward in 2022. The Cowboys overcame a difficult beginning, developed one of the most productive offenses in the league and finished the regular season 33-19.

The season began in the worst possible way. Alpine lost its first four games, falling 5-4, 12-6, 7-6 and 11-5. For a franchise accustomed to winning baseball, an 0-4 beginning immediately created pressure. The Cowboys responded emphatically and completely changed the direction of their season.

Alpine won its next six games, beginning with a 9-5 victory. The Cowboys followed with wins of 19-5, 17-10, 7-6, 24-6 and 21-7. In a matter of days, Alpine went from an 0-4 team searching for its first victory to a dangerous offensive club capable of overwhelming opponents. The six-game winning streak included 97 runs, an early indication of just how productive the Cowboys lineup would become.

The offense became the defining strength of the 2022 team. Alpine had several players produce exceptional seasons, led by Mark Traylor. A familiar name in Alpine, Traylor put together a remarkable summer, hitting .465 in 40 games. He collected 80 hits in 172 at-bats, scored 57 runs and finished with 14 doubles, four triples and seven home runs. Traylor drove in 58 runs and produced a 1.220 OPS, giving the Cowboys one of the most dangerous hitters in the Pecos League.

Andrew Capone was another major force in the Alpine lineup. Capone appeared in 46 games and hit .399, collecting 79 hits in 198 at-bats. He scored a team-high 72 runs, hit 10 doubles, two triples and four home runs and drove in 38. Capone also drew 38 walks, giving Alpine a consistent on-base threat who could set the table for the middle of the lineup.

Bryce Donovan returned after being one of Alpine's leading hitters in 2021 and produced another excellent season. Donovan hit .402 in 42 games, collecting 66 hits in 164 at-bats. He scored 53 runs and finished with four doubles, four triples and a team-high nine home runs. Donovan drove in 55, giving Alpine another major run producer alongside Traylor.

James Prockish also returned after leading Alpine with 83 hits in 2021. Prockish appeared in 45 games in 2022 and hit .363 with 61 hits. He scored 44 runs, hit 10 doubles and three home runs and drove in 43. His continued production gave the Cowboys an important returning presence in the lineup.

Manny Garcia was spectacular during his 29 games with the Cowboys. Garcia hit .488, collecting 42 hits in 86 at-bats. He scored 36 runs, hit seven doubles, a triple and a home run and drove in 20. His .645 on-base percentage was extraordinary and gave Alpine another hitter who was extremely difficult to retire.

Josh Laurie appeared in 40 games and hit .377 with 46 hits, 40 runs and 35 RBIs. Buzz Shirley contributed as a two-way player, hitting .385 with 30 hits and 31 RBIs while also becoming the most successful pitcher on the Alpine staff. Calvin Graves returned for another season and provided additional depth to a lineup filled with players who had experience at Kokernot Field.

The combination of Traylor, Capone, Donovan, Prockish, Garcia and Laurie made Alpine extremely difficult to pitch against. The Cowboys had hitters capable of reaching base at extraordinary rates, power in the middle of the lineup and enough depth to produce big innings throughout the summer. The result was an offense that regularly posted double-digit run totals.

The pitching staff was led by Buzz Shirley, who put together an outstanding season on the mound. Shirley went a perfect 9-0 in 10 appearances, including nine starts. He worked 57.1 innings, posted a 4.23 ERA and struck out 68. His nine victories led the team, and Alpine never lost a pitching decision charged to Shirley during the regular season.

Colton Whitehouse became another valuable member of the staff. Whitehouse went 4-0 with a 4.02 ERA in 12 appearances, including four starts. He worked 31.1 innings, struck out 41 and recorded two saves. Michael Castillo appeared in 25 games out of the bullpen and went 3-3 with a 4.30 ERA while recording three saves and striking out 39 in 31.1 innings.

Alejandro Amezquita returned after being one of Alpine's most important pitchers in 2021. He appeared in 23 games, recorded three victories and three saves and struck out 42 in 38.1 innings. Jonathan Triesler appeared in 24 games and worked 35.1 innings, while Trey Silmon made 18 appearances and struck out 38 in 26 innings.

Jared Strait was particularly effective in a limited relief role. Strait appeared in eight games and posted a 1.86 ERA with two saves, allowing only two earned runs in 9.2 innings while striking out 13. Matthew Hess posted a 1.17 ERA in three appearances, and Prockish even contributed on the mound with a complete-game appearance in which he allowed no earned runs over nine innings.

After the opening four-game losing streak and subsequent six-game winning streak, Alpine continued building momentum. The Cowboys added an 18-6 victory before suffering a 12-5 loss, then responded with victories of 16-7, 14-7, 11-10 and 6-4. The early-season turnaround had become much more than a short winning streak. Alpine had established itself as a legitimate contender.

The Cowboys continued to win as the schedule progressed. Alpine recorded victories of 8-4 and 6-3 and then survived a 10-9 game. After a narrow 9-8 loss, the Cowboys responded with consecutive victories of 7-5 and 8-5. Even when Alpine lost, the club rarely allowed one defeat to become an extended losing streak.

One of the strongest stretches of the season followed. After a 14-11 loss, Alpine exploded for an 18-3 victory and then won three consecutive one-run games by scores of 7-6, 6-5 and 9-8. Those victories demonstrated an important quality of the team. The Cowboys could overwhelm an opponent offensively, but they could also find ways to survive close games when every run mattered.

Alpine followed those one-run victories with a 9-1 win and then produced one of the biggest offensive performances of the season, winning 25-4. A 14-6 victory followed, and the Cowboys then won 10-7. By that point, the poor beginning of the season had become a distant memory.

The Cowboys had developed into one of the league's strongest teams.

The second half of the schedule brought more challenges. Alpine lost 10-8 before responding with a 7-6 victory. An 18-10 loss was followed by wins of 18-12 and 8-5. After another narrow 7-6 defeat, the Cowboys won 8-3. The ability to continually answer losses prevented Alpine from suffering the type of extended slump that could have damaged its postseason position.

A difficult stretch followed with three consecutive losses by scores of 18-15, 11-8 and 14-9. It was one of the few times after the opening week that Alpine lost several games in succession. Once again, the Cowboys responded. Alpine won 10-3, followed with a 5-1 victory and then delivered its most dominant pitching performance of the season with a 20-0 shutout.

The 20-0 victory illustrated the enormous range of the 2022 Cowboys. Alpine had spent much of the season winning high-scoring Pecos League games, but the team was also capable of completely shutting down an opponent while the offense continued to pile up runs.

Alpine later won 22-14, and after a narrow 14-13 loss the Cowboys answered with a 10-7 victory. The regular season ultimately ended with Alpine at 33-19, a substantial improvement from the 30-25 club that had returned to the postseason the previous year.

The improvement was particularly impressive considering the way the season began. After four games, Alpine was 0-4. From that point forward, the Cowboys went 33-15. The team that looked vulnerable during the opening days of June became one of the strongest clubs in the league over the remainder of the summer.

The offensive statistics showed why. Traylor hit .465 with 80 hits and 58 RBIs. Capone hit .399 with 79 hits and scored 72 runs. Donovan hit .402 with nine home runs and 55 RBIs. Prockish hit .363 and drove in 43. Garcia hit an extraordinary .488 during his 29 games, and Laurie hit .377. Alpine had multiple hitters who spent significant portions of the season around or above the .400 mark.

Shirley's season on the mound was equally important. Going 9-0 gave Alpine a dependable winner at the top of the pitching staff. Whitehouse went 4-0, while Castillo, Amezquita, Strait and others provided innings out of the bullpen. The pitching staff was not always dominant, but it gave the Cowboys enough quality performances to complement one of the league's most productive offenses.

The 2022 season continued Alpine's return to prominence following the interruption of 2020. The Cowboys had returned in 2021 and finished 30-25 before losing a deciding playoff game 6-5. In 2022, Alpine improved to 33-19 and again established Kokernot Field as one of the most difficult places for visiting teams in the Pecos League.

The season also demonstrated the continuity that had developed within the organization. Donovan, Prockish, Graves, Amezquita and Triesler were among the players who returned from the previous season, while Traylor represented an even longer connection to Alpine's past. That familiarity helped give the Cowboys an identity even as independent baseball rosters continued to change throughout the summer.

For Alpine, the 2022 season was ultimately another example of the standard that had developed at Kokernot Field. The Cowboys had been one of the foundational organizations of the Pecos League since 2011. They had won championships in 2012 and 2019 and had established a history of regularly playing meaningful baseball late in the summer.

The 2022 team upheld that tradition. It was a club with an explosive offense, a 9-0 pitcher in Buzz Shirley and several returning players who had become familiar names to Alpine fans. Most importantly, it was a team that responded to adversity. Starting 0-4 could have sent the season in the wrong direction, but the Cowboys immediately won six consecutive games and never allowed the opening week to define their summer.

By the end of the regular season, Alpine had turned an 0-4 start into a 33-19 record. Traylor had produced a .465 season, Garcia had hit .488, Donovan had again been one of the team's biggest run producers, Capone had scored 72 runs and Shirley had gone undefeated on the mound.

The 2022 Alpine Cowboys were again one of the strongest teams in the Pecos League, continuing the winning tradition that had become synonymous with summer baseball at Kokernot Field.