The 2021 Alpine Cowboys season represented the return of professional baseball to Kokernot Field after the Pecos League did not play its traditional season in 2020. Alpine entered 2021 nearly two years removed from its 2019 Pecos League Championship, when the Cowboys finished a tremendous season by defeating the Bakersfield Train Robbers in the Championship Series. After the year away, the 2021 season was about reestablishing the Cowboys, rebuilding a roster and returning Alpine to postseason baseball.
The Cowboys finished the 2021 regular season 30-25 and qualified for the playoffs. It was not the dominant championship run Alpine had experienced in 2019, but the Cowboys remained competitive throughout an unpredictable season and consistently responded to difficult stretches with winning streaks of their own. After the interruption of 2020, having professional baseball back at Kokernot Field and returning immediately to the postseason represented an important step forward for the organization.
The season began on June 2 with a wild 19-14 loss, but Alpine responded the following night with an 11-3 victory. A difficult 28-3 loss followed, providing an early example of how unpredictable the summer would become. The Cowboys quickly recovered, winning 4-2, 14-7, 20-10 and 8-5 during a four-game winning streak. Just as Alpine appeared to be establishing momentum, the Cowboys lost four consecutive games before responding with an 18-3 victory.
That pattern continued throughout much of the season. Alpine would go through a difficult stretch and then immediately answer with another run of victories. Following the four-game losing streak, the Cowboys won 7-6, 19-5, 17-7 and 12-10 in four consecutive games. The offense demonstrated that it could score with anyone in the Pecos League, and high-scoring games became a regular feature of the 2021 season.
James Prockish emerged as one of the most consistent hitters in the Alpine lineup. Prockish appeared in 54 games and collected a team-high 83 hits in 216 at-bats for a .384 batting average. He scored 39 runs, hit 16 doubles, a triple and four home runs and drove in 43. His ability to consistently reach base made him one of the most dependable offensive players on the roster.
Chris ONeal supplied much of Alpine's power. ONeal appeared in 40 games and hit .387 with 60 hits in 155 at-bats. He scored 40 runs, hit a team-high 11 home runs and drove in 42. His combination of average and power gave the Cowboys one of the most dangerous middle-of-the-order hitters in the league.
Calvin Graves also put together an outstanding offensive season. Graves hit .396 in 36 games, collecting 57 hits in 144 at-bats. He scored 34 runs, hit 10 doubles and three home runs and drove in 36. Bryce Donovan became another major run producer, appearing in 50 games and hitting .344 with 65 hits. Donovan scored a team-high 50 runs, hit nine doubles and seven home runs and drove in a team-high 48.
Christian Armstrong added eight home runs and 31 RBIs while hitting .327 in 41 games. Chandler Hughes appeared in 48 games and scored 46 runs while collecting 53 hits, five doubles, a triple and five home runs. Hughes drove in 33 and stole 10 bases. Tylor Frailey also stole 10 bases while scoring 37 runs in 46 games. Alex Westman hit .378 in 35 games, while Dylan Nolan hit .323 and Andrew Fregia hit .342 during their time with the club. Mark Traylor, who had been part of previous Alpine teams, returned for a short stint and hit .364 in 10 games.
The Cowboys therefore had plenty of offensive production throughout the roster. Prockish provided consistency, ONeal supplied power, Graves hit nearly .400 and Donovan produced runs from the middle of the lineup. Alpine could put together large offensive innings, and that ability helped the Cowboys survive a season in which the pitching staff was not always consistent.
Alejandro Amezquita became one of Alpine's most valuable pitchers. Amezquita appeared in 25 games and finished 6-3 with a 3.70 ERA. He worked 51 innings, struck out 59 and recorded five saves. His ability to handle important innings and close games gave the Cowboys one of their most dependable arms.
Jake Voss provided one of the strongest performances in the starting rotation. Voss went 5-1 with a 4.17 ERA in seven starts. He worked 41 innings, completed one game and struck out 38. Jake Thomas carried one of the largest workloads among Alpine's starters, making 10 starts and finishing 5-2 with a 4.82 ERA. Thomas worked 59.2 innings and struck out 51.
Jared Strait made 11 starts and went 4-3 while working 55 innings and striking out 48. Joe Raab was particularly effective during his limited time with the club, posting a 2.86 ERA in three starts. Raab worked 22 innings, completed two games and struck out 27. Jake Woods appeared in 25 games and worked 46.1 innings while recording four saves, giving Alpine another frequently used option on the pitching staff.
The uneven nature of the pitching staff contributed to the dramatic swings that appeared throughout the schedule. Alpine could dominate one night and find itself in a high-scoring battle the next. After a strong middle portion of June, the Cowboys lost three consecutive games before winning 5-4 on June 23. They then lost two more games before sweeping a June 26 doubleheader with victories of 7-6 and 9-5. Alpine closed June by losing 7-6, winning 12-2 and losing 13-8.
July followed a similar pattern. Alpine opened the month with a 3-2 victory, lost 13-5 and then won 6-2. The Cowboys later won 6-3 before dropping three consecutive games. Once again, Alpine responded rather than allowing the losing streak to derail the season. The Cowboys won 14-7 and 14-10 on consecutive days, exploded for a 25-2 victory and followed with a 12-10 win. That four-game winning streak became one of the most important stretches of the summer and kept Alpine firmly in the postseason race.
The final portion of July continued to produce the type of unpredictable baseball that had defined the season. Alpine lost a wild 22-16 game and responded with a 21-15 victory. The Cowboys followed with a 12-8 win, suffered a 23-9 loss and then won consecutive games 7-2 and 9-8. A July 29 doubleheader provided a perfect example of the season when Alpine was shut out 3-0 in the opener and came back to win the second game 4-2. The Cowboys lost 4-3 the following night before finishing July with a 10-8 victory.
Alpine entered August still fighting for its postseason position. The Cowboys lost 5-4 on August 2 but responded with a 10-8 victory on August 3. When the regular season was complete, Alpine had finished 30-25 and secured a return to the Pecos League playoffs.
The postseason began on August 6 with Alpine losing 7-2, immediately putting the Cowboys one game away from elimination. The team responded the following night with one of its biggest victories of the summer, winning 10-9 to even the series and force a deciding third game. After an entire season filled with close games, offensive shootouts and dramatic swings, Alpine's season appropriately came down to another one-run game.
The deciding game on August 8 was another close battle, but this time Alpine finished on the wrong side of the score. The Cowboys lost 6-5, bringing the 2021 season to an end. After winning the Pecos League Championship in their previous completed season, Alpine's return to postseason baseball ended just one run short of advancing.
The playoff loss was disappointing, but there were plenty of positives from the 2021 season. Prockish hit .384 with 83 hits, ONeal hit .387 with 11 home runs, Graves hit .396 and Donovan scored 50 runs while driving in 48. Armstrong added eight home runs, while several other players provided productive stretches during the summer. On the mound, Amezquita went 6-3 with a 3.70 ERA and five saves, Voss went 5-1, Thomas won five games and Raab posted a 2.86 ERA during his three starts.
The defining characteristic of the 2021 Cowboys was their ability to respond. Alpine endured several difficult losing streaks but repeatedly answered with winning streaks. The Cowboys could lose by a large margin one night and return the next night looking like a completely different team. They never developed the sustained dominance of the 2019 championship club, but they remained competitive enough throughout the summer to finish above .500 and earn another opportunity in the postseason.
The 2021 season also represented an important transition in Alpine Cowboys history. The 2019 championship had been the culmination of a tremendous season under Sean Persky, but the interruption of 2020 created a natural separation between that championship team and the next era of Cowboys baseball. When Alpine returned to the field in 2021, the roster had changed and the organization essentially had to begin building again.
Despite those challenges, the Cowboys finished 30-25 and returned to the playoffs. Kokernot Field once again hosted professional baseball, and Alpine remained one of the competitive organizations in the Pecos League. The season did not end with another championship celebration, but it demonstrated that the Cowboys could return after a year away and immediately compete for a postseason position.
The final three games provided an appropriate conclusion to the season. Alpine lost the playoff opener 7-2, responded with a dramatic 10-9 victory and then lost the deciding game 6-5. The Cowboys had spent the entire summer battling through close games and responding to adversity, and their postseason followed exactly the same pattern.
Two years earlier, Alpine's season had ended with the Cowboys celebrating the 2019 Pecos League Championship. In 2021, the season ended one run short of advancing in the playoffs. It was not the championship ending Alpine wanted, but the 30-25 season successfully brought Cowboys baseball back to Kokernot Field and returned the franchise to the Pecos League postseason after a year away.
