A complete schedule for the Class 3A regional softball playoffs. All games are Oct. 11, unless noted.
Note that the third game will only be played if the higher-seeded team (Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) loses the second game. The winner of game two and game three will then be the state qualifiers.
If the higher-seeded team wins games number two, game number three will not be play and the two participants in game two will be the state qualifiers.
Printable bracket: PDF
AURORA — Fossil Ridge, Frederick and Strasburg earned the top overall seeds in their respective classifications when the regional softball brackets were released by CHSAA on Sunday.
Fossil Ridge, 17-1-0, won the always-tough Front Range League in Class 5A by virtue of going unbeaten 11-0. 5A’s No. 2 seed, Legacy (15-4-0), also hails from the Front Range League. Both will host their respective regionals.
Legacy is the defending 5A champion.
No. 3-seeded Dakota Ridge, No. 4 Brighton, No. 5 Castle View, No. 6 Legend, No. 7 Grandview and No. 8 Broomfield will also host regionals.
Find each of the 5A regional brackets here.
In 4A, Frederick was a clear-cut No. 1 seed. The Warriors finished the season unbeaten at 19-0-0, won the Tri-Valley League, and played a very tough schedule which included top teams from 4A and 3A, as well as 5A opponents.
Valor Christian (18-1-0) got the No. 2 seed, while Pueblo West is No. 3. Defending champion Wheat Ridge is the No. 4.
Other regional hosts in 4A are No. 5 Silver Creek, No. 6 Vista Ridge, No. 7 Discovery Canyon and No. 8 Mountain View.
The full 4A regional brackets are available here.
3A’s top-seeded Strasburg (also the defending 3A champion) went unbeaten at 19-0-0 despite playing in District 3, which is arguably the toughest softball league in the state.
That district also features No. 2-seeded Valley — which will also host a region — No. 4 Sterling and No. 5 Eaton. Additionally, Brush (No. 10), Lyons (No. 13) and Greeley Central (No. 18) also qualified for the regional bracket.
Other regional hosts in 3A include No. 3 La Junta, No. 7 Skyline, No. 8 Burlington and No. 9 Cedaredge.
Full brackets for the 3A regionals are here.
Each of the regional tournaments will begin and complete play next Saturday, Oct. 11. Both the Class 5A and 4A tournaments feature 32-team fields split into eight regions, while 3A has 18 teams split into six.
All three regional tournaments will advance two teams from each region to their respective state tournaments Oct. 17-18 at Aurora Sports Park.
BROOMFIELD — No. 1 Brighton softball scored 3 runs in the top of the 7th inning to inch past Holy Family 3-2 on Saturday. Brighton is now 18-1 this season, while Holy Family drops to 7-12.
Melissa Rahrich hit a 3-run home run in the final inning and pitched a one-run complete game for Brighton.
DENVER — Wheat Ridge is two wins away from a seventh consecutive Class 4A Jeffco League softball title.
The Farmers, defending 4A state champion and No. 2 in this week’s CHSAANow.com rankings, handed conference foe D’Evelyn an 8-2 loss Tuesday afternoon. Wheat Ridge (13-4, 6-0 in league) just needs wins over Valor Christian (Wednesday) and Arvada (Thursday) to complete a seventh sweep through 4A Jeffco.
Since moving to 4A in 2008, the Farmers have won four state titles and haven’t lost a conference game. In fact, according to Wheat Ridge coach Marty Stricklett, Wheat Ridge’s loss to Frederick earlier this month was the first loss to a 4A team during the regular season since Stricklett took over the program in 2008.
“We’ve got to keep it going,” Stricklett said of the Farmers’ remarkable conference streak. “This was a tough game, but it will get us ready for tomorrow. Valor is a good team. They hit the ball, play defense and pitch well. It will be a battle.”
The Farmers travel to Highlands Ranch to play No. 4 Valor (15-1, 5-1) on Wednesday. The game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start. The Eagles shut out Evergreen 6-0 on Tuesday.
“It’s very important to us, but it’s also very important as a team that we continue this legacy that’s been at this school for a long time now,” Wheat Ridge senior Christina Nelson said of the Farmers’ league dominance and being in the mix for another state title.
Wheat Ridge suffered a 10-6 non-league loss to Brighton, the No. 1 ranked team in 5A, last week. Stricklett shook up his lineup Tuesday against D’Evelyn, including giving Nelson the start on the mound. It was Nelson’s first pitching action in more than a month.
Nelson responded giving up just two runs on six hits to pick up her first win of the season with a complete-game effort.
“It’s be awhile, but it wasn’t a surprise to me,” Nelson said of getting the start. “I was asked to go out and pitch for my team. That’s what I’m going to do.”
Wheat Ridge’s offense got off to a quick start with back-to-back singles by junior Ann Marie Torres and senior Analece Apodaca to lead off the game. Sophomore Gabby Loya drove both in with a two-run single giving the Farmers a 2-0 lead.
Loya had a strong day at the play in the Farmers’ cleanup stop. She drove in three runs and had a pair of hits to keep her average at .500 for the season.
“I just do whatever I can for my team,” Loya said. “We win as a whole team. I do whatever I can to get the ‘W’.”
Loya was diagnosed with leukemia last year and is still undergoing chemotherapy treatments. She shared the catching duties with senior Mary Sand on Tuesday.
“She (Loya) is the best hitter on the team right now,” Stricklett said. “She is a battler. She is still the hardest working kid I’ve ever coached.”
Torres fought her way to a prefect 5-for-5 from the plate against D’Evelyn. She scored three times and drove in a pair of runs. Apodaca had a trio of singles to help out the Farmers’ cause.
D’Evelyn (6-10, 5-2) was led offensively by junior Kelsey Marvel’s two-hit performance. Junior Gabriella Wilson and senior Adrianna Martinez picked up the RBIs for the Jaguars.
The Jaguars are the only team who has defeated Valor this season. D’Evelyn knocked off the Eagles with a 1-0 victory back on Sept. 13. Despite some quality wins, the Jaguars will have to hope to pick up an at-large bid to qualify for the postseason.
D’Evelyn closes out its regular season on the road against Golden on Thursday before a non-league tilt against Castle View at home Saturday.
Brighton has returned to the top spot in CHSAANow.com’s Class 5A softball rankings.
The Bulldogs, 15-1 to this point, received seven of the 12 first-place votes and had 92 total points to claim the No. 1 spot. Fossil Ridge got the other five first-place votes and is No. 2.
Brighton was last No. 1 in the Sept. 8 poll. A week later, Dakota Ridge supplanted the Bulldogs, though Brighton has remained No. 2 for the ensuing three weeks.
Dakota Ridge was upset by Ralston Valley last week, and is now No. 4.
Prairie View (No. 8) and Denver East (No. 9) joined the 5A ranking this week.
Frederick (4A) and Strasburg (3A) stayed atop their respective rankings this week.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
Complete rankings for each class are below.
[divider]
Voted upon by coaches and select media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Brighton has returned to the top spot in CHSAANow.com’s Class 5A softball rankings.
The Bulldogs, 15-1 to this point, received seven of the 12 first-place votes and had 92 total points to claim the No. 1 spot. Fossil Ridge got the other five first-place votes and is No. 2.
Brighton was last No. 1 in the Sept. 8 poll. A week later, Dakota Ridge supplanted the Bulldogs, though Brighton has remained No. 2 for the ensuing three weeks.
Dakota Ridge was upset by Ralston Valley last week, and is now No. 4.
Prairie View (No. 8) and Denver East (No. 9) joined the 5A ranking this week.
Frederick (4A) and Strasburg (3A) stayed atop their respective rankings this week.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
Complete rankings for each class are below.
[divider]
Voted upon by coaches and select media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
| Class 5A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Brighton (7) | 14-1-0 | 92 | 2 | 4-0-0 |
| 2 | Fossil Ridge (5) | 15-1-0 | 89 | 3 | 3-0-0 |
| 3 | Dakota Ridge | 13-3-0 | 73 | 1 | 1-1-0 |
| 4 | Castle View | 14-2-0 | 66 | 4 | 3-0-0 |
| 5 | Legacy | 13-4-0 | 61 | 7 | 3-0-0 |
| 6 | Legend | 14-3-0 | 54 | 5 | 2-0-0 |
| 7 | Mountain Range | 14-3-0 | 39 | 6 | 2-1-0 |
| 8 | Prairie View | 15-2-0 | 25 | – | 3-0-0 |
| 9 | Denver East | 14-3-0 | 18 | – | 2-1-0 |
| 10 | Grandview | 11-6-0 | 9 | 9 | 2-1-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Broomfield 6, Douglas County 5, Eaglecrest 5, Grand Junction Central 5, Ralston Valley 4, Pomona 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Chaparral (8), Grand Junction Central (10). | |||||
| Class 4A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Frederick (8) | 18-0-0 | 80 | 1 | 3-0-0 |
| 2 | Wheat Ridge | 12-4-0 | 69 | 3 | 2-1-0 |
| 3 | Discovery Canyon | 14-2-0 | 53 | 4 | 2-1-0 |
| 4 | Valor Christian | 14-1-0 | 49 | 5 | 3-0-0 |
| 5 | Vista Ridge | 15-3-0 | 42 | 7 | 2-0-0 |
| 6 | Pueblo West | 13-3-0 | 36 | 6 | 2-0-0 |
| 7 | Mountain View | 15-2-0 | 34 | 2 | 2-2-0 |
| 8 | Berthoud | 11-6-0 | 23 | 8 | 1-1-0 |
| 9 | Niwot | 12-4-1 | 17 | – | 2-1-0 |
| 10 | Woodland Park | 15-2-0 | 14 | – | 2-0-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Silver Creek 7, Erie 5, Evergreen 3, Pueblo East 3, D’Evelyn 2, Falcon 2, Ponderosa 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Windsor (9), Erie (10). | |||||
| Class 3A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Strasburg (7) | 17-0-0 | 70 | 1 | 3-0-0 |
| 2 | Valley | 14-3-0 | 62 | 2 | 3-0-0 |
| 3 | Sterling | 13-4-0 | 57 | 3 | 3-0-0 |
| 4 | Lamar | 11-5-0 | 46 | 6 | 1-0-0 |
| 5 | Eaton | 12-4-0 | 45 | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| 6 | La Junta | 14-2-0 | 34 | 5 | 0-1-0 |
| 7 | Cedaredge | 11-5-0 | 22 | 10 | 3-1-0 |
| 8 | Skyline | 13-4-0 | 18 | – | 2-1-0 |
| 9 | Rocky Ford | 11-4-0 | 12 | 9 | 2-0-0 |
| 10 | Brush | 9-8-0 | 11 | 8 | 1-2-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| The Academy 4, Burlington 3, Basalt 2, Gunnison 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Basalt (7). | |||||
WESTMINSTER — No. 7 Legacy beat No. 6 Mountain Range 10-0 in Class 5A softball on Saturday.
WESTMINSTER – Opposing teams have been hard-pressed in recent weeks to find ways to cool off the blazing bats of Legacy’s softball team.
During its current eight-game winning streak – including Saturday’s impressive 10-0 victory over No. 6 Mountain Range – the seventh-ranked Lightning has been lighting up the scoreboard to the tune of more than 12 runs per game.
Legacy sent 10 hitters to the plate in the first inning Saturday and pushed five runs across, the big blow coming on a 3-run home run from senior Celyn Whitt.
Lightning coach Dawn Gaffin isn’t taking any credit for those numbers though – she gives it all to assistants John Waller and Lauren Green.
“They have worked with these girls on hitting and team at-bats, and individual at-bats, and an approach at the plate, and hitting the ball where it’s pitched,” Gaffin said. “I’m giving them kudos and credit because it is totally and all about them.
“These girls responded to that today.”
The victory kept Legacy (13-4, 8-1) just behind No. 3 Fossil Ridge in the Front Range League standings with two league games remaining. If the teams finished tied, the Sabercats would own the tiebreaker by virtue of a 13-12 victory over Legacy on Sept. 9.
Mountain Range (14-3, 6-3) has hit the ball as well as any team in the state this fall, but the Mustangs couldn’t muster much offense against Lightning ace Haley Smith. Mountain Range was limited to only one hit and three base runners overall through five innings on the team’s Senior Day.
“They circled this game at the beginning of the year and they wanted it more than anything,” Mustangs coach Dane Craig said. “Hats off to Legacy, they came out and swung the bat really well in the beginning of the game, and Haley Smith pitched an excellent game.
“We just didn’t have an answer for them right now, but we’re 14-3 and we have a good head of steam going into regionals.”
Legacy opened the game up with a bang. With two runners on, Whitt unloaded a pitch from Hunter Huser over the left-field wall to put her team up 3-0. Jordan Sheard and Trisha Cook added run-scoring singles in the frame.
“What we try to do every inning is we come out and we score first,” Whitt said. “We win every inning. It’s a big thing for us to get some runs to back up our pitcher.”
Whitt doubled in a run in the second and scored on another double from Emily Taggart, and Alyssa Geist added a 2-run home run in the fourth inning.
Smith pitched five scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing only a fourth-inning single to Ally Richter.
“It’s definitely a team win,” Whitt said. “When we pull all of our parts together, nothing feels better.”
The defending Class 5A state champions host Fairview and Rocky Mountain to close out the regular season before regional tournaments get underway.
“That’s what we’re preparing for – we know we have two games, and we’re keeping the girls focused on those two games,” Gaffin said. “Then we start season No. 2 on Oct. 6.”
Mountain Range – which opened the season with nine consecutive victories, including a 13-6 triumph over current 5A No. 1 Dakota Ridge – closes at Horizon and Poudre. The team has enjoyed a remarkable run behind an offense that was hitting above .500 coming into Saturday, with junior Riley Craig and senior Kaylee Dethouars each in the top five in 5A in hits.
Dane Craig said he has no doubts his squad will put this loss behind them quickly.
“We’re not overlooking anybody. We know we have to go in strong to regionals,” he said. “I know they will. We’re going to rebound from this.”
ARVADA — It isn’t easy to run the table in the Class 5A Jeffco softball conference.
The Dakota Ridge Eagles, No. 1 in this week’s CHSAANow.com 5A rankings, were flying high with a seven-game winning streaking coming into Saturday’s league contest against Ralston Valley. The Mustangs (10-7, 3-2 in league) were saddled with a three-game losing streak, but were able to buck the skid.
Ralston Valley knocked off the top-ranked Eagles with a 7-6 victory at home in eight innings. Senior Kat Schaefer crossed the plate for the game-winning run, scoring all the way from first base on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Sydney Harsh in the bottom of the eighth inning.
“I saw third base was open and coach (Wendy Davies) was telling me to go,” Schaefer said about what she saw rounding second base as Dakota Ridge’s defenders charged to field the bunt. “Right when I saw the catcher not cover home I knew we won. It felt good.”
The throw to third base in attempt to get Schaefer out sailed into the Mustangs’ dugout to score the final run. It was the third error in the final three innings for the Eagles (13-3, 4-1).
“We knew this was going to be a tough game. Wendy always prepares her teams well from year-to-year,” Dakota Ridge coach Marv Van Lingen said. “I knew with a three-game skid that we would be fighting a team that is trying to break that skid.”
It was déjà vu for the Eagles. Ralston Valley took a 2-1 victory against Dakota Ridge in extra innings last season on the Mustangs’ home field.
Ralston Valley led for the majority of Saturday’s game. Sophomore Alexa Samuels led the way with an RBI sacrifice fly in the first inning to give the Mustangs an early lead. Samuels finished 3-for-3 from the plate with a pair of triples.
The Mustangs led 4-1 through five innings before Dakota Ridge rallied with a trio of runs in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game at 4-4. Sophomore Kacey Valerio came off the bench with a pinch-hit two-run single and her older sister, Dani Valerio, followed that up with an RBI single to get the Eagles right back into the game.
Ralston Valley regained the lead at 5-4 in the bottom half of the sixth when freshman Gianna Browdy scored from second base on a fielding error.
The top-ranked team responded again with a two-run top of the seventh inning to take a 6-5 lead. Down to their final strike, Dakota Ridge sophomore Melissa Mages looped in an RBI double to tie the game at 6-6. Junior McKenzie Wilhelm gave the Eagles their first lead of the game with an RBI single.
The Mustangs rallied in the bottom of the seventh with a leadoff triple by Samuels.
“She (Samuels) is definitely a clutch player,” Schaefer said.
Junior Maddy Smith drove in Samuels with an RBI single to send the game into extra innings. Ralston Valley managed seven hits and was opportunistic capitalizing on eight walks the Eagles issued.
Dani Valerio was left stranded at second base in the top of the eighth inning for Dakota Ridge. Ralston Valley jumped on the chance to put the game away after Schaefer led off the bottom of the eighth with a single.
“I think we all focused on playing as a team and didn’t focus on who we were playing,” Samuels said. “It was a good team win. It was fun.”
Ralston Valley junior Rylie Strong picked up the victory on the mound. She gave up nine hits in the complete-game victory. Dakota Ridge junior Megan Sansburn pitched the first two innings, but struggled with her command giving up four walks. Sophomore Carlye Levy took over in the circle for the Eagles in the third inning. Van Lingen put Sansburn back in at pitcher in the bottom of the eighth inning to face Harsh, who put down the perfect bunt on the game-winning play.
“We got the bunts down and got the hits when we needed them,” Davies said. “It was a whole team effort.”
Dakota Ridge can still take the conference title. The Eagles close out league with road games against Columbine (Tuesday) and Lakewood (Thursday) next week.
“In hindsight, this is probably going to be a good thing hopefully to get the girls refocused,” Van Lingen said. “It might have happened at the right time.”
Ralston Valley closes it regular season against Bear Creek (Tuesday) and Columbine (Thursday) next week before heading to the postseason.
“It’s really good for our confidence coming off those big losses,” Schaefer said. “We know Dakota is a great opponent. We came out strong and finished strong today.”
BRIGHTON — Class 5A No. 2 Brighton softball jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the third inning and held off a late rally from Class 4A No. 3 Wheat Ridge to win 10-6 on Friday.
Brighton’s Natalie Sanchez had 3 hits, 3 RBIs and 1 run. Ann Marie Torres collected 2 hits, 3 RBIs and 2 runs for Wheat Ridge.
BROOMFIELD — Legacy scored twice in the bottom of the seventh inning to take an 8-7 win over rival Broomfield in softball on Wednesday.
Down 7-2 heading to the bottom of the sixth inning, the seventh-ranked Lightning scored the game’s final six runs, including four in that half inning.
Alyssa Geist was 2-for-4 with three RBIs to lead Legacy, while Celyn Whitt was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
Broomfield sophomore Lindsey Malkin went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, while fellow sophomore Brennan Thomas was also 3-for-4. Another sophomore, Megan Biesterfeld, scored three runs.