The Aurora Sports Park, host of the state softball tournaments. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
AURORA — The Class 5A, 4A and 3A state softball tournaments will remain at the Aurora Sports Park this fall.
CHSAA and the Sports Park completed an agreement Tuesday morning, meaning the tournaments will stay where they have been hosted since 2002.
“We are very fortunate to have the working relationship that we do — not only with the Park itself, but the people at Aurora Sports Park — to continue hosting our tournament at a venue where all three classifications can be spotlighted,” said CHSAA assistant commissioner Bud Ozzello, who oversees softball.
The softball tournaments are played on 12 fields across three different complexes at the Aurora Sports Park each October. This year’s event is Oct. 17-18.
Haley Smith is the 5A softball player of the year. (Pam Wagner)
The 2013 all-state softball teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These team were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues and coaches, and then a vote of coaches. Find more information here.
The players who received the most votes in their classification were selected as the player of the year in their class.
Scroll down to see the teams, or use the menu below to navigate to the class of your choosing.
Wheat Ridge senior Jessica Salbato lifts the Class 4A state softball trophy with her teammates Sunday at Aurora Sports Park. The Farmers claimed their fourth 4A state title over the past six seasons. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)
AURORA — Wheat Ridge senior Jessica Salbato couldn’t wait to get her hands on the Class 4A state softball trophy.
“I’ve always wanted a state ring, a state championship with me on the mound,” Salbato said after she tossed a complete-game, two-hit shutout against Erie on Sunday afternoon in the 4A championship game at Aurora Sports Park.
While Salbato handcuffed the Tigers’ bats, the top-seeded Farmers (24-1) used the one-two offensive punch of sophomore Ann Marie Torres and junior Analece Apodaca. The pair drove in three of Wheat Ridge’s four runs in the 4-0 victory.
Wheat Ridge senior Jessica Salbato allowed just two hits in the Farmers’ 4-0 victory over Erie in the Class 4A state championship game Sunday. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)
“We wanted to do everything in our power to get it (state title) for Jessica,” Torres said. “She deserves this so much.”
Torres led off the bottom of the first inning with a triple off Erie freshman pitcher Rio Sanchez. Apodaca followed with a double to drive in the only run Wheat Ridge really needed.
“It was good. We just wanted to get that one run early,” Apodaca said.
Wheat Ridge pushed across two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 3-0 lead. Torres ripped a ground rule double down the left field line two drive in a pair. She finished 3-for-4 from the plate in the title game, just a home run short of hitting for the cycle.
“The power of those two is unbelievable,” Wheat Ridge coach Marty Stricklett said of Torres and Apodaca.
The Farmers tacked on their final run with an RBI single by junior Mary Sand in the bottom of the fifth inning. Wheat Ridge’s offense cranked out 11 hits, but Salbato’s performance on the mound couldn’t be overshadowed.
“Jess threw a gem,” Stricklett said. “We had timely hitting too, but I’ve got to give it to Jessica. To two-hit Erie is a big accomplishment.”
Wheat Ridge sophomore Ann Marie Torres slides safely into third base ahead of the throw for Erie junior Katie Kovets during the Class 4A state championship final Sunday at Aurora Sports Park. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)
Sanchez broke up Salbato’s no-hit bid with a single in the top of the fifth inning. Junior Katie Kovets had the other hit for the Tigers. She singled in the top of the seventh.
It was the first shutout loss Erie (21-4-1) had suffered all season. It was the third loss in a championship game for the Tigers. Erie has an 11-3 record in title games.
“Everybody gives us their best game and we know that,” Erie coach Bob Bledsoe said. “(Wheat Ridge) was clearly the better team today.”
Bledsoe did say it was fun to finally face the Farmers in a championship game. Erie claimed its first 10 state titles at the 3A level before moving up to 4A in 2010. The Tigers defeated the Farmers 12-2 in the semifinals in their inaugural season in 4A on the way to a state title.
“Bob is one of those guys I tip my cap to,” Stricklett said of Bledsoe. “He has run a great, successful program. In my opinion he is the best coach in the state of Colorado. It was an honor to play him and his team today.”
Wheat Ridge claimed its sixth state title since 2002 with the victory. The Farmers won back-to-back 5A state titles in 2002 and 2003 under former coach Eric Larson. Wheat Ridge has now won four 4A state titles over the past six years under the tenure of Stricklett.
Wheat Ridge coach Marty Sticklett, far right, is all smiles after the Farmers won its sixth state softball title in school history Sunday. The Farmers beat Erie 4-0 in the Class 4A title game. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)Wheat Ridge softball players celebrate its 4-0 victory against Erie in the 4A state championship game Sunday at Aurora Sports Park. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)Erie sophomore Katie Glaze slides into second base as Wheat Ridge sophomore Ann Marie Torres puts down a tag during the first inning Sunday in the Class 4A state title game. Glaze was ruled safe on the play. Also pictured is Wheat Ridge sophomore Christina Nelson. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)
AURORA — After a year away, Legacy’s softball team is back on top of the Class 5A mountain.
The Lightning won their sixth title in seven years, edging Legend 6-4 at a chilly Aurora Sports Park on Sunday.
“We see everybody’s Sunday best,” Legacy coach Dawn Gaffin, who has been the head of the Lightning softball program for 14 years. “Everybody comes to play us. People from other teams line up on the other side and cheer against us, and we are getting used to it. We set this goal at the beginning of the year, every year. We don’t think about anything else, except this. We know it is a progression. Even though we lost five games I would say we probably played the toughest schedule in the state. We didn’t get rewarded for that, but I didn’t care where we were seeded because we have to play everybody anyway.”
Legacy, which was seeded No. 5 in the 16-team state tourney, ended its season with a 21-5 record. Legend (20-6), which started playing varsity sports in 2009, was trying to win the school’s first state team title.
“They put the bat on the ball and put pressure on us,” Legend coach Shelly Boyd said. “They are experienced and have been here before and they are a much older team than we are. We are a very young team. We started three freshmen and a sophomore out there.”
Legend’s varsity softball program had compiled a 31-36 record since its inception before its 2013 breakout season.
Legacy moved into the state championship game by edging Brighton 5-3 in the semifinals Sunday morning. Legend muscled past Fossil Ridge 9-4.
Legend actually jumped out to quick 1-0 lead on Kaley Garcia’s RBI single in the top of the third inning. Garcia brought home Steph Cardona who doubled.
“I felt like falling behind kind of lit a fire under us,” Legacy pitcher Haley Smith, a junior, said. “We started hitting the ball.”
Legacy’s offense came alive in the bottom of the fourth, scoring four runs on four hits. The Lightning’s Shania Leon had an RBI single and Jordan Sheard brought home another run on a squeeze bunt.
(Pam Wagner)
“At this point it is just muscle memory,” said Leon, a senior, about her hit which sparked the Lightning’s offense. “You just have to calm the adrenaline down and then let it take over. We are pretty confident. We have amazing coaches who led us this far.”
In the sixth inning, thanks to some Legend miscues Legacy took a 6-1 advantage. Those two insurance runs proved to be crucial as Legend’s Karlee Arnold blasted a three-run homer to get the Titans within 6-4 in the seventh.
“I wasn’t nervous after that three-run homer,” Smith said. “I knew we had one out and we just had to go back to work. This is crazy (to win another state title). It is indescribable, the feeling after you win.”
Leon also was thrilled to help her team back on the 5A prep throne.
“Every year is a different year,” Leon said. “We have to start off the same as any other team. No team has it from the beginning, you have to work hard. This team just meshed together.”
Aurora Sports Park sits quiet prior to Saturday’s action. More photos. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com) A roundup of Saturday’s action at the state softball tournaments at Aurora Sports Park.
AURORA — Fossil Ridge won its first two games at Saturday’s opening rounds of the 5A state softball tournament by a combined score of 29-7. It now finds itself in the semifinals for the first time in school history.
In fact, Fossil Ridge had never even won a game at the state tournament before Saturday.
The third-seeded SaberCats beat No. 14 Pine Creek in the opening round, 10-3, then followed with a 19-4 mercy-rule-shortened win over No. 6 Eaglecrest which ended on Haley Donaldson’s walk-off three-run home run.
Legacy softball coach Dawn Gaffin goes over instructions between innings Saturday afternoon during the Lightning’s 8-1 quarterfinal victory against Dakota Ridge. Legacy, 5-time Class 5A state champion, will face Brighton in the 5A state semifinals 10 a.m. Sunday at Aurora Sports Park. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)
Fossil Ridge is 22-1 in 2013. The SaberCats’ lone loss this season came to Legacy on Sept. 16. They could get a rematch on Saturday — but first they’ll need to get past No. 7 Legend, another first-timer in the semis.
Legend (19-5) dispatched No. 10 Grandview 13-8 to open the tournament, then beat No. 2 Rock Canyon 6-1 in the quartefinals.
No. 9 Brighton was the lone team to knock off a No. 1 seed on Saturday. The Bulldogs, now 22-2, beat No. 1 Douglas County 8-4 in the quarterfinals. That followed an 11-1 win over No. 8 Loveland, the defending champion.
In the semis, Brighton will get No. 5 Legacy, which beat a pair of Jeffco squads (Chatfield and Dakota Ridge) to earn its seventh consecutive berth into the state tournament semifinals.
No. 12 Chatfield gave Legacy a tough test before the Lightning pulled away in the late innings for a 6-2 win.
“I think we kind of learned from it,” Legacy senior pitcher Haley Smith said. “Our bats were kind of cold at first, but we had everybody set up.”
Legacy used some “small ball” tactics in the third inning against No. 4 Dakota Ridge to score four runs on the way to an 8-1 victory.
Despite the rich tradition of winning five straight 5A state crowns from 2007 to 2011, Smith doesn’t believe Legacy will be nervous going into the semifinals.
“If anything I think there is less pressure because everyone thinks we can’t do it,” Smith said. “We are the underdogs.”
Semifinal games:
(9) Brighton vs. (5) Legacy, 10 a.m.
(3) Fossil Ridge vs. (7) Legend, 10 a.m.
[divider] Broomfield is headed to the semifinals. More photos. (Pam Wagner)
Fifth-seeded Broomfield narrowly survived being No. 13 D’Evelyn’s second upset victim of the day. But the Eagles did survive, and advance, to the 4A semifinals on Sunday.
Broomfield rallied from 2-0 and 4-2 holes to hold on and beat D’Evelyn 7-6 on Saturday. The Eagles had a four-run fifth-inning which led to the win. They will face top-seeded Wheat Ridge in the semifinals.
Wheat Ridge junior Erin Dalton connects with a pitch during the Farmers’ 5-0 win against Roosevelt in the opening round of the Class 4A state softball tournament Saturday at Aurora Sports Park. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)
Wheat Ridge didn’t have much problem advancing.
The Farmers shut out No. 16 Roosevelt by a 5-0 score in the opening round and cranked out 11 hits in a 9-4 quarterfinal victory against No. 8 Mountain View. Still, Wheat Ridge coach Marty Stricklett said there is “some improving to do” going into the final day of the season.
The Farmers edged Broomfield 2-0 earlier this season. Sophomore Christina Nelson hit a two-run home run in the first inning and senior pitcher Jessica Salbato pitched a shutout against Broomfield back on Aug. 30.
A 1-0 loss to Niwot in the 4A semifinals last year still motivates the Farmers heading into their eighth straight trip to the state semifinals.
“Tomorrow we are still going off what happened last year,” Stricklett said. “We’ve got to show up and play our game. The name of our game is hitting. We’ve got to hit the ball.”
On the other side of the bracket, No. 6 Erie beat No. 11 Silver Creek 11-1 and No. 3 Pueblo East 7-1 to advance to Sunday. The Tigers will face No. 2 Ponderosa, which escaped No. 15 Palmer Ridge’s upset bid, 5-4, to open the tournament, then beat No. 7 Berthoud 6-0 in the quarters.
The four semifinalists at the 3A level each only played one game on Saturday. That’s because Strasburg, Sterling, Holy Family and Valley all had opening-round byes as seeds Nos. 1-4.
Top-seeded Strasburg beat No. 9 Basalt 11-0, and will meet No. 4 Valley, which eeked past No. 5 Eaton 1-0.
In the other semifinal, No. 2 Sterling will meet No. 3 Holy Family. Sterling beat No. 7 Lamar 5-0 and Holy Family beat No. 11 Dolores Huerta 3-0.
Strasburg’s players run onto the field to celebrate their 3A softball championship. More photos. (Jordan Morey/CHSAANow.com)
AURORA — Strasburg senior pitcher Logan Losh picked the right time to tie her school’s single-game strikeout record.
Losh whiffed 14 batters in softball’s Class 3A championship game and helped her Indians earned their second consecutive state title by beating Sterling 3-0 at Aurora Sports Park on Sunday.
“I was really looking for my riseball,” said Losh, whose grandfather, Lonnie Losh, is Strasburg’s pitching coach and has helped groom Logan into one of, if not the greatest, pitcher in Strasburg history.
“We were communicating through the entire game,” Logan Losh said. “I’ve always trusted him to make the correct calls.”
In both games of its games Sunday, Strasburg failed to get a run until the fifth inning abd had to rely on their stellar fielding to win each game.
“We played great defense, and played together in both games,” Lonnie Losh said. “Different people picked us up at different times when we needed them. It’s all about being a team.”
Strasburg had a tough test before facing Sterling, needing extra innings to advance in the semifinals against Valley.
That game was scoreless through five innings. Valley opened the scoring in the sixth when McKenzie Bond knocked two in. Strasburg responded when Danni Klein hit a triple deep to left field that tied the game at 2. Klein also drove in the winning runner at the bottom of the eighth to grab the win.
Klein, Losh and Victoria Wilson have played together since they were eight-years-old. Each of the Seniors played a crucial role in the championship run.
On top of her pitching, Losh also hit very well — she had two separate singles that each resulted in RBIs against Sterling. Klein had a good final game, hitting a double and snagging a steal in the second. Wilson teamed up with Logan from behind the plate.
With this year’s state championship under its belt, Strasburg finishes the season at 24-0 — a school record. Last year, Strasburg finished 20-3 — now good enough for second best in school history.
In the last five seasons, coach Michelle Woodard has accumulated a record of 81-25. As recently as 2009, Strasburg finished 11-12 — Woodard has created a winning program with a great coaching staff.
Lonnie Losh had nothing but praise for the kids he’s worked with this past year. He said that the girls have been involved in other activities such as participating in a food drive.
“In all my years of coaching, and it’s a lot, I have never been around such a great group of kids,” Lonnie Losh said.
Strasburg’s championship 3A softball team. More photos. (Jordan Morey/CHSAANow.com)Strasburg vs. Sterling in the 3A softball championship. More photos. (Jordan Morey/CHSAANow.com)More photos. (Jordan Morey/CHSAANow.com)
Live coverage of the 5A, 4A and 3A state softball championships will continue at 10 a.m. on Sunday. We will pull in scores, updates and information from each game.
The fields at the Aurora Sports Park are covered in snow Friday morning. (Bert Borgmann/CHSAANow.com)
AURORA — The overnight snow, which was still falling Friday morning at the Aurora Sports Park, has caused the state softball tournament to be postponed a day.
An estimated one inch of snow fell overnight, and the Aurora Sports Park deemed the fields unplayable for Friday because of the amount of moisture on the playing surface. As such, the entire tournament will be pushed back one day.
(Bert Borgmann/CHSAANow.com)
The schedule will remain the same, with Friday’s games moving to Saturday and Saturday’s games to Sunday. Again, no games will be played on Friday.
Because the overnight snow is persisting as of early Friday morning, further delays in the schedule are possible.
“Unfortunately in Colorado, we can’t control what the weather is,” assistant commissioner Bud Ozzello said Friday morning. “This decision is for the safety of the players. Above all, we are always looking out for the safety of our players. But we’re still excited to host our state tournament.”
