CASTLE ROCK — Brett Minnick hit a walk-off double in the bottom of the seventh as Douglas County rallied and upset No. 5 Mountain Vista 5-4 on Friday.
Douglas County led 3-1 heading into the seventh, before Mountain Vista scored three times in the top half to gain the lead. The Huskies then won on Minnick’s double in the bottom half.
Minnick also homered, and finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Tyler Quintana finished 2-for-2 with two RBIs.
LITTLETON — After a 4-3 loss to Arvada West on Monday knocked the Columbine baseball team from the unbeaten ranks, the Rebels felt they needed a solid game to get back on track.
What better way than to play another undefeated team and longtime rival?
Third-ranked Columbine scored in bunches on Tuesday to defeat newly-minted No. 1 Chatfield, 12-6.
Following come convincing victories early in the season, Rebels coach Chuck Gillman believed his team might have gotten a little lax on “some of the little things. We just got a little sloppy.”
Not that he felt the loss to Arvada West Monday was a fluke.
“They’re a good team,” he said of the Jeffco League-leading Wildcats.
That’s why it was important for his team to bounce back quickly. And they did, with a five-run first inning against the Chargers.
“It was huge,” Gillman said of getting off to a fast start as the Rebels strung together four hits and took advantage of three Chatfield errors.
They needed the cushion. Trailing 6-2 in the fourth, the two runs coming of solo home runs, Chatfield put a couple more on the board to make a game of it.
“They had the momentum,” Columbine third baseman Ty Mohr said of Chatfield.
With two outs, in the bottom of the sixth, the Rebels put a rally together, setting the table for Mohr with the bases loaded.
“I had to do something with the ball,” he said of his thinking when he stepped to the plate.
He did, putting the ball over the right field fence to give the Rebels a 10-4 lead.
From there, it was up to Rebels starting pitcher Blake Weiman.
Although he walked three batters in the seventh, Weiman eventually got the final strikeout, his ninth of the game, to secure the victory in pitching his first complete game of the season.
“We were ready for this one,” said Columbine center fielder Michael Tait, who had two hits, including a solo home run. “The loss (to Arvada West) woke us up a bit.”
The ensuring victory helped the Rebels point toward their goal this season.
“The state playoffs,” Tait said. “That’s what we’re shooting for.”
BOULDER — Fairview’s baseball team made such quick work of Greeley West in a win last Saturday — it took 57 minutes — that the Knights held batting practice afterward.
The win was a 10-0 affair in five innings, blown open by an eight-run fourth inning which included Jeff Clarke’s home run over the scoreboard in left field. Eight of their nine players recorded at least one hit, and seven had at least one RBI.
Sitting in their dugout after the game, a few players approached coach Rick Harig and asked if they could take batting practice. They didn’t feel like they’d been on the field long enough. Harig shrugged: “Sure, why not.”
So the Knights took hacks for another hour. Not that they really needed the practice. These guys can hit.
Saturday’s game was the seventh in a row in which Fairview’s lineup had produced double-digit runs, and Tuesday’s 15-0 win over Poudre made it eight straight.
Fairview now has four players with at least four home runs — Clarke, Cam Frazier and Walker Harris — and its 18 homers as a team is third-best in the state among all classifications.
Clarke is hitting .579 with 33 RBIs, Frazier is at .526 with 20 RBIs and Jacob Thoning is hitting .500 with 17 RBIs. No one who sees regular at-bats is hitting below .333. And this is a team which lost designated hitter Steve D’Epagnier to a torn labrum after five games.
The Knights lead Class 5A in team batting average (.447), slugging percentage (.698), RBIs (152) and runs (167).
For context, ThunderRidge led 5A in batting average and runs scored en route to the championship last season. Rocky Mountain, the runner-up, led 5A in RBIs, and was second in runs.
More context: 2012 champion Cherry Creek led 5A in RBIs and runs, and was second in home runs. 2011 champ Regis Jesuit led 5A in runs, home runs and RBIs.
But ThunderRidge, Cherry Creek and Regis also had great pitching staffs. In fact, Cherry Creek’s team led 5A with a 1.75 ERA in 2012. And pitching is what separates teams in the postseason, where seemingly everyone can hit.
Fairview’s arms have matured this season and become more consistent compared to prior years. As a staff, the Knights have a 2.23 ERA, which is third-best in 5A at this point.
Senior Ryan Kokora carries a 1.18 ERA in 29 2/3 innings, and is now 6-0. He started (and won) Fairview’s biggest win of the season, a 10-7 victory at Rocky Mountain on April 10. Kokora gave up seven runs that day, five earned, but hasn’t allowed anything else in any of his other appearances. In fact, outside of the Rocky Mountain game — in which he pitched well, make no mistake — Kokora has allowed just eight hits.
But one pitcher can’t carry a team through the postseason.
Fortunately for Fairview, the Knights have what amounts to two aces. Ryan Madden, a junior, is 6-1 with a 3.37 ERA and 31 strikeouts against just five walks in 35 1/3 innings.
Mike Vlasity is the team’s closer with a 0.88 ERA, and has 21 strikeouts to two walks in 16 innings.
Johnny Feauto or Jacob Kearney will likely be Fairview’s third starter should they need one in the postseason. Neither have been needed since early April.
All of them have flourished under the guidance of senior catcher Cannon Casey, who calls pitches all game, and has since he was a sophomore.
It’s all amounted to this: Fairview is unbeaten in Colorado so far this season (11-0), with the lone loss coming over spring break in Arizona. The Knights already have 14 wins, which is the most since going 16-5 during the 2008-09 season. That is also the last time they won a postseason game. Fairview beat Arvada West in the first round of districts that season, but then lost to Grandview in the second round.
As far as recent history goes, the Knights lost in the first round of districts in 2013 and 2010, and didn’t even make the postseason in 2012 or 2011. In fact, Fairview’s last trip to the Final 8 came during the 2007 season, when it went 1-2.
So this is quite a turnaround. As of Thursday, Fairview is No. 2 in CHSAANow.com’s 5A baseball poll and No. 3 in the wild card points standings.
The school made a surprise trip to football’s championship game in the fall. Is its baseball program next?
CENTENNIAL — Cherry Creek’s lineup exploded for five home runs, including two from Jack Gillett, as the Bruins upset No. 7 Arapahoe 14-2 in baseball on Tuesday.
Gillett finished with five RBIs. Ryan Robb, Parker Jax and Matt Rindal also homered for the Bruins.
Justin Jeronimus pitched four scoreless innings in improving to 2-0 this season.
Arapahoe’s Ted Ramirez was 2-for-3 and drove in two runs. The Warriors won the teams’ earlier meeting on March 20, 10-6.
HIGHLANDS RANCH — Fifth-ranked Mountain Vista edged No. 9 Chaparral 2-1 in Class 5A baseball on Monday evening.
It was Mountain Vista’s 14th-consecutive win after dropping its season opener to Cherry Creek on March 13.
Chatfield, 13-0 to start the 2014 season, has taken over atop this week’s Class 5A baseball poll from CHSAANow.com.
The Chargers moved up from No. 3 and received seven of the 15 first-place votes. They had 131 total points to top the ranking.
A total of six teams got first-place votes, including former No. 1 ThunderRidge, which dropped to No. 6 following its loss to Mountain Vista last week.
Fairview got two of those first-place votes and is No. 2 this week. Columbine, which plays Chatfield on Wednesday, is third, and Regis Jesuit is fourth. Mountain Vista rounds out the top five.
After ThunderRidge, Arapahoe is seventh and Ralston Valley is eighth. Chaparral is No. 9 this week, and Rocky Mountain is No. 10.
The 4A ranking also got a new No. 1 team this week when Windsor overtook Montrose. The Wizards received six of the 13 first-place votes, and had 115 overall points.
Montrose dropped to second this week, and is followed by No. 3 Niwot. Wheat Ridge bumped up one place to No. 4, while Lewis-Palmer is No. 5 after 3-0 week which included a win over then-No. 10 Palmer Ridge on Saturday.
Longmont is the lone newcomer to the 4A poll, joining at No. 10.
The other No. 1 teams held firm atop their respective rankings. Holy Family continued to lead 3A, Swink remain atop of 2A and Stratton continued to lead 1A.
Complete rankings for all classes are below.
[divider]
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.
| Class 5A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Chatfield (7) | 13-0 | 131 | 3 | 2-0 |
| 2 | Fairview (2) | 13-1 | 121 | 4 | 3-0 |
| 3 | Columbine (3) | 14-0 | 116 | 5 | 3-0 |
| 4 | Regis Jesuit (1) | 11-3 | 109 | 2 | 3-0 |
| 5 | Mountain Vista (1) | 13-1 | 105 | 7 | 3-0 |
| 6 | ThunderRidge (1) | 10-3 | 86 | 1 | 2-1 |
| 7 | Arapahoe | 12-2 | 47 | 8 | 3-0 |
| 8 | Ralston Valley | 11-2 | 46 | 6 | 2-1 |
| 9 | Chaparral | 10-4 | 31 | 10 | 3-0 |
| 10 | Rocky Mountain | 7-5 | 21 | 9 | 3-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Cherry Creek 5, Central (G.J.) 3, Monarch 2, Grand Junction 1, Rock Canyon 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| None. | |||||
| Class 4A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Windsor (6) | 14-1 | 115 | 3 | 2-0 |
| 2 | Montrose (5) | 11-2 | 106 | 1 | 2-0 |
| 3 | Niwot (1) | 12-2 | 91 | 2 | 2-1 |
| 4 | Wheat Ridge | 11-2 | 81 | 5 | 4-0 |
| 5 | Lewis-Palmer | 11-3 | 72 | 6 | 3-0 |
| 6 | Delta (1) | 12-2 | 52 | 4 | 1-1 |
| 7 | Evergreen | 10-2 | 37 | 9 | 3-0 |
| 8 | Valor Christian | 9-5 | 32 | 8 | 2-0 |
| 9 | Palmer Ridge | 10-4 | 28 | 10 | 2-1 |
| 10 | Longmont | 9-4 | 20 | – | 2-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Pueblo East 18, Pueblo Centennial 13, Mesa Ridge 12, Durango 11, Ponderosa 11, Elizabeth 8, Pueblo South 4, Thomas Jefferson 2, Broomfield 1, Rifle 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Elizabeth (7). | |||||
| Class 3A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Holy Family (5) | 13-0 | 85 | 1 | 1-0 |
| 2 | Eaton (4) | 11-0 | 84 | 2 | 3-0 |
| 3 | Faith Christian | 13-1 | 70 | 3 | 4-0 |
| 4 | Lamar | 11-3 | 53 | 7 | 2-0 |
| 5 | University | 10-3 | 40 | 8 | 3-1 |
| 6 | The Classical Academy | 11-2 | 38 | 10 | 4-0 |
| 7 | Valley | 12-2 | 34 | 5 | 2-1 |
| 8 | Gunnison | 12-1 | 28 | 4 | 2-1 |
| 9 | Brush | 8-3 | 20 | 9 | 1-2 |
| 10 | Cedaredge | 11-1 | 19 | 6 | 0-1 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Bayfield 18, Alamosa 2, Kent Denver 1, La Junta 1, Platte Valley 1, Sterling 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| None. | |||||
| Class 2A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Swink (3) | 13-0 | 56 | 1 | 4-0 |
| 2 | Resurrection Christian (2) | 11-2 | 53 | 3 | 3-0 |
| 3 | Rye (1) | 10-1 | 51 | 2 | 1-0 |
| 4 | Sedgwick County | 14-1 | 40 | 6 | 7-0 |
| 5 | Hotchkiss | 11-3 | 35 | 4 | 0-1 |
| 6 | Lutheran | 6-7 | 24 | 7 | 1-3 |
| 7 | Peyton | 11-2 | 18 | 5 | 2-1 |
| 8 | Byers | 4-2 | 13 | – | 2-1 |
| 9 | Kiowa | 9-4 | 12 | 8 | 2-1 |
| 10 | Denver Christian | 7-5 | 11 | 10 | 3-2 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Limon 10, Lyons 4, Rocky Ford 4, Nucla 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Limon (9). | |||||
| Class 1A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Stratton (3) | 5-1 | 46 | 1 | 0-0 |
| 2 | Eads | 5-8 | 37 | 5 | 1-1 |
| 3 | Granada (1) | 3-2 | 33 | 2 | 0-0 |
| 4 | Elbert (1) | 6-2 | 31 | 3 | 1-1 |
| 5 | Caliche | 3-8 | 30 | 4 | -2-2 |
| 6 | Community Christian | 6-6 | 24 | 7 | 1-1 |
| 7 | Fleming | 5-4 | 18 | 9 | 2-1 |
| 8 | Holly | 4-4 | 17 | – | 1-0 |
| 9 | Briggsdale | 7-4 | 13 | 6 | 2-0 |
| 10 | Dove Creek | 3-11 | 11 | 10 | 1-3 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Cornerstone Christian 9, Peetz 5, Cotopaxi 2, Manzanola 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Peetz (8). | |||||
ARVADA — Jordan Holloway went 4-for-4 with three home runs and nine RBIs as sixth-ranked Ralston Valley baseball handled Standley Lake 22-3.
The Mustangs played 14 in the third inning, and went on to pound out 18 hits. Included was Jake Griffith’s two doubles (he also had four RBIs) and Connor Roth’s home run (he had three RBIs).
BROOMFIELD — In the first game of a double header on Saturday, Peak to Peak beat Jefferson Academy by a score of 14-8.
Cos Braswell went 4-for-4 with three RBIs, Mitchell Ward and Taylor Jackson had three hits.
Nick Kelly was the winning pitcher for the Pumas.
The Pumas continued their hitting in the second game and won by a score of 14-4.
LAKEWOOD — An unconventional double play got Arvada West out of a huge jam Saturday afternoon on the baseball field.
Bear Creek had rallied with five straight singles, scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to close A-West’s lead to 4-3. With the bases loaded and just one out, a failed squeeze play turned into a double play to get the Wildcats out of the sticky situation.
“Everything shifted after that,” A-West coach Matt McDougal said of the inning-ending double play. “We came in and scored two runs right away. That kind of ended (Bear Creek’s) momentum.”
The Wildcats tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning, leading to an important 6-3 victory.
“I knew we would get out of it someway, somehow,” A-West senior Allen Martin said of the near disastrous sixth inning. “You can’t be thinking the worst. You have to expect the best.”
The victory keeps A-West (9-5, 3-0) atop the 5A Jeffco League standings with Chatfield and Columbine. Bear Creek (8-6, 2-1) had its three-game winning streak snapped with the loss.
The Wildcats jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Martin singled, stole second base and advance to third on a throwing error in the top of the first inning. Senior Brody Hagel-Pitt drove in Martin with a single.
A-West added three runs in the top of the fifth to gain a 4-0 advantage. A two-run double by Jesse Gonzales scored Martin and senior Ethan Fleming. Hagel-Pitt had his second RBI later in the inning.
“I feel really good about how we are hitting,” Martin said. “Some of us are coming off our skids.”
The Wildcats cranked out 13 hits and also took advantage of four errors by Bear Creek’s defense.
On the mound, starter Nick Priola was impressive giving up just two hits, but was taken off the mound with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning. McDougal said it was tough to take out Priola, but a high pitch count and with three games next week was the reasons for the move.
“I was a little bit upset,” Priola admitted. “It’s always hard to be taken out when you feel like you are in the zone, but in the long run it’s smart.”
Senior Joe Rosenstein, John Badgett and Justin Mulvaney each took the mound for the Wildcats in the final innings.
Bear Creek sophomore Thomas Martinez took the loss on the mound. Martinez was solid through four innings, but allowed four straight hits to start out the fifth inning.
The Bears’ offense came alive late with the three-run sixth inning. Senior Rob Vance had a two-run single and sophomore Christian Hiep had an RBI single before the failed squeeze play with the bases loaded ended the inning.
A-West will prepare to go through the toughest part of its conference schedule next week. The Wildcats square off against Columbine (Monday), Ralston Valley (Wednesday) and Chatfield (April 26). All three of those 5A Jeffco teams are ranked in the top six of the latest CHSAANow.com 5A baseball poll.
“Earlier this season we talked about having to get to 3-0 (in league) going into this week,” McDougal said. “It’s about getting some momentum going. Now we get three really good teams in a row. If we play well I like our chances.”
Bear Creek heads to Ralston Valley on Monday before hosting Lakewood on Wednesday next week.
MONUMENT — A 10-strikeout outing from pitcher Paul Tillotson gave No. 6 Lewis-Palmer a two-game lead in league play as the Rangers (11-3, 9-0) beat rival Palmer Ridge 2-1 in Class 4A baseball action Saturday.
Tillotson, the staff’s ace, went 6 1/3 innings giving up only a single earned run also accounted for the tying run in the bottom of the fourth. Bears pitcher Kurt Larson kept pace with Tilloston as he struck out 10 of his own and only allowed nine base runners all game.
Behind Larson, it was the tenth-ranked Bears (10-4, 8-2) who stuck first. With two outs and runners on the corners in the first inning, Jake Weems singled into right field bringing home what would prove to be their only run of the game.
With the way Larson was dealing on the mound, it looked like that one run might be able to hold off the Rangers. But with runners on second and third with no outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, a routine groundball to Bears shortstop Jack Stamper would bring about the downfall for Palmer Ridge. Stamper fielded the ball cleanly, but a bad throw got by first baseman Cassen Minarick allowed both runners to score, giving the Rangers a 2-1 lead.
“What do they say? ‘You take it any you can,’” Rangers coach Tom McCabe said. “Our belief and our gameplan is to put the ball in play hard and force the other to play defense. I’m real big on no strikeouts so we have to put the ball in play.”
Lewis-Palmer had a chance to extend its lead in the bottom of the sixth inning after loading the bases with two outs. Vinny Nall put a solid swing on the ball and ripped a line drive to right field, but it was caught by Jake Grubesic, taking the game to the seventh and final inning with the Bears trailing by one.
After throwing six solid innings, Tillotson convinced McCabe to go back out in the seventh to try and sew up the win for the Rangers. McCabe had kept a close a eye on Tillotson’s pitch count starting in the fifth and had toyed with the idea of diving into his bullpen. But in the end, he had enough faith in his sophomore ace to give him the chance to close it out.
“He’s been throwing all winter so he’s (capable of throwing) up to 100 pitches,” McCabe said. “When our guys get to 80 we starting looking and start watching real close. He said he felt good so we gave him two more batters.”
After a quick out to start the inning, he gave up a base hit to Billy Schulze who would move into scoring position on a passed ball. Stamper then singled to put runners on the corners with one out, ending Tillotson’s day.
McCabe then turned to Colin Cicere — who is scheduled to start Tuesday at Palmer Ridge — to get the last two outs of the inning. Cicere walked Cole Hurford to load the bases before striking out Carter Thorne and inducing a ground ball to shortstop Ben Stinson to finish the inning, giving the Rangers the win.
“I have all the confidence in the world in Colin,” Tillotson said. “I know Colin, he’s a great guy, a pitching fanatic and I knew he would come in and (be) good.”
The two Pikes Peak league rivals will meet again Tuesday, this time on Palmer Ridge’s home field. Now facing a two game deficit in the standings, the pressure is on the Bears to even the season series and maintain a shot at winning a league title.
“I believe this was the key game,” McCabe said. “The pressure lies on them now. They have to us. I’m hoping we go into Palmer Ridge the way we stressed to the boys, nice and loose and able to execute our game plan. It was big for us to win here at home and relieve some of the pressure.”