CHSAANow

Category: Baseball

  • Fairview climbs to No. 4 in latest 5A baseball ranking

    Fairview Arvada West baseball
    Fairview, and shortstop Cameron Frazier (3) are No. 4 in this week’s 5A baseball poll. (Dennis Pleuss)

    Perhaps no win was bigger for Fairview in recent years than last Thursday’s decision over then-No. 5 Rocky Mountain.

    But the win for the Knights was just one-fourth a tough 4-0 week last week, and now they find themselves ranked No. 4 in this week’s CHSAANow.com Class 5A baseball poll. Fairview was seventh last week.

    The Knights are actually 7-0 in Colorado, with the lone loss coming in Arizona during a Spring Break tournament. Their lineup has produced double-digit scoring outputs the past four games.

    ThunderRidge remained in its top spot in the 5A ranking, where it has been since the preseason. Regis Jesuit stayed at No. 2, and Chatfield held firm at No. 3.

    Behind Fairview, Columbine rounds out the top five.

    Ralston Valley is No. 6, Mountain Vista is No. 7 and Arapahoe is No. 8. Rocky Mountain dropped to No. 9 after going 1-2 last week.

    Chaparral is the lone newcomer to 5A this week. The Wolverines rejoined the poll at No. 10.

    Elsewhere, Swink took over the top spot in the 2A ranking. At 9-0, Swink moved up from No. 2. Former No. 1 Resurrection Christian dropped to No. 3.

    The 2A poll added Kiowa (No. 8) this week.

    The other No. 1 teams remained the same. Those are Montrose (4A), Holy Family (3A) and Stratton (1A).

    The 4A poll has two new teams this week: Wheat Ridge, which joined all the way at No. 5, and Elizabeth, which is No. 7.

    3A added No. 9 Brush, while 1A added No. 6 Briggsdale.

    Complete rankings for all classes are below.

    [divider]

    CHSAANow.com Baseball Polls

    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.

    Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A

    Class 5A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 ThunderRidge (6) 8-2 126 1 3-0
    2 Regis Jesuit (4) 8-3 114 2 3-0
    3 Chatfield (3) 11-0 106 3 2-0
    4 Fairview 10-1 87 7 4-0
    5 Columbine (1) 11-0 78 6 2-0
    6 Ralston Valley 9-1 71 4 1-0
    7 Mountain Vista 10-1 44 9 3-0
    8 Arapahoe 9-2 41 8 2-1
    9 Rocky Mountain 4-5 32 5 1-2
    10 Chaparral 7-4 27 – 4-1
    Others receiving votes:
    Cherry Creek 16, Central (G.J.) 10, Fruita Monument 6, Legacy 4, Rock Canyon 3, Dakota Ridge 2, Pine Creek 2, Brighton 1.
    Dropped out
    Dakota Ridge (10).

    Class 4A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Montrose (5) 9-2 112 1 1-1
    2 Niwot (4) 10-1 106 4 3-0
    3 Windsor (4) 12-1 101 2 3-0
    4 Delta (1) 11-1 77 5 0-1
    5 Wheat Ridge 7-2 64 – 3-0
    6 Lewis-Palmer 8-3 50 9 3-0
    7 Elizabeth 10-1 41 – 3-0
    8 Valor Christian 7-5 38 3 0-2
    9 Evergreen 7-2 36 10 3-0
    10 Palmer Ridge 8-3 31 7 3-1
    Others receiving votes:
    Pueblo Centennial 19, Longmont 17, Air Academy 16, Ponderosa 12, Mesa Ridge 10, Mountain View 9, Skyline 7, Pueblo East 4, Canon City 3, Falcon 3, Pueblo West 2, Widefield 2, Durango 1, Green Mountain 1, Pueblo South 1.
    Dropped out
    Longmont (6), Falcon (8).

    Class 3A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Holy Family (6) 12-0 85 1 4-0
    2 Eaton (3) 8-0 84 2 1-0
    3 Faith Christian 9-1 67 3 4-0
    4 Gunnison 10-0 49 7 3-0
    5 Valley 10-1 46 5 2-1
    6 Cedaredge 11-0 41 6 2-0
    7 Lamar 9-3 38 4 2-2
    8 University 7-2 28 9 1-1
    9 Brush 7-1 24 – 4-0
    10 The Classical Academy 7-2 18 8 3-1
    Others receiving votes:
    Bayfield 14, La Junta 1.
    Dropped out
    Bayfield (10).

    Class 2A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Swink (3) 9-0 63 2 4-0
    2 Rye (1) 9-1 55 4 3-0
    3 Resurrection Christian (2) 8-2 52 1 2-1
    4 Hotchkiss (1) 11-2 42 7 2-0
    5 Peyton 9-1 39 6 2-1
    6 Sedgwick County 7-1 36 8 2-0
    7 Lutheran 5-4 21 5 2-1
    8 Kiowa 7-3 15 – 5-1
    9 Limon 6-3 13 10 1-1
    10 Denver Christian 4-3 11 3 2-1
    Others receiving votes:
    Haxtun 6, Holyoke 6, Dolores 5, Front Range Christian 5, Lyons 5, Sierra Grande 4, Byers 2, Nucla 2, Rocky Ford 2, Yuma 1.
    Dropped out
    Ignacio (9).

    Class 1A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Stratton (5) 5-1 50 1 1-1
    2 Granada 3-2 40 3 0-1
    3 Elbert 5-1 38 2 1-0
    4 Caliche 5-6 29 4 2-0
    5 Eads 4-7 28 7 2-1
    6 Briggsdale 5-4 20 – 3-1
    7 Community Christian 5-5 15 6 2-0
    8 Peetz 1-2 14 8 0-1
    9 Fleming 3-3 11 10 0-0
    10 Dove Creek 2-8 9 9 0-2
    Others receiving votes:
    Cornerstone Christian 7, County Line 7, Holly 3, Manzanola 3, Cotopaxi 1.
    Dropped out
    Holly (5).

  • Wheat Ridge baseball’s offense stays hot in 14-9 win over D’Evelyn

    Wheat Ridge players get fired up after senior Lane Wagoner (helmet on) reaches home plate after his solo home run Saturday at Keli McGregor Field at All Star Park. The Farmers extended their winning streak to six games with a 14-9 victory against D'Evelyn in Class 4A Jeffco League action. (Dennis Pleuss)
    Wheat Ridge players get fired up after senior Lane Wagoner (helmet on) reaches home plate after his solo home run Saturday at Keli McGregor Field at All Star Park. The Farmers extended their winning streak to six games with a 14-9 victory against D’Evelyn in Class 4A Jeffco League action. (Dennis Pleuss)

    LAKEWOOD — Wheat Ridge remained atop the Class 4A Jeffco League baseball standings with an offensive barrage Saturday afternoon at Keli McGregor Field at All Star Park.

    The Farmers (7-2, 5-0 in league) ran their winning streak to six games with a 14-9 victory against conference rival D’Evelyn. Wheat Ridge is the lone undefeated team in conference play with Evergreen (7-2, 4-1), ranked No. 10 in the CHSAANow.com 4A poll, one-game back of the Farmers.

    “It feels great,” said Wheat Ridge senior Nick Ricigliano of Wheat Ridge sitting in the 4A Jeffco driver’s seat. “We just have to keep it going and don’t stop. Go full throttle for the rest of the year.”

    Ricigliano was a key piece in the Farmers’ offensive that had its foot on the gas pedal against D’Evelyn. The senior shortstop hammered a pair of two-run home runs. Ricigliano’s first blast over the left field fence put the Farmers ahead 9-3 in the top of the fourth inning.

    D'Evelyn senior Rhett Pedersen, left, loses the handle of the ball as Wheat Ridge senior Nick Ricigliano bares down on second base during the first inning Saturday. Umpires ruled that Pedersen lost the ball on the exchange and Ricigliano was called out of the play. (Dennis Pleuss)
    D’Evelyn senior Rhett Pedersen, left, loses the handle of the ball as Wheat Ridge senior Nick Ricigliano bares down on second base during the first inning Saturday. Umpires ruled that Pedersen lost the ball on the exchange and Ricigliano was called out of the play. (Dennis Pleuss)

    Senior Lane Wagoner belted a solo home run to extend Wheat Ridge’s lead to 10-3 going to the bottom of the fourth inning.

    “To be honest, I thought maybe first to four (runs) would win,” Wheat Ridge coach Adam Miller said. “It just didn’t start off that way. That is the capability we have offensively.”

    Wheat Ridge had been swinging some hot bats during its six-game winning streak. The Farmers have averaged 10.5 runs per game since a shutout loss during their spring break trip to Arizona.

    The Farmers needed every run Saturday. D’Evelyn battled back and closed Wheat Ridge’s lead to 10-8 after a four-run fifth inning. However, Ricigliano provided a loud response with his second two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning.

    “I got most of the team energized and ready to go,” Ricigliano said of his second home run. “D’Evelyn is a pretty good team. It was just a good win against a good team.”

    Wagoner pitched four innings in relief for the Farmers after starter Chase Powell went three innings on the mound. Wagoner gave up five runs on four hits, but it was good enough to keep the Jaguars (5-5, 3-2) at bay.

    “He (Wagoner) has come in three or four games like that,” Miller said. “Not really a chance to warm up, but he throws strikes and does a good job.”

    Defense was an issue at times for Wheat Ridge and D’Evelyn. Both teams committed four fielding errors apiece.

    The biggest error that cost the Jaguars came in the third inning. Wheat Ridge junior Nate Sanchez ripped a single that scored Wagoner. Sanchez sprinted toward second base when the throw went to the plate. The throw from home to second base to get Sanchez sailed into centerfield.

    D'Evelyn junior Grant Witherspoon fires to the plate Saturday during the Jaguars' 14-9 loss to Class 4A Jeffco League rival Wheat Ridge on Saturday at Keli McGregor Field in Lakewood. (Dennis Pleuss)
    D’Evelyn junior Grant Witherspoon fires to the plate Saturday during the Jaguars’ 14-9 loss to Class 4A Jeffco League rival Wheat Ridge on Saturday at Keli McGregor Field in Lakewood. (Dennis Pleuss)

    “I think we are very aggressive on the bases and have some kids who can run. I think it causes a lot of havoc,” Miller said. “Today we got a bunch of extra bases by putting pressure on the defense.”

    Sanchez and junior Garrett O’Keefe both scored for the Farmers on the throwing error.

    “Take care of baseball. We’ve been struggling with that all year long,” D’Evelyn coach Dan Porreco said. “We gave (Wheat Ridge) some extra runs. It was a good ballgame. Everyone kept fighting back.”

    D’Evelyn lefty Grant Witherspoon suffered the loss on the mound. The Jaguars did muster nine runs off nine hits, but could never grab the lead.

    The Jaguars have time with nine league games still remaining to get back into the hunt for the conference title.

    “With our league I think things are going to change the second go-around,” Porreco said. “Everyone likes to beat up everybody. We’ll see how it goes. We just have to start playing better.”

    D’Evelyn is scheduled to host Arvada on Monday, April 14. Wheat Ridge hits the road Monday for its first of two conference games against rival Golden. Both are scheduled for 4 p.m. starts.

    Wheat Ridge senior Lane Wagoner, left, past D'Evelyn catcher Matt Helmreich during a play at home plate in the third inning Saturday. Wagoner went 2-for-3 from the plate with a pair of RBIs in the Farmers' 14-9 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
    Wheat Ridge senior Lane Wagoner, left, past D’Evelyn catcher Matt Helmreich during a play at home plate in the third inning Saturday. Wagoner went 2-for-3 from the plate with a pair of RBIs in the Farmers’ 14-9 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)

  • No. 7 Fairview baseball jumps on No. 5 Rocky Mountain early in win

    (Brock Laue)
    (Brock Laue)

    FORT COLLINS — Rick Harig, Fairview’s baseball coach, was trying to remember the last time his Knights beat Rocky Mountain during the high school season.

    “We beat them once last summer and we lost to them several times last summer, but in the spring it’s been awhile,” Harig said. “When (Rocky Mountain coach Scott) Bullock got here, they’ve been solid for that many years.”

    The powerhouse Rocky program claimed four state titles in a row from 2007-10, have won Front Range League championships in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2013, and produced a pipeline of college talent under Bullock’s watch since 2002.

    It’s probably fair to say that several teams around the state also wonder when they last defeated the powerful Lobos.

    Fairview wondered no more with an impressive 10-7 road win over No. 5 Rocky at Gabe Pando Park in Fort Collins Thursday afternoon.

    The Knights, ranked No. 7 in this week’s CHSAANow 5A baseball poll, had an offensive explosion in the third inning with nine runs, all against one of Rocky Mountain’s best arms in Carl Stajduhar, a New Mexico commit.

    The Knights started the inning with a bit of luck as Rocky Mountain’s shortstop, Tyler Stevens, bobbled the flip from second baseman Dean Lawson, ending a chance at a double play. Leadoff man Cameron Frazier, who had two hits in third and started 3-for-3 at the plate Thursday, scored on the miscue.

    The floodgates opened as the Lobos recorded three errors in the inning and gave up back-to-back doubles to Jacob Thoning and Tobiah Armstrong. Stajduhar gave up six runs — four earned — and eight hits before exiting in the third.

    Before Rocky knew what hit it, literally and figuratively, it was 9-0 Fairview.

    “They opened the door by not turning the double play and then we scored nine runs after,” Harig said about the wild inning. “Baseball’s a funny game, but we still have to score nine runs. We produced when we had an opportunity. We had to keep them off-balance, because they can really swing it.”

    The Knights took advantage of the offensive fireworks in the third and starting pitcher Ryan Kokora kept the Lobos guessing with a mixture of pitches.

    (Brock Laue)
    (Brock Laue)

    “He threw a lot of off-speed just because they had shown that they’re going to tee up on people, so we kind of pitched backwards to them a little bit,” Harig said of Kokora. “He threw a lot of curveballs in fastball counts and just tried to keep them off-balance. It worked pretty well.”

    Kokora gave up four runs in the third, but struck out eight batters, mostly on change-ups and curveballs, and limited Rocky’s traditionally powerful lineup to only five runs.

    The Lobos are now 0-2 in the Front Range, 3-5 overall but 2-2 against in-state teams. They boast six Division I signees in their senior class, including one of the premier players in Colorado — Stajduhar, a powerful hitter who went 3-for-4 at the plate with three scorching doubles.

    Still, they could never overcome their early deficit.

    Rocky Mountain did chip into the lead throughout and made a final push as one of Stajduhar’s doubles brought speedy Lawson home to make it 10-6 Fairview in the sixth. Tyler Stevens, another New Mexico commit, hit a deep sac fly to bring Kyle Reisman in to score, cutting the lead to three runs.

    But Fairview’s Mike Vlasity, a side-armer, got the Knights out of the inning and then proceeded to sit down three batters in a row in the seventh, two by strikeout, to seal one of the bigger wins for Fairview baseball in recent years.

    Fairview improved to 2-0 in the Front Range League and 9-1 overall. Its lone loss on the season came at the hands of an Arizona team in an out-of-state tournament. They also beat Fossil Ridge on Tuesday, 19-8, and are starting to make noise in the 5A ranks.

    Both players and coach know the season is still young though.

    “We’ve got a big string of tough games,” Harig said. “We just played Fossil, now we played (Rocky Mountain), we play Monarch, and we play Legacy. So we really feel like the first four games are the toughest stretch for anybody. We’ve got two under our belt and we’re trying not to look too far ahead and just focus on Saturday now, which is Monarch. They’re a good team.

    “We’re not trying to look too far ahead. There’s way too many good teams that will stick it to you,” Harig added. “We just want to keep getting better and putting ourselves in a good position to be in a good seed, make the playoffs, that kind of thing.”

    “They’re just solid overall, hitting, defense, pitching,” Frazier said of Rocky Mountain, “so it’s really good confidence-wise for us to get a win like this. It kind of sends a message to all the other teams in the state that we’re for real this year, but it’s also just another win in the league and they’re all important.”

  • Photos: Broomfield baseball upsets No. 6 Longmont

    BROOMFIELD — Eddie Flores, a sophomore, went 2-for-3 with three RBIs as Broomfield baseball upset No. 6 Longmont 10-3 on Thursday.

    Carlos Amador was also 2-for-3, and added two more RBIs for Broomfield.

    Tanner Thomas got the win for the Eagles after surrendering just two earned runs and four hits in 4 1/3 innings.

  • No. 6 Columbine baseball stays undefeated after downing Mountain Range

    Mountain Range Columbine baseball
    Columbine senior Austin Anderson is greeted at home plate by teammates after a two-run home run in the fourth inning Wednesday during an 8-4 victory against Mountain Range. The No. 6 ranked Rebels improved to 11-0 on the season heading into Class 5A Jeffco League play that begins next week. (Dennis Pleuss)

    LITTLETON — The non-league baseball schedule for Columbine couldn’t have been more successful.

    The Rebels, ranked No. 6 in the CHSAANow.com Class 5A baseball poll, wrapped up their out-of-conference schedule Wednesday with an 8-4 home victory against Mountain Range (5-4, 1-0 in 5A Front Range League). Columbine will take an 11-0 record when it heads into 5A Jeffco League play next week.

    “You always have big aspirations going into a season,” Columbine senior pitcher Blake Weiman said. “All the seniors have been playing together since little league. This is something special. It’s turned out better than we thought.”

    Mountain Range Columbine baseball
    Columbine sophomore Tommy Gillman eyes the ball after making contact Wednesday afternoon against Mountain Range. (Dennis Pleuss)

    The lefty picked up his third victory on the mound this season. Weiman pitched six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits. He also struck out 11 Mustang batters.

    It looked like it might have been a game featuring the long ball with a strong west wind blowing out to left field. However, longtime Columbine coach Chuck Gillman had some sound advance for Weiman before he took the mound.

    “What I told him was, ‘When you make a great pitch and they hit a pop up and it’s 1-0 don’t worry about it.’ There is nothing you can do about this wind,” Gillman said. “He was really effective early.”

    Weiman was able to get ahead of batters and didn’t allow a base runner past second base until Mountain Range broke up the shutout with a two-run sixth inning.

    “I just have to keep the ball down,” Weiman said about dealing with the wind. “I have confidence in all my pitches and I believe in my defense. I really wasn’t too worried.”

    Columbine’s offense did the majority of its damage in the middle innings. The Rebels put up three runs in the bottom of the third with RBI singles by Michael Tait, Austin Anderson and Kyle Lopez.

    Anderson highlighted a four-run fourth inning that extended Columbine’s lead to 7-0. Anderson belted a two-run home run to center field off Mountain Range starting pitcher Tanner Peterson.

    “When I hit it I didn’t think it was going out until I saw the centerfielder running back,” said Anderson, who was 3-for-4 from the plate with three RBIs and two runs scored. “I just saw it go over the fence. It kind of surprised me a little bit.”

    Also surprising to Anderson is the Rebels’ undefeated streak midway through the regular season.

    “We knew we were going to have something special. I didn’t know we’d be 11-0,” Anderson said. “This is something special. It’s exciting.”

    Mountain Range did make things a little exciting in the seventh inning. The Mustangs loaded the bases with no outs on Isaiah Montoya, who came in to pitch the seventh inning for the Rebels.

    Tyler McKinney scored on a wild pitch and Noah Draper scored on a sacrifice fly, but the rally ended when Montoya stuck out Jacob Jarosak to end the game.

    Mountain Range Columbine baseball
    Columbine senior lefty Blake Weiman picked up his third victory of the season striking out 11 Mountain Range batters in an 8-4 home victory Wednesday. (Dennis Pleuss)

    “We added a couple of pitchers this year,” Gillman said of Montoya, Weiman and sophomore Taylor Dye who have combined for 10 wins on the mound so far. “We had some pretty good offense last year. We had trouble closing games out. That’s the big difference. We are headed in the right direction.”

    Columbine will turn its attention to its seven-game league schedule. It won’t be easy with Ralston Valley (9-1) and Chatfield (10-0) both off to hot starts too.

    “The teams that are at the top either have really good hitting or really good pitching,” Gillman said. “There are a couple of Jeffco schools that have both.”

    The Rebels open their conference schedule on the road against Lakewood at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 15.

    Despite the loss, Mountain Range is off to a good start in the Front Range League. Draper pitched a no-hitter Tuesday in a 9-0 victory against Poudre it the conference opener for the Mustangs.

    Mountain Range coach Jeremy Lustik admitted he wasn’t happy with the dozen strikeouts his batters had against the Rebels.

    “I didn’t think we had very good competitive at-bats, especially early,” Lustik said. “I really didn’t feel we started competing at the plate until the fifth inning. I think our guys were looking at small field and wind blowing out.”

    The Mustangs will play their third game in as many days when it hosts Greeley West at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 10.

    “I’m frustrated with the way we played. I’m a little disappointed with the way we played, but I do have hope,” Lustik said. “Columbine is a quality club. No doubt they are going to be in the mix in the end.”

    Mountain Range Columbine baseball
    Mountain Range senior Jacob McCort, left, scrambles back to first base as Columbine senior Kyle Lopez waits for a throw. (Dennis Pleuss)

  • Photos: Schwarz’s gem lifts No. 2 Regis Jesuit baseball over Chaparral

    AURORA — Brent Schwarz pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout as second-ranked Regis Jesuit baseball beat Chaparral 13-0 on Wednesday.

    Four different Raiders had two RBIs, including a 2-for-2, performance from Justin Thaxton that included a home run.

  • Nethercot leads Canon City’s upset of Pueblo West baseball

    Canon City's Logan Nethercot. (Tracy Renck)
    Canon City’s Logan Nethercot. (Tracy Renck)

    PUEBLO — The Pueblo West baseball team seemed prime to write another chapter Tuesday in what was becoming a Cinderella South-Central League for the Cyclones.

    Canon City, however, had other ideas.

    Logan Nethercot collected four hits and pitchers Trey Owen and Dante Teigen stymied West’s offense, powering the Tigers to a 12-2 upset in an S-CL game at Andenucio Field.

    “This was a very big win for us,” said the senior Owen, who had solid outing, allowing just two runs before being relieved in the fourth inning. “We stayed focused and made the routine plays.”

    Canon City improved to 6-2 overall and more importantly put itself back in the league race with a 1-2 record. The Cyclones dropped to 5-4-1 overall and to 3-1 in league. West, with a roster full of seniors, advanced to its first Class 4A state title baseball game in school history a year ago before losing to Mountain View 7-6 in eight innings.

    “Our mission (Tuesday) was to get back in the S-CL race,” Ritter said. “If you go 0-3, you make it real tough on yourself in this league. The kids did what they had to do to come out and get a win. We have been finding ways to win and this was a new way for us to win. We haven’t scored a lot of runs this year and we got some timely hits and scored some runs.”

    Canon City lost to upstart Centennial (12-5) and South (7-0) in its first two S-CL games.

    Those losses were a distant memory against the Cyclones as the Tigers roared out to a 5-2 lead after two innings off of West starting pitcher Dallas Dwyer.

    “We needed to just bounce back and keep doing our thing and that’s what we were able to do,” said Nethercot, a 6-foot, 185-pound senior. “We played relaxed and we had a heck of a lot of fun (Tuesday).”

    The Tigers pounded out 15 hits off of Dwyer and relievers Cam Brinkley and Zack Maize.

    Trailing 5-2, the Cyclones had a grand opportunity to cut into the Tigers’ lead when they loaded the bases with no outs in fourth inning.

    West failed to seize the moment.

    The Cyclones’ Josh Drury was picked off of third base and the next two batters were retired in order.

    Wasted opportunities became a theme for the potent West offense. In the fifth and seventh frames, the Cyclones also loaded the bases and came up empty on the scoreboard.

    “We were just not ready to play at all,” veteran West coach Dan Sanchez said. “They threw out some slower pitchers and we hit better velocity, but we just have to make adjustments. We were just mentally flat and they beat us in all aspects of the game. We just deserved to get our butt kicked because we were not ready to play.”

    Tim Ritter, Canon’s coach, knows his squad needs to use the West victory for a springboard as it also plays S-CL games against Pueblo East (Thursday) and Pueblo Central (Saturday) this week.

    “We need to focus on East and then just take things one game at a time from there,” Ritter said. “We got ourselves back in the league mix.”

  • Photos: Holloway leads Ralston Valley baseball to win vs. Valor Christian

    HIGHLANDS RANCH — Ralston Valley got six innings of shutout baseball from Jordan Holloway, and the senior also went 2-for-4 with an RBI as the Mustangs beat Valor Christian on Tuesday.

    Holloway struck out five against just one walk in the win, and allowed four hits. Teammate Jacob Knipp was 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

    Ralston Valley, ranked No. 4 in 5A, improves to 9-1. Valor, 4A’s No. 3, is now 7-4.

  • Photos: Cherry Creek’s Johnson wins No. 700 as Bruins beat Overland

    AURORA — Cherry Creek coach Marc Johnson won the 700th game of his career as his Bruins beat Overland 6-4 on Tuesday.

    Cody Wood pitched all seven innings in the win, striking out six against two walks. He allowed four earned runs. The Bruins’ Aeneas Roberson and Jack Gillett were each 3-for-4.

    Overland’s Joe Slocum went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a home run.

  • Photos: Mountain Range’s Draper no-hits Poudre, strikes out 18

    WESTMINSTER — Mountain Range senior Noah Draper threw the first seven-inning no-hitter in school history, striking out 18 batters while walking only one in the process in a 9-0 win over Poudre.

    Draper and fellow senior Jake Walker both had three hits in the game.