Wild Card points help determine the postseason fields in 3A, 4A and 5A, with 4A and 5A also using them for seeding. Find a more detailed breakdown here.
Baseball’s Wild Card point standings for April 9 are below.
Chatfield is No. 3 in this week’s 5A baseball poll. (Pam Wagner)
Chatfield’s off to an unbeaten start in 2014. And its charge up the rankings continued on Monday.
The Chargers, now 9-0, moved up to No. 3 in CHSAANow.com’s Class 5A baseball poll this week. They only joined the poll a week ago.
ThunderRidge remained on top of the 5A ranking, a spot it has occupied since the preseason. The Grizzlies got seven of the 11 first-place vote.
Regis Jesuit moved up to No. 2 from No. 4. Ralston Valley is fourth this week, and Rocky Mountain rounds out the top five.
Columbine bumped up one place from No. 7 to No. 6, Fairview went from No. 10 to No. 7 and Arapahoe held firm at No. 8.
5A’s two newcomers this week are No. 9 Mountain Vista and No. 10 Dakota Ridge.
In 4A, Montrose remained at No. 1, and continued to be followed by No. 2 Windsor and No. 3 Valor Christian. Niwot made a big jump from No. 8 to No. 4, and Delta went from No. 7 to No. 5.
New to the 4A poll this week are No. 9 Lewis-Palmer and No. 10 Evergreen.
Holy Family continued to lead the 3A ranking, which added No. 6 Cedaredge, No. 7 Gunnison and No. 10 Bayfield.
The 2A poll added Sedgwick County at No. 8. Resurrection Christian stayed at No. 1.
In 1A, Stratton remained on top. That poll added No. 8 Peetz.
Cherry Creek 10, Grand Junction 8, Chaparral 6, Fruita Monument 6, Central (G.J.) 5, Grandview 4, Northglenn 2, Brighton 1.
Dropped out
Grandview (5), Cherry Creek (9).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Montrose (7)
8-1
96
1
3-1
2
Windsor (1)
9-1
82
2
4-1
3
Valor Christian
7-3
74
3
4-2
4
Niwot (2)
7-1
69
8
2-0
5
Delta (2)
11-0
59
7
5-0
6
Longmont
6-2
44
4
3-1
7
Palmer Ridge
5-2
30
9
3-2
8
Falcon
4-3
26
5
0-3
9
Lewis-Palmer
5-3
24
–
3-3
10
Evergreen
4-2
21
–
2-2
Others receiving votes:
Air Academy 20, Elizabeth 20, Pueblo Centennial 20, Wheat Ridge 15, Ponderosa 14, Mountain View 10, Skyline 8, Mesa Ridge 7, Green Mountain 6, Pueblo East 5, Pueblo West 5, Canon City 3, Broomfield 2, D’Evelyn 2, Steamboat Springs 1.
Dropped out
Air Academy (6), Mountain View (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Holy Family (6)
8-0
77
1
5-0
2
Eaton (2)
7-0
74
2
5-0
3
Faith Christian
5-1
60
4
3-0
4
Lamar
7-1
51
3
4-1
5
Valley
8-0
42
5
2-0
6
Cedaredge
9-0
36
–
6-0
7
Gunnison
7-0
32
–
4-0
8
The Classical Academy
4-1
20
8
2-1
9
University
6-1
15
7
4-1
10
Bayfield
7-3
13
–
2-1
Others receiving votes:
Brush 11, Kent Denver 3, Platte Canyon 2, Arrupe Jesuit 1, La Junta 1, St. Mary’s 1.
Dropped out
Brush (6), Kent Denver (9), Basalt (10).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Resurrection Christian (5)
6-1
55
1
5-1
2
Swink
5-0
45
4
3-0
3
Denver Christian
2-2
42
3
1-1
4
Rye (1)
6-1
39
7
4-1
5
Lutheran
3-3
36
2
1-1
6
Peyton
7-0
30
8
4-0
7
Hotchkiss
9-2
24
9
4-0
8
Sedgwick County
5-1
13
–
5-1
9
Ignacio
3-2
12
10
1-1
10
Limon
5-2
11
5
3-2
Others receiving votes:
Kiowa 7, Rocky Ford 7, Front Range Christian 5, Yuma 4.
Dropped out
Holyoke (6).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Stratton (4)
4-0
49
1
3-0
2
Elbert
4-1
41
2
1-1
3
Granada
3-1
33
6
3-1
4
Caliche
3-6
24
3
3-6
5
Holly (1)
2-3
22
4
2-3
6
Community Christian
3-5
20
7
1-2
7
Eads
2-6
19
10
2-3
8
Peetz
1-1
14
–
1-0
9
Dove Creek
2-6
12
8
0-2
10
Fleming
3-3
11
5
3-3
Others receiving votes:
Briggsdale 9, Cotopaxi 8, Cornerstone Christian 7, Weldon Valley 3, Walsh 2, Manzanola 1.
Fairview shortstop Cameron Frazier (3) keeps his focus on the ball as Arvada West sophomore Luke Lastoczy slides back to second base during the fourth inning Friday at Arvada West High School. The Knights took a 9-1 road victory in the non-league game. (Dennis Pleuss)
ARVADA — Fairview’s bats wasted no time in getting an early lead and the efficient work of Knights’ junior Ryan Madden on the mound was too much for Arvada West on Friday.
Fairview, No. 10 in the latest CHSAANow.com Class 5A baseball poll, touched up A-West senior pitcher Brody Hagel-Pitt for seven runs on eight hits in the first two innings on the Wildcats’ home field. The Knights (6-1) cruised to an eventual 9-1 victory.
Fairview senior Cannon Casey, right, slides into home during the sixth inning as Arvada West catcher Jesse Klene waits for a throw. (Dennis Pleuss)
“We put 30 pitches or so on his (Hagel-Pitt) arm early. He is a good arm,” Fairview coach Rick Harig said of forcing the Wildcats’ starter to throw more than 30 pitches to get out of the top of the first inning. “Getting four runs set the tone for us. Madden set the tone the other way coming at batters, throwing early strikes and getting ahead. That’s a good combination.”
Senior Jeff Clarke was a main cog for the Knights’ fast offensive start. Clarke began the scoring with an RBI single in the top of the first. He added a two-run double in Fairview’s three-run second inning. Clarke finished the game 3-for-4 with four RBIs.
Madden also had a three-hit game going 3-for-4 with two runs batted in. However, the junior was even more impressive on the mound, allowing just one run and four hits in six innings pitched to pick up his second win this season. Senior Mike Vlasity retired all three batters he faced in the bottom of the seventh inning to close out the victory.
Fairview junior Ryan Madden picked up the win on the mound for the Knights on Friday. Madden allowed one run on four hits while striking out seven in six innings of work against Arvada West. (Dennis Pleuss)
“Jumping on (A-West) with four runs in the first was really big momentum for us,” Madden said. “We kept it rolling through the game.”
After giving up a leadoff double to A-West senior Allen Martin in the bottom of the first inning, Madden retired the next 10 Wildcat batters. Madden had a few innings where he threw single digit pitches and worked extremely fast.
“That’s kind of what I’ve always done,” Madden said of not wasting time between pitches. “It usually works well.”
A-West (5-4) broke up the shutout with an RBI single by junior Shane Hoyer in the sixth inning that drove home Martin. Hoyer and Martin combined to produce the four hits off Madden.
Hoyer was 2-for-2 from the dish. Martin was 2-for-3 from the plate in the loss that ended a three-game winning streak for A-West.
“I think we just have to take this as a learning game,” Martin said. “We started off slow. We need to jump on it from the beginning. We can’t let their pitcher (Madden) do what he did. He just mowed us down.”
Hoyer took over on the mound for the Wildcats in the fourth inning. He allowed two runs on three hits. Clarke and Madden knocked in a run each in the sixth inning to extend the Knights’ lead to 9-0.
A-West coach Matt McDougal was pleased with the work Hoyer did on the mound, but was realistic on where his team sits midway through the season.
Fairview senior Jeff Clarke eyes a foul ball Friday afternoon. Clarke had a big game at the plate going 3-for-4 with four RBIs in the Knights’ 9-1 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
“We are the type of team right now if we don’t play well we aren’t good enough to win,” McDougal said. “We have to play well. We’ll compete in every game we play well in.”
A-West has two non-league games remaining before diving into its eight-game 5A Jeffco League schedule on April 15 at home against Standley Lake. The Wildcats’ next home game is scheduled for at 4 p.m. Monday against Fredrick.
“League is obviously important, but we don’t want to be playing poorly going into league,” McDougal said.
Fairview will get another taste of a 5A Jeffco team next week. The Knights travel to Bear Creek High School to face the Bears at 4 p.m. Monday before starting their 5A Front Range League schedule.
Fairview hosts Fossil Ridge at 4 p.m. Tuesday to start its conference play. The Knights close next week with league games against Rocky Mountain (Thursday) and Monarch (Saturday).
“Next week is a big week with four games,” Madden said. “It will be a good test.”
Arvada West senior Nick Priola fouls off a pitch Friday against Fairview. The Wildcats’ bats didn’t have much success against the Knights. A-West could only muster up four hits in the 9-1 loss that ended a three-game winning streak for the Wildcats. (Dennis Pleuss)
Evergreen’s Sam Hudd (5) is greeted at home plate by teammates Liam Daly and Ryan Hays after Hudd’s two-run home run in the sixth inning Saturday against Green Mountain. (Dennis Pleuss)
LAKEWOOD — Evergreen baseball might have found a gem on the mound Saturday afternoon at Green Mountain High School.
Alec Moens got his first start on the hill this spring for the Cougars in a key Class 4A Jeffco League game against the Rams. Moens was solid, giving up only one run on five hits in six innings pitched.
Evergreen pitcher Alec Moens fires to the plate Saturday afternoon at Green Mountain High School. Moens pitched six innings and to pick up the victory in his first start on the mound this season. The Cougars beat Green Mountain 7-3. (Dennis Pleuss)
“I felt good. I didn’t expect to go that long, but it was good for my first start this season,” Moens said after Evergreen’s 7-3 victory. “It definitely helped to get seven runs.”
The Cougars (4-2, 1-1 in league) jumped on the Rams (5-2, 1-1) early with a three-run top of the first inning. The first five batters of the game reached safely for Evergreen. Josh Bellatti drove in Daniel Gibbins to give the Cougars an early 1-0 lead. Eli Ausman delivered a two-run single to put the Cougars up 3-0.
Ausman singled and eventually scored on a throwing error in the third inning to give Evergreen a 3-0 lead. He finished 3-for-4 from the plate to lead the Cougars’ offensive attack.
“It’s a real confidence booster for the whole team,” Ausman said of Evergreen’s early lead. “We got the energy flowing right away.”
Evergreen turned to the long ball to score its final three runs. Gibbins belted a solo home run in the top of the fourth inning. The Cougars’ eight-hole hitter Sam Hudd ripped a two-run home run in the sixth for the final two Evergreen runs.
“A couple of guys stepped up big with the bats,” Evergreen coach Dale Hutchings said. “Those were big. They send a message.”
Another message sent is the Cougars weren’t about to allow a big lead slip away like it did Tuesday against Wheat Ridge.
Evergreen led 5-2 going to the seventh inning against the Farmers. Wheat Ridge had a five-run seventh to steal a 7-5 victory in the conference opener for both teams.
“It’s pretty important,” Moens said of Saturday’s win. “Green Mountain is one of the better teams in the league and we kind of needed a win. We messed up against Wheat Ridge.”
Hutchings put Dane Kapande on the mound to start the bottom of the seventh inning with the Cougars holding a 7-1 lead. Kapande struck out a pair, but walked three Rams. Ausman eventually finished off the inning on the mound getting a groundout to end the game after Green Mountain managed to pair of runs.
Green Mountain junior Josh Ramirez pitches during the Rams’ 7-3 loss Saturday to Evergreen. (Dennis Pleuss)
“We weren’t going to get into that position again,” Hutchings said. “Bottom line, we were able to finish it off.”
Green Mountain had runners on base in every inning. The Rams ended up stranding 11 runners after opening up their league season with a 23-1 victory over Arvada.
“We had couple of chances to get back in it,” Green Mountain coach Brad Madden said. “The kid (Moens) did a good job keeping us off balance.”
Josh Ramirez took the loss on the mound for the Rams. He pitched a complete-game giving up seven runs on 11 hits.
Junior Chase Upson picked up the lone RBI for the Rams in the loss. Upson had a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning that scored Josh Rogers. The Rams two runs scored in the seventh inning came from a wild pitch and error.
“It’s wide open. There are a lot of good teams,” Madden said of 4A Jeffco. “Playing everyone twice is nice. You get a chance to make some adjustments.”
Green Mountain will try to get back in the win column 4 p.m. Monday, April 7, when the Rams travel to Everitt Middle School to face rival Wheat Ridge.
Evergreen is back on the road against Arvada on Monday.
The rematch between Green Mountain and Evergreen is scheduled for three weeks away (April 26) on the Cougars’ home field.
Green Mountain first baseman Andrew Abercombie charges a bunt during the first inning Saturday. (Dennis Pleuss)
CHSAA’s Wild Card points are, in effect, a formula to measure the relative strength of a team’s schedule.
Baseball is among the sports that use this type of formula. However, in baseball, Wild Card points only factor into the postseason for classes 5A, 4A and 3A. Each of those classifications have a set number of qualifiers based upon league finish, and then fill in other spots based upon Wild Card point finish.
In 3A, 30 of the 32 postseason spots are filled by league finish. The other two spots can be claimed by Fort Lupton (which plays in the 4A Colorado 7 league) and Ridge View Academy (an independent) if either school wins 10 or more games against opponents in class 3A or higher. Thus, Wild Card points are only used in the event Fort Lupton and/or Ridge View Academy don’t meet that automatic qualifying standard. In that event, the remaining spot(s) will be filled by the teams with the highest wild card points who haven’t already qualified.
In 4A, 26 of the 32 spots are filled by league finish, and two more can come from individual qualifying criteria (Ponderosa and Valor Christian). Thus, between four and six spots in the 4A field come from Wild Card points.
In 5A, 25 of the 32 spots are filled by league finish. Seven spots come from Wild Card points.
However, CHSAA determines Wild Card points for all classes because of cross-classification games which affect 3A, 4A and 5A.
Out-of-state competition is assigned a Colorado-equivalent classification based upon enrollment.
Wild Card points also determine seeding in 4A and 5A.
Seeds Nos. 1-8 will be set by the standings.
Seeds Nos. 9-16 will also be set by the standings, but can be moved up or down a seed to avoid “significant geographical conflicts” as well as league matchups.
Seeds Nos. 17-32 will be paired geographically (avoiding league matchups in the first round). Teams can move 2-3 spots from the final Wild Card standings to meet these requirements.
The Wild Card point formula boils down to adding Victory Points & Defeat Points, then dividing the total by games played. The resulting total becomes a team’s Wild Card points.
Victory Points & Defeat Points are determined by the number of wins an opponent has, as well as their classification. For example, a win over a 5A team with 12 wins is worth 129 points. A defeat to that same team is worth 95 points. A win over a one-win 5A team is worth 96 points; a loss to a 19-win team is worth 130 points.
Find a full breakdown of this process in the in the baseball bulletin. A chart for Victory & Defeat Points is below.
Wild Card points help determine the postseason fields in 3A, 4A and 5A, with 4A and 5A also using them for seeding. Find a more detailed breakdown here.
Baseball’s Wild Card point standings for April 2 are below.
Chatfield joined the 5A baseball ranking at No. 6 this week. (Pam Wagner)
Just as seemingly the entire classification heads out of state for spring break tournaments, the Class 5A baseball rankings got a facelift. Four new teams joined CHSAANow.com’s poll this week, and others made big jumps.
Chatfield (No. 6), Columbine (No. 7), Arapahoe (No. 8) and Fairview (No. 10) all joined the 5A poll. The teams are a combined 11-1 to start the season.
ThunderRidge continued to lead that 5A poll, following an 8-7 win over then-No. 3 Grandview at Coors Field last week.
No. 2 Rocky Mountain also got a win at Coors Field last week, beating then-No. 7 Chaparral. The Lobos stayed put in second. Behind them, though, the change started.
Ralston Valley moved up three places from No. 6 to No. 3, and Regis Jesuit bumped up one spot to No. 4. Grandview rounds out the top five.
Three of the four newcomers are next, and then Cherry Creek is No. 9 after a tough 0-2 week. Fairview rounds up the top 10.
The change didn’t stop with 5A. In 4A, Montrose took over the top spot following its win over Valor Christian on Friday. Valor, last week’s No. 1 team, fell to No. 3. Windsor, 5-0 to start the season, is No. 2.
The 4A ranking added No. 7 Delta, No. 8 Niwot and No. 9 Palmer Ridge this week.
The No. 1 teams stayed the same in 3A (Holy Family), 2A (Resurrection Christian) and 1A (Stratton).
The 3A poll added No. 7 University and No. 8 The Classical Academy.
Teams Nos. 8-10 are all new in 2A: Peyton, Hotchkiss and Ignacio.
The lone newcomer to the 1A ranking was No. 9 Weldon Valley.
Because of the large number of out-of-state games this week, and thus, a lack of in-state competition, there won’t be new baseball polls until April 7.
Mountain Vista 18, Chaparral 17, Mullen 16, Dakota Ridge 14, Brighton 10, Legend 10, Monarch 6, Grand Junction 5, Fossil Ridge 4, Douglas County 3, Pine Creek 3.
Evergreen 13, Green Mountain 12, D’Evelyn 10, Lewis-Palmer 9, Skyline 8, Canon City 6, Durango 6, Elizabeth 6, Pueblo West 4, Northridge 3, Pueblo Central 3, Conifer 1, Montezuma-Cortez 1, Pueblo South 1.
