ARVADA — Brittney Stark and Makena Bambei each scored as 4A No. 4 Broomfield beat 5A No. 6 Ralston Valley 2-0 on Saturday.
Eagles keeper Paige Lindbloom made four saves in the win.
Month: April 2014
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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) 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) 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) “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) -
Photos: No. 8 Legacy girls soccer beats Heritage on first-half goals
BROOMFIELD — Rachel Himyak and Jasmine Beaulieu each scored first-half goals for Legacy in the No. 8 Lightning’s 2-1 win over Heritage on Friday.
Alyssa Biever scored in the second half for Heritage. Eagles’ goalkeeper Ashleigh Maguire made 11 saves.
Legacy’s Samantha Privett got the win in net, and made one save.
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Ralston Valley girl lacrosse notches first-ever win over Columbine
Ralston Valley freshman Jessica Gibson, far right, puts a shot on Columbine junior goalie Julia Lisella, far left, during the first half Thursday at Trailblazer Stadium in Lakewood. Ralston Valley took a 14-6 victory against Columbine. (Dennis Pleuss) LAKEWOOD — Ralston Valley sophomore Madison Winchester was all smiles when she headed to the sideline at Trailblazer Stadium in the final minutes Thursday night.
The Mustangs’ midfielder still had plenty of energy to celebrate Ralston Valley’s 14-6 victory over Columbine in girls’ lacrosse action despite playing all but the final minute and a half of the Jeffco League game. Winchester led Ralston Valley with four goals in the first ever win for the Mustangs against the Rebels.
Ralston Valley sophomore Marin Felsoci, middle, races down the field as Columbine’s Nicole Beaton (31), Lyndsie Pratt (82) and Kayla Donohoe, far right, give chase. Ralston Valley dominated the second half on the way to a 14-6 victory. (Dennis Pleuss) “It’s huge. I’m so excited. I can’t believe this is happening,” Winchester said. “We are meshing so well as a team right now.”
The victory was the fifth straight for the Mustangs (6-2, 3-0 in Jeffco). Ralston Valley never trailed and received three first-half goals by Winchester to take a 5-3 lead at halftime.
“She (Winchester) is such a strong player. We can’t pull her off half the time because she contributes offense and defense,” Ralston Valley coach Katie Lohmiller said. “She is a leader by actions and words out on the field. The kids really respond to her.”
The Mustangs responded after halftime to dominate the second half. Ralston Valley outscored Columbine 9-3 in the second half to stay undefeated in conference play.
Junior Sydney Hauffman and sophomore Marin Felsoci each had three goals apiece for the Mustangs. Sophomore Olivia Sandoval added a pair of goals. Sophomore Alexa Hagestad and freshman Jessica Gibson both had a goal each for Ralston Valley.
“It’s huge. It shows the level of play the girls are bringing,” Lohmiller said of the first win over Columbine. “They are really clicking and making those connections. They are bringing those higher level skills to the field.”
Ralston Valley senior Moriah Kunau (15) forces Columbine junior Mackenzie Burns (16) to look to pass the ball in the Rebels’ offensive zone Thursday. Burns scored three goals in the Rebels’ 14-6 loss to the Mustangs. (Dennis Pleuss) Lohmiller added that she felt the victory set the bar higher for her young squad moving forward into the season.
Senior Elizabeth Arellano contributed three assists while junior Brooke Farris and freshman Alexus Hopkins split the goaltending duties for Ralston Valley.
Junior Mackenzie Burns led Columbine with three goals. Senior attacker Savannah Mantele added two goals and senior Nicole Beaton scored once for the Rebels (3-6, 2-2).
Ralston Valley will face defending Jeffco champion and No. 3 ranked Chatfield (7-0, 2-0) next week. The Mustangs are scheduled to clash with the Chargers at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Trailblazer Stadium.
“I think the girls feel confident and we are just worried about playing our game,” Lohmiller said of facing the undefeated Chargers. “We just want to bring our best to the field against them (Chatfield). They are a great team.”
Chatfield took a 22-3 victory against Ralston Valley last season during league play.
“We have to come out as hard as we did against Columbine,” Winchester said. “We’ve got to do what we just did. I thought we did great tonight.”
The Rebels will be back to Trailblazer for an 11:30 a.m. game Saturday against defending state champion Cherry Creek.
Columbine senior Maggie Burns (7) gets some defensive pressure from Ralston Valley junior Samantha Snyder (14) during the Jeffco League game Thursday at Trailblazer Stadium. (Dennis Pleuss) -
No. 7 Fairview baseball jumps on No. 5 Rocky Mountain early in win
(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) “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.”
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Registration now open for CHSAA’s summer student leadership camp
(CHSAANow.com file photo) Registration for this summer’s student leadership camp, held at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, is now open.
This summer marks the 50th anniversary for the camp, which gives students leadership skills they can use throughout the school year. Included are meetings on diversity, self-evaluation, team-building, technology and building leadership programs, among other topics.
All Colorado high school students who will be in ninth-12th grade during the 2014-15 school year are eligible to attend the camp. The camp has a maximum attendance limit of 500 students, and spots fill up on a first-come basis. Each school is permitted to send 10 delegates.
Registration is $235 per delegate and must be submitted in the form of a school check. That fee includes room and board, all instructional materials and a camp T-shirt.
Use this form to register. Fill it out online, print it and have it signed by your school’s principal, parent the delegate and advisor. When completed, return it to your student council advisor.
The deadline to register is June 2.
CHSAA assistant commissioner Harry Waterman is the camp’s coordinator and director. Rashaan Davis, StuCo Advisor at Highlands Ranch High School, is the curriculum director.
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Photos: No. 4 Broomfield girls soccer shuts out Mountain View
BROOMFIELD — The Broomfield Eagles, ranked No. 4 in Class 4A girls soccer, won 10-0 in their match against Mountain View on Thursday.
Brittany Stark had three goals and two assists.
Other Eagles scorers were Katie Forsee, Kristin Snyder (2), Hayley Mazzola, Makena Bambei (2), Michaela Stark and Jordan Goodwin.
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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.
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No. 6 Columbine baseball stays undefeated after downing Mountain Range
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.”
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.
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 senior Jacob McCort, left, scrambles back to first base as Columbine senior Kyle Lopez waits for a throw. (Dennis Pleuss) -
Photos: No. 1 Regis Jesuit boys lacrosse edges No. 6 Colorado Academy
AURORA — Regis Jesuit, newly minted as No. 1 in CHSAANow.com’s boys lacrosse rankings this week, beat No. 6 Colorado Academy on Wednesday, 9-7.
