Three new teams joined the Class 5A girls soccer rankings this week.
Cherokee Trail (No. 8), Rocky Mountain (No. 9) and Grandview (No. 10) all joined CHSAANow.com’s poll.
Rock Canyon continued to lead 5A at the top, receiving eight of the 11 first-place votes. ThunderRidge is second, Mountain Vista is third, Broomfield is fourth and Arapahoe rounds out the top five.
The No. 1 teams in 4A (The Classical Academy) and 3A (Colorado Academy) remained the same. However, Denver Christian took over the top spot in 2A.
The Crusaders got five of the six first-place votes in that class, and edged Vail Mountain, which is No. 2. Vail Mountain handed former No. 1 Front Range Christian its first loss last week.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association.
Complete rankings for all classes are below.
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CHSAANow.com Girls Soccer Polls
Voted upon by coaches and select 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 | Rock Canyon (8) | 7-0-0 | 107 | 1 | 2-0-0 |
| 2 | ThunderRidge (3) | 6-0-0 | 92 | 3 | 2-0-0 |
| 3 | Mountain Vista | 6-2-0 | 75 | 4 | 2-0-0 |
| 4 | Broomfield | 6-0-0 | 70 | 5 | 2-0-0 |
| 5 | Arapahoe | 6-0-1 | 61 | 2 | 1-0-1 |
| 6 | Pine Creek | 6-2-0 | 46 | 8 | 3-0-0 |
| 7 | Fairview | 5-0-1 | 38 | 6 | 1-0-1 |
| 8 | Cherokee Trail | 6-1-0 | 27 | – | 3-0-0 |
| 9 | Rocky Mountain | 5-0-0 | 24 | – | 3-0-0 |
| 10 | Grandview | 4-1-1 | 15 | – | 1-0-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Ralston Valley 12, Legacy 9, Smoky Hill 8, Cherry Creek 7, Doherty 7, Hinkley 4, Fossil Ridge 2, Brighton 1. | |||||
| Dropped out: | |||||
| Fossil Ridge (7), Ralston Valley (9), Boulder (10). | |||||
| Class 4A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | The Classical Academy (6) | 7-0-0 | 111 | 1 | 3-0-0 |
| 2 | Evergreen (6) | 7-0-0 | 95 | 2 | 3-0-0 |
| 3 | Valor Christian | 7-0-0 | 92 | 3 | 2-0-0 |
| 4 | Lewis-Palmer | 6-1-0 | 66 | 5 | 2-0-0 |
| 5 | Wheat Ridge | 7-1-0 | 65 | 7 | 2-0-0 |
| 6 | Battle Mountain | 9-0-0 | 47 | 8 | 4-0-0 |
| 7 | Mullen | 6-0-0 | 45 | – | 4-0-0 |
| 8 | Green Mountain | 6-1-0 | 22 | 4 | 1-1-0 |
| 9 | Ponderosa | 5-3-0 | 13 | 6 | 0-2-0 |
| 10 | Cheyenne Mountain | 2-5-0 | 12 | 9 | 0-2-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Niwot 11, Falcon 10, Vista Ridge 10, Air Academy 9, Palmer Ridge 5, Littleton 4, Discovery Canyon 3, Standley Lake 3, Eagle Valley 2, Silver Creek 2, Pueblo Centennial 1. | |||||
| Dropped out: | |||||
| Niwot (10). | |||||
| Class 3A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Colorado Academy (7) | 5-1-0 | 110 | 1 | 1-0-0 |
| 2 | Kent Denver (3) | 4-1-0 | 99 | 2 | 0-0-0 |
| 3 | Jefferson Academy | 4-0-0 | 77 | 3 | 3-0-0 |
| 4 | The Academy (1) | 6-0-0 | 74 | 4 | 2-0-0 |
| 5 | St. Mary’s | 3-2-0 | 52 | 5 | 1-0-0 |
| 6 | Coal Ridge | 4-2-0 | 45 | 7 | 2-0-0 |
| 7 | Liberty Common | 4-1-0 | 35 | 6 | 4-1-0 |
| 8 | Peak to Peak | 2-2-1 | 25 | 9 | 0-0-1 |
| 9 | Middle Park (1) | 6-0-0 | 22 | – | 3-0-0 |
| 10 | Alamosa | 6-0-0 | 17 | – | 2-0-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Sterling 14, Jefferson 13, Salida 11, Frontier Academy 10, KIPP 8, Lutheran 8, SkyView Academy 8, Faith Christian 7, Machebeuf 7, Fountain Valley 5, Basalt 3, St. Mary’s Academy 3, Sheridan 2, Trinidad 2, Aspen 1, Manitou Springs 1, Roaring Fork 1. | |||||
| Dropped out: | |||||
| Sterling (8), Faith Christian (10). | |||||
| Class 2A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Denver Christian (5) | 4-2-0 | 32 | 4 | 2-0-0 |
| 2 | Vail Mountain (1) | 5-1-0 | 25 | – | 4-1-0 |
| 3 | Front Range Christian (1) | 4-1-1 | 24 | 1 | 1-1-0 |
| 4 | Colorado Rocky Mountain | 3-1-1 | 11 | 2 | 1-1-1 |
| 5 | Clear Creek | 4-3-0 | 7 | 5 | 1-2-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Dawson School 2, Vail Christian 2, Cornerstone Christian 1, CS School 1. | |||||
| Dropped out: | |||||
| None. | |||||
Photos: Wheat Ridge baseball tops Ralston Valley
WHEAT RIDGE — The Wheat Ridge baseball team beat Ralston Valley 5-4 on Saturday.
Windsor baseball out-duels Pueblo East in 4A top-10 showdown
PUEBLO – This game between two top-10 Class 4A baseball teams lived up to the hype.
And the main attraction was Windsor pitcher Jake Greenwalt.
Greenwalt fired a complete-game six hitter propelling the Wizards to a 3-1 win over Pueblo East Friday in a non-league game at Hobbs Fields at the Runyon Sports Complex.
“It was an intense game and it was fun,” said the 6-foot-1, 170-pound Greenwalt, who also fanned six batters. “Usually I will be shaky the first two innings and then I will get all my pitches down and start working, but I wasn’t spotting my fastball like I was supposed to.
“My changeup is usually my No. 3 pitch and (Friday) it was easily my No. 1 or No. 2 pitch.”
Windsor, which is ranked No. 10 in the latest CHSAANow.com poll, improved to 8-2. East, currently No. 7, dropped to 7-2 and saw its four-game winning streak snapped.
“They came in and beat us at our place last year and we know they play hard for seven innings,” Windsor coach Brad Deal said. “Our kids were looking forward to playing a good opponent, and I thought our kids did a good job.
“Jake Greenwalt was pretty tough on the mound. He had a good game and kept us in the game. It’s not about how many hits you get, it is when you get them and we got a couple at the right time.”
Windsor took a 2-0 advantage after scoring a run in the third inning, and added another run in the top of the seventh. The Wizards manufactured their runs thanks to six hits and four Eagle errors.
“It felt like a playoff atmosphere and we have a good rivalry with Wizard,” veteran East coach D.J. Latino said. “They are a great program and we have a lot of respect for them and the game came down to execution and we didn’t execute as well as they did, and they were better than us (Friday).”
East’s lone run came on an RBI single by Andrew Vigil in the fourth frame.
“My guys made some big plays on defense for me,” said Greenwalt, who transferred from Fossil Ridge to Windsor this year. “We lost to Centaurus (March 31, 8-7) and that kind of shut us down a little bit and then we beat Silver Creek (4-0, April 1), and now we got this big win against East (Friday).”
Deal is optimistic this victory will give his team a jolt.
“Our kids really came together and played for each other and that was a big piece in this victory for us,” Deal said.
East pitcher Josh Tellez, a sophomore, also threw a complete game with two strikeouts. He said he knew his team had its chances.
“We had some mistakes and we couldn’t come through,” Tellez said. “I pitched how I wanted and I got a lot of groundball outs. Windsor is a really good team and we are going to have to know next time we have to have the same energy they had, especially down the stretch.”
Wheat Ridge baseball edges Ralston Valley with walk-off walk
WHEAT RIDGE — The saying “a walk is as good as a hit” rang true Saturday afternoon for Wheat Ridge’s baseball team.
Wheat Ridge freshman Abe Apodaca found himself at the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning, two outs and the bases loaded in a 4-4 tie against Ralston Valley in the non-league game at Everitt Middle School. Apodaca fell behind 0-2 in the count, but worked the count full against Ralston Valley junior pitcher Reed Hutchin.
Apodaca kept the bat on his shoulder on a 3-2 pitch that was called a ball. The Farmers’ dugout emptied to greet senior Cole Dombroski who scored the game-winning run in the 5-4 victory on Apodaca’s walk before mobbing Apodaca after he touched first base.
“It’s so great for Abe because it just hasn’t shown on the field,” Wheat Ridge coach Adam Miller said of his freshman that was 0-for-3 from the plate before the RBI walk-off walk. “You watch him during batting practice and he is one of our top two or three hitters. Every ball he hits in on a line, but he’s a freshman.”
Apodaca’s patience at the plate allowed the Farmers (5-3) to win their third straight after dropping a pair of one-run losses to Heritage and Monarch to start the season. Ralston Valley (6-2) saw its three-game winning streak end with the loss.
“You don’t want to lose the game that way, but the fact of the matter is the guy (winning run) was on because of an error earlier in the inning,” Ralston Valley coach Robby Bales said. “That’s on us.”
Dombroski led off the bottom of the seventh inning reaching base on a throwing error. Hutchin, who came into pitch in the bottom of the fourth inning for starter Dalton Pribble, issued a pair of intentional walks during the inning but was still one out away of getting out of the jam and forcing extra innings.
“He (Apodaca) has been working hard every day. The whole team has really taken him in as one of us and like he has been here for four years,” Dombroski said. “Every player on the team had faith in him.”
Senior Nate Sanchez and Dombroski combined for four hits and three runs in the victory. Seniors Dante DeCarlo and Diego Garcia also had key RBIs for the Farmers.
Garcia has earned the trust of his Wheat Ridge teammates and coaches through the first month of the season. Garcia pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout in his last outing on the mound during the Farmers’ spring break trip to Arizona. The senior went the distance against Ralston Valley to pick up his second victory on the season.
“He (Garcia) just put the team on his back,” Dombroski said. “He has done that all season. He is constantly getting better. It’s been awesome to have him out there.”
Garcia gave up nine hits over the seven innings. He also had an RBI single in the third inning that tied the game at 2-2 after Ralston Valley jumped out to an early 2-0 lead.
“He (Garcia) has been strong all season long,” Miller said. “It’s his year. It’s his senior year and he has worked hard to get to this point. He was really good.”
Miller admits he would like to see more out of his offense. The Farmers stranded eight runners in the first four innings. They also scored all five runs with two outs.
“We were better today offensively, but there is a lot left in the tank for us,” Miler said. “We haven’t had those six or seven guys step up and hit for us. It’s coming. When it does we’ll be really good.”
Senior Caleb Squire and junior Peter Carlson led Ralston Valley offensively in the loss. Squire and Carlson each went 3-for-4 from the plate.
Wheat Ridge has a busy schedule next week hosting a trio of games, starting with Fredrick (Monday) followed by Thornton (Thursday). The Farmers get into the swing of their 4A Jeffco schedule against Conifer on April 11.
“I think personally it’s the best 4A league in the state this year with Valor Christian, Littleton and Standley Lake coming in, then Green Mountain is the champs,” Miller said.
Ralston Valley has one more tune-up before beginning its 5A Jeffco conference schedule. The Mustangs host Valor, ranked No. 4 in 4A, on Tuesday. Ralston Valley opening league play at home against Columbine next on April 11.
Chatfield girls lacrosse begins quest for three-peat in Jeffco
LAKEWOOD — Chatfield, two-time defending Jeffco League champion in girls lacrosse, opened conference play Thursday with a statement victory.
The Chargers defeated Wheat Ridge 23-4 at Trailblazer Stadium in Lakewood in the league opener for both teams. Clearly, Chatfield has no intention of handing off its conference trophy anytime soon.
“League is really important for us to win. We want to have the three-peat,” Chatfield senior Kendra Lanuza said after her seven-goal, five-assist performance. “That’s our main goal and focus.”
The focus was definitely there early for the Chargers. Kendra and her younger sister Jen combined to score Chatfield’s first five goals in the first three minutes of the game to put the Chargers in control early. The Lanuza sisters racked up 10 goals and five assists in the first half.
“They (Lanuza sisters) are definitely leaders on the field. They have been great for us,” Chatfield coach Adam Everett said of Kendra and Jen, who have both started on varsity since they were freshmen. “They are the offensive weapons we need.”
Jen Lanuza, a junior, finished with six goals and two assists against Wheat Ridge.
“We really rely on each other down on attack because we trust each other,” Kendra said of her sister. “We have been playing together for a long time and we’ve got that chemistry.”
Seniors Summer Stafford and Brielle Rumsey each contributed three goals each for the Chargers. Freshman Riley Leischner had two goals. Ellie Cassel and Tess Albert closed out the scoring with one tally each for Chatfield.
Chatfield (4-4, 1-0 in Jeffco) has four losses already this season, but three were close games against ThunderRidge, Arapahoe and Cherry Creek. All of which are ranked in the top-10 of the CHSAANow.com girls lacrosse poll.
“I’m glad we played those tough non-league games, but those were tough. Against (Colorado Academy) we just didn’t show up,” Everett said of Chatfield’s 18-3 loss Tuesday to top-ranked Colorado Academy. “It was a bad game for us.”
Chatfield advanced to the state semifinals last year before suffering its lone loss of the season to eventual state champion Air Academy. Kendra Lanuza had three goals and a pair of assists in the 22-8 semifinal loss to the Kadets.
The University of Denver-bound midfielder has already surpassed the 200-career goal mark. She currently has 228 goals and 97 assists during her stellar career.
While the Chargers graduated several key components from last year’s 17-1 squad, a third-straight Jeffco League title is still a reachable goal.
“We set our goal on going through the league undefeated,” Everett said. “I think the league is tougher than it has been in the past. We need to respect all our league opponents because pretty much anybody can beat us.”
Chatfield returns to Trailblazer Stadium for a conference game against Green Mountain at 4 p.m. on April 7.
Wheat Ridge senior Ryann Pierce was a bright spot for the Farmers. Pierce had a hand in all four of Wheat Ridge’s goals with three tallies and an assist on senior Amanda Malecki’s goal.
Wheat Ridge faces rival Golden at 7 p.m. on April 9, at Trailblazer Stadium.
No. 1 Valor Christian boys lacrosse outlasts No. 3 Battle Mountain, weather
HIGHLANDS RANCH — Valor Christian head coach John Grant Jr. credits his team’s determination for their success this season.
With the temperature plummeting and the wind whipping snow around their home field on Thursday, the Eagles proved that they knew how to handle adversity by holding off a scrappy Battle Mountain team by a final of 10-9.
“You know, we didn’t even talk about (the weather),” said Grant. “’High-winds Ranch’ or whatever these kids like to call it, we’ve been out here battling it all season long, probably where other teams would’ve taken the day off. It was more the players than us. But it definitely paid off today.”
Valor (7-0 overall), No. 1 in Class 4A, proved to have the quick-strike offense early on, with Grayson Goodyear scoring just a minute into the contest on a drive up the middle.
But from there, No. 3 Battle Mountain (5-1) seemed to gain their poise, carrying much of the play for the first half of the opening quarter. The Eagles’ defense collapsed well though, and the visiting team’s smaller attackers had trouble finding room to maneuver.
It wasn’t until almost halfway through the first quarter that the Huskies finally broke through, with Clayton Davis swinging out from behind the right side of goaltender Shawn Johnson and firing it into the back of the net.
Valor would answer immediately though, driving the length of the field in seconds and forging ahead again on a nice individual effort out of the corner by Don Provost.
The second quarter saw the two teams exchange possession often, as players on both sides picked up the physical play. Goals by Provost and Cole Baker paced Valor, while tallies by Tony Clark and Jeremy Sforzo kept the Huskies right at their heels.
The second half begun amid a light but persistent snowfall, compounded by growing winds flowing through the stadium.
Despite the declining weather, Valor opened up the third quarter much as they did the opening half, scoring just 73 seconds on a goal by Brett Haskins, then following it up just 16 seconds later on another blast by Provost.
While it was clear that the weather would be a factor in the second half, it wasn’t so much that Battle Mountain didn’t respond as it was that Valor never gave them a chance to get an attack off the ground. By the time the Eagles had killed another four minutes of clock with regular possession and put home another goal, the Huskies needed something good to happen before the end of the period to have much hope of mounting a comeback.
They’d get it, in the form of two goals in less than a minute, off the sticks of Wyatt Dilling and Clayton Davis. Valor would add one more though, making it 8-5 heading into the final quarter.
The snow let up ahead of the fourth quarter, and Battle Mountain took advantage, this time giving the Eagles a taste of their own medicine by making it a two goal game less than a minute and a half into the quarter. Dillings’s goal less than a minute after had the home crowd glancing nervously at each other.
With the lead on the line, Valor was determined and deliberate in the next two possessions, with precision passing and more than a few set plays before executing a pair of quick passes out front that were buried by Dalton Ziegler and Grayson Goodyear.
The Huskies had a quick pass play of their own though that would be buried by Clayton Davis with just four minutes to go, and Davis would get the game’s final goal with a minute to go, before time expired on the Huskies before the equalizer.
“Clayton had such a wonderful game,” said one of Battle Mountain’s associate coaches. “The whole attack played great and those guys have a very, very good defense. We battled, but ultimately came up short.”
The win is the seventh in a row to start the season for the Eagles, who moved atop the 4A rankings for the first time a little over a week ago. But Grant isn’t letting his team rest on their laurels. Especially after the late collapse.
“We got some timely goals from some guys who don’t usually do that,” Grant said. “And it’s nice to spread it around. On the other hand we gotta do something to clean up these penalties late in games, because we are giving teams a chance to get back in it.”
For now his team remains undefeated, and they don’t look to be taking a step back now.
Pine Creek girls soccer rallies in second half to top Cheyenne Mountain
COLORADO SPRINGS — For 40 minutes, it looked like the Cheyenne Mountain girls soccer team had figured out how to snap its losing streak. But then Pine Creek came alive and showed why they are one of the top teams in the state.
The result was a 4-2 win for the Eagles, ranked No. 8 in Class 5A, and a third-straight loss for the Indians, who are No. 9 in 4A.
“We did some good things and Pine Creek is a phenomenal team,” Cheyenne Mountain coach Tomas Martinez said. “We’ll take some good things out of it. I don’t think we’ll see another team this good.”
The first 16 minutes of the game started at a fairly calm pace with both sides not seeing many scoring opportunities. But in the 17th minute, Indians (2-5 overall) forward Lauren Jones was able to shake a defender while moving down the left side of the field. She fired a shot from 15 yards out that got by Eagles keeper Jade Odom to give Cheyenne Mountain a 1-0 lead.
Pine Creek (5-2) continued to struggle to create scoring chances for the next 10 minutes, but seemed to catch a break as Jayne Lydiatt was tripped up in the goal box, giving the Eagles a penalty kick. Lydiatt aimed for the left side of the goal, but her shot was stopped cold by Indians keeper Stephanie Deines.
“It was rough, (Deines) made a really good save,” Lydiatt said. “I couldn’t let it discourage me and let it discourage my team.”
But less than two minutes later Ryanne Parker accepted a pass deep in the Cheyenne Mountain zone and took advantage of a clean look at the goal. She was able to beat Deines to put the Eagles on the board and tie the game at a goal apiece.
Apparently the idea of a tie game didn’t sit well with Jones. Less than two minutes after Pine Creek got on the board, she regained the lead for her team, beating Odom for the second time.
The Indians took the 2-1 lead into halftime, much to the delight of the home crowd. On the opposite sideline, Eagles coach John Frederick knew the game was far from over.
Pine Creek had been playing into strong winds for the first half and knew that the final 40 minutes would be more friendly. In fact, he even ventured a guess as to how many goals his team would score before the night was over.
“I told the players we were going to score three that half,” Frederick said.
In the 57th minute, it was Lydiatt who would get the first of those three as she lifted a shot over the head of Deines. After missing the penalty kick earlier, it she was able to relax after finding the back of the net to tie the game at two.
“When I got it I thought it made up for my missed PK,” she said.
But it was important for the Eagles to keep the momentum. Two minutes later, Parker added her second goal of the night to give Pine Creek a 3-2 lead.
Madeline Alhamra added another in the 63rd minute to bring the score to 4-2 in Pine Creek’s favor.
“I’m happy we were able to pull out the win tonight,” Lydiatt said. “We still have stuff to work on but from this game we learned a lot which brings us a step closer to our goals.”
For Martinez and the Indians, the loss &mdash while not ideal — will serve them better in the long run. Martinez consistently creates tough non-league schedules in order to have his team prepared when faced with an important matchup.
“That’s what I tell my team ‘just win league,’” he said. “I can guarantee you two weeks from now we will not be the team we are today. We’re going to continue to improve.”
Photos: Top-ranked Rock Canyon tops Ponderosa in girls soccer
HIGHLANDS RANCH — Paige Von Bank had two goals and an assist at Rock Canyon beat Ponderosa 4-1 in a 5A/4A matchup in girls soccer on Thursday.
The Jaguars, No. 1 in 5A, also got goals from Jamie Tatum and Dakota Wendell, while Camryn Yacks got the win in net.
Ponderosa is No. 6 in 4A. Kennedy Grandpre scored the Mustangs’ lone goal.
No. 6 Mullen girls lacrosse knocks off No. 1 Colorado Academy
DENVER — Trailing midway through the first half, Mullen girls lacrosse used a 5-0 run to grab a 7-4 halftime lead. It was the spark that ignited the upset, as the No. 6 Mustangs went on to hold off No. 1 Colorado Academy 9-8 on Thursday.
Ali Vanek had four goals, and Kami Cisneros had a monster game in goal with nine saves.
Cali Edgar added two goals, two assists and two ground balls, while Sarah Merrifield had two goals and four ground balls. Zoe Ryan the Mustangs’ other goal.
Mullen is now 4-2, though both losses came in California two weeks ago. It is 4-0 against in-state competition.
The schedule doesn’t get much easier — Mullen plays at No. 4 Centaurus next Monday. The Warriors are 4-2, but 4-1 against in-state foes with the lone loss coming 10-9 to then-No. 3 Cherry Creek on March 18.
Colorado Academy, meanwhile, is now 5-3 this season. The Mustangs, though, are 5-1 in the state, meaning the loss on Thursday was their first.
CA owns two wins over teams that are currently ranked in CHSAANow.com’s girls lacrosse poll. It plays at No. 3 Denver East next Friday.
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No. 2 Rocky Mountain baseball cruises past Pomona
ARVADA — If there is a chink in the armor in the defending Class 5A state baseball champion Rocky Mountain Lobos it was difficult to see Wednesday afternoon.
Rocky Mountain, ranked No. 2 in the latest CHSAANow.com Class 5A baseball poll, blanked Pomona 10-0 in five innings Wednesday afternoon at Bart Mapps Field in Arvada. The Lobos (3-3 overall) sent 10 batters to the plate in the five-run top of the first inning on the way to grab the non-league victory.
“We want to tack on runs as much as we can to create that big inning. That’s want we did,” said Rocky Mountain senior Cole Anderson who led of the game with a single and also had a triple and scored in the third inning.
The Lobos took advantage of every opportunity that presented itself in the opening frame. Four walks and three Pomona errors in the first inning allowed Rocky Mountain to jump on the Panthers early.
“You can’t play that bad against Rocky Mountain. You just can’t,” Pomona coach E.J. Mapps said. “First inning was just a train wreck. We made some mental errors we haven’t made yet this year. We’ll have to address it.”
Rocky Mountain extended its lead to 8-0 with a three-run second inning. Senior Daniel Ciraula and sophomore John Sorensen opened the frame with back-to-back singles. Seniors Garrett Hammer, Chad Bell and T.J. Solverud each picked up an RBI in the second inning.
Ciraula drove in Anderson in the top of the third inning to put the Lobos up 9-0. Pinch-hitter Easton Dolan hit the lone home run of the game in the top of the fifth inning to allow the Lobos to induce the 10-run mercy rule and end the game after five innings.
Rocky Mountain coach Scott Bullock had four different pitchers — Tyler Hyland, Austin Alarid, Kadin Breeze and Rian Olson — combine for two-hit shutout. Pomona sophomore Logan Bistrup and senior Justin Schmidt each had a hit for the Panthers in the loss.
Last year’s three main starters for the Lobos where Tyler Stevens, Carl Stajduhar and Marc Bachman, but with that trio graduated, the Lobos’ pitching staff looks much different.
“We are going to use our depth. I think that’s the strength of our pitching staff,” Rocky Mountain coach Scott Bullock said.
Rocky Mountain sits in the exact position it did last year at this point of the season heading into 5A Front Range League play.
The Lobos held an identical 3-3 record to start conference play. Rocky Mountain dropped its first two league games to Legacy and Fairview last year before reeling off 18 straight victories, including five consecutive in the double-elimination state tournament, on the way to the 5A state champion.
“Last year, even though we had a really good team, we were struggling early,” Bullock said. “I’m happy were this team is regardless of record right now. It only matters how well you are playing at the end of the year.”
Rocky Mountain starts conference play at home against Loveland on April 4. First pitch is 11 a.m.
“Even last year’s team, we had a target on our back,” Anderson said. “We know it’s a winning program and we want to keep it that way.”
Pomona (1-5-1) is right back out on Bart Mapps Field on Thursday in another non-league game. The Panthers host Valor Christian, ranked No. 4 in 4A. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
The Panthers have been in most of their games this year, losing their first four games by a combined total of six runs.
Pomona is hoping for more success in 5A Jeffco League action then last year’s 1-7 mark. Pomona begins conference play April 11 at home against Dakota Ridge.
“Those are the games that count,” Mapps said about conference play. “We’ve played well up to this point. It’s a good group of kids. They listen and they’ll respond.”
