The win means Colorado Academy will get a shot at defending their title from last season. This will be CA’s sixth appearance in a championship game. The Mustangs have won three times.
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(3) Jefferson Academy 3, (2) The Academy 0
Jefferson Academy advanced to the first girls soccer title game in program history with the win in the semifinals.
Cherry Creek freshman Tanner O’Tremba fires to the plate as his teammates look on from the dugout during the Class 5A state playoff game against Grandview on Saturday at All-City Field in Denver. (Dennis Pleuss)
The top-seeded Bruins managed a 4-1 victory against Centennial League rival Grandview (13-9) in Game 1 of the state tournament at All-City Field in Denver. Some key base running and an impressive start on the mound by freshman Tanner O’Tremba propelled the Bruins to the win.
“Tanner (O’Tremba) was the freshest guy. I really didn’t think about where he won before,” Cherry Creek coach Marc Johnson said about going with O’Tremba on the mound. The freshman got the win on the hill against the Wolves earlier in the season. “We have a lot of confidence in him. As a freshman he is really good, really good.”
O’Tremba threw five innings of shutout ball giving up just three hits with five strikeouts. Junior Carter Van Gytenbeek pitched the sixth inning and gave up a run on three hits for the Bruins. Senior Cody Wood picked up the save pitching the seventh inning.
“He (O’Tremba) has been great for us this year. He has always thrown well,” Cherry Creek senior Carson Jax said. “Even thou he’s a freshman he handles everything like a senior.”
Jax and junior Nate Sweeney got the scoring going for the Bruins with a successfully executed a double steal in the top of the second inning with two outs to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead.
Grandview junior pitcher Nick Morris (11) gets a fist bump from catcher Chase McIaran before the first pitch of the game Saturday against Cherry Creek at All-City Field. (Dennis Pleuss)
“The double steal was big. It was a fake squeeze and I don’t think Grandview was expecting the steal,” said Jax, who added a successful RBI sacrifice squeeze bunt in the top of the sixth inning. “I saw the second baseman go up and catch the ball and kind of fall down so I ran. It was huge.”
Cherry Creek pushed a run across with two outs in the fifth inning. Senior Aeneas Roberson hustled into second base with a double. Senior Blake Benedetti followed with an RBI single to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead.
Three straight hits by Cherry Creek in the sixth inning gave the Bruins a 4-0 lead.
“Those are big things when you get into tight games like that,” Johnson said of adding two runs late. “An extra run or two makes you relaxed and feel a little bit better.”
Grandview broke up the shutout with an RBI single by senior Chase McIaran in the bottom of the sixth inning driving in junior Tyler Smith. Junior Nick Morris took the loss on the mound for the Wolves. Morris pitched six innings giving up all four of the Bruins’ runs on seven hits.
It was the third meeting of the season between Cherry Creek and Grandview. The two split their conference meetings back in early April.
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Chatfield continues to battle through hardship
Chatfield baseball has become a master of overcoming adversity this season.
The Chargers started the season 1-8 during their non-league schedule and had a head coaching change at the start of their Class 5A Jeffco League stretch. Chatfield (12-10) overcame more than a two-hour lightning delay in its opening game of the 5A double-elimination state tournament to take a 6-3 victory over Monarch.
“Honestly, I didn’t think we’d be here after the way we started off,” Chatfield senior Kyle Winkler said. “Everything was so negative. To turn it around like we have is really special.”
Tied 3-3 with Monarch (12-4-1) going to the bottom of the fifth inning, Winkler and senior Camden Lawhead delivered back-to-back RBI singles to give the Chargers at 5-3 advantage and the lead for good.
Winkler went 2-for-4 from the plate and scored thanks to a two-base throwing error on a pickoff attempt and wild pitch in the bottom of the fourth inning.
“We got lucky on a few errors Monarch had and capitalized on those,” Winkler said. “We had a lot of two-out hits. I fell like we had a lot of clutch hits. Everyone contributed today.”
Senior Matt Watson picked up the win on the mound going six innings while giving up three runs on six hits. Junior Mike Lucero picked up the save pitching a perfect seventh inning.
“A lot of people didn’t think we’d get here,” said Chatfield coach Matt Johnson who moved into the head-coaching position midway through the season. “Being underestimated is a powerful thing in sports.”
Chatfield tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning with an RBI single by senior Jake Carstensen for a 6-3 lead.
Monarch and Chatfield waited through more than a two-hour delay. With one out in the top of the second inning Game 2 at All-City Field went into a lightning delay at 1:12 p.m. Play resumed at 3:39 p.m.
“Mentally as soon as we hit the field the adrenaline kicked in,” Johnson said of the delay. “It was tough, but these guys just don’t give up. No matter what the situation is they are finding a way.”
Because of the delay and the 1A baseball championship schedule for the fourth game at All-City on Saturday, the 5A schedule had to be juggled. Chatfield will face Cherry Creek at 10 a.m. Sunday at All-City Field. The winner of that will play at 5 p.m. Sunday at Metro State, the loser plays at 1:30 p.m. at Metro State tomorrow.
Monarch plays in an elimination game against Grandview at 12:30 p.m. Sunday at All-City.
The Coyotes grabbed an early 1-0 lead on Chatfield with an RBI single by sophomore Gus Light in the top of the second inning. Monarch tied the game in the top of the fifth with a two-run single by senior Jacob Stockerbrand.
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Other games
Mountain Vista 3, Rock Canyon 2: The Golden Eagles got a home run from Brady Subart in the bottom of the sixth inning to power their way to the win.
Regis Jesuit 3, Pine Creek 2: Regis Jesuit pulled out the extra-inning win on Austin Chouinard’s walkoff home run in the eighth inning.
Mountain Vista pulled off a stunning rally to beat Regis Jesuit in the winner’s bracket game. The Golden Eagles trailed 10-1 at one point, and 10-4 going to the bottom of the seventh. But Mountain Vista exploded for six runs to tie the game and send it to extras. They then rallied to win in the eighth inning.
AURORA — The Broomfield Eagles’ defense was stifling. And it earned them a trip to the state championship game.
The state’s No. 4 seed in the Class 5A girls soccer bracket deployed a gameplan for their semifinals matchup against the second-seeded Golden Eagles of Mountain Vista designed to force their talented counterparts away from a potent vertical attack, and it worked well enough to earn them a 2-0 victory.
“We needed to keep really organized across the back,” said Broomfield head coach Jim Davidson. “They like to play those ‘flighted’ balls into the box but we did a great job of staying connected keeping the play in front of us and (goalkeeper Shannon Mooney) did a great job organizing everything in front of us.”
Indeed Mooney did play a pivotal role in the game, making potentially game-winning saves all match long in a contest that didn’t even see its first score until the final 12 minutes.
From the opening kickoff, Broomfield (17-1-1 overall, 10-1-1 league) clogged the Golden Eagles’ vertical passing lanes, compelling Mountain Vista (16-3, 10-0) to decide between a more passive attack or forcing the ball into heavy traffic.
Yet despite frustrating Vista from a scoring standpoint, the Golden Eagles were able to control much of the play in both halves, through their relentless attack as well as solid back-checking on defense that forced several turnovers from behind on Broomfield.
The Eagles weren’t short on chances though, as they parlayed several first half breaks into high quality set pieces that kept Mountain Vista on their toes.
Yet the first ball to make it past either goalkeeper would be a rising blast from outside the 18 from Makena Bambei of Broomfield, which went off the crossbar and into the net after a slightly mistimed leap by Golden Eagles keeper Kylee Love. By that point almost 70 of 80 minutes had been played in the match.
Broomfield would strike again minutes later as well, as one of their corner kicks finally paid off after a mad scramble in front of the net saw the ball trickle out to the backside where Gia Lemley would put it home for the Eagles.
Both plays were tough breaks for Love, who had made two excellent saves in a row just previous to the goals. Additionally, Mountain Vista’s players were upset at the lack of an offside call on the second goal—and they may have had a point.
“We just couldn’t finish our opportunities and got unlucky,” said Mountain Vista coach Theresa Echtermeyer. “And that’s the game sometimes. It’s brutal. You get more chances and if you don’t get them in and allow the other team to stick around, bad things happen.”
For Broomfield, they knew that it would take something special to get past the talented Golden Eagles.
“The system worked,” said Davidson. “You have to adjust to this team because they are so talented. So yeah, this is just a great team win.”
Broomfield will face the winner of Grandview and Thunder Ridge in the state championship game. The later match starts at 1:30pm.
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(2) Grandview 1, (3) ThunderRidge 0 (OT)
After suffering through a long delay at halftime of their game, Grandview got the overtime winner to advance to the 5A title game.
This will be Grandview’s second appearance in the title game. The Wolves also went in 2008, and beat Heritage.
Grandview advances to play Broomfield. The two teams did not meet during the regular season.
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Class 5A girls soccer championship
7:30 p.m. on May 20 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park (Bracket)
DENVER — Cherry Creek girls lacrosse coach Kathryn Ames huddled her girls after their 18-11 win in Saturday’s semifinals, and, sounding relieved, said, “That was Creek.”
Championship games are routine for Cherry Creek girls lacrosse. The Bruins have been to the finals every year since the sport was sanctioned in 1998 — a streak of 18-consecutive games — and have won nine of the last 15 years. But Denver East was making it anything but an easy path at the start of the game.
The Angels began Saturday’s semifinal game on a 3-0 run in under five minutes of play. Shortly thereafter, Cherry Creek began to hit the back of the net, eventually tying it at 4-4 and keeping the game close.
The half continued to remain a tight battle, with both teams taking leads. The scoreboard read 8-8 at the half, prompting the question if this could be the end of a longtime Cherry Creek run.
The matchup for the two teams has always favored Cherry Creek. They met at the semifinals in 2000, 2007, and 2009, with Creek winning on every occasion. In 2010, the two met in the finals, where East fell short.
East, which won a meeting between the two teams earlier this season, was looking to flip the script today.
(Danielle Ennis/CHSAANow.com)
But the second half was dominated by Creek’s offense, a squad that scored four unanswered goals to pull ahead early. East scored three goals in the last 20 minutes, but the momentum remained on the Bruins side for the remainder of the game, as they pulled away with a final score of 18-11.
“We have had this ongoing issue of not playing the whole game,” Ames said. “Our goal has to be play 50 minutes. I told my girls to get back out there, stay on their toes, and not to settle.”
Senior Caroline Perry and Sophomore Eliza Radochonski did just that, combining for nine goals in their victory.
In the final game of the regular season two weeks back, East beat Cherry Creek 13-12. But when it was win-or-go-home, the Bruins made it count.
“That wasn’t us at our last matchup,” Ames said. “We haven’t really showed what we can do. We had a lot to rebuild this year and have created so much depth. Now we just have to use our consistency and our unity.”
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(3) Colorado Academy 14, (7) Centaurus
(Danielle Ennis/CHSAANow.com)
After a two hour lightning delay, No. 3 Colorado Academy and No. 7 Centaurus returned to the turf to start the second semifinal of the day.
In similar fashion to the first game, the underdog scored first. But things quickly shifted towards Colorado Academy and after 25 minutes of play, Cherry Creek led 7-3.
Centaurus senior Sarah Myers scored all three of the first half goals and continued to lead her offense through the game, becoming the the sole scorer for the Warriors and tallying five unassisted goals.
“We are just young,” Myers said of her team’s shortcomings. “A lot of the players don’t have the experience yet.”
In contrast, the Mustangs used the depth of their team, with goals coming from eight different players. Sophomore Sydney Prokupek and junior Emma Richards scored three goals apiece.
Colorado Academy played the second half with unparalleled consistency, finding nearly almost seam in Centaurus’s defense and capitalizing.
On the other end of the field, sophomore goalie Bridget Sutter made big saves to set up her team’s scoring rhythm.
Senior Henley Hall and sophomore Claire Wright connected three times at the goal, attacking the zone with a one-two, pass-shot punch.
“We are a big family. It’s more than just our offense scoring consistently,” said Hall. “We all support each other throughout the field. And we trust each other. Coach is always telling us the importance of having each other’s backs.”
Colorado Academy coach Steph Sanders worked to keep her girls positive and in the right mindset during the game delay.
“I’m proud of how they came out. I tell them to be confident yet level-headed,” said Sanders.
She wants to set a more efficient pace at the championship game.
“We need to work on being more disciplined on attack,” Sanders said. “We tend to get excited when we have the ball and want to make a play immediately. We just need to take our time.”
Colorado Academy takes on Cherry Creek Wednesday evening at University of Denver.
The scene was grey at All-City Field on Saturday. (Dennis Pleuss)
DENVER — A thunderstorm which left a two-hour lightning delay in its wake on Saturday has caused some changes to the Class 5A state baseball bracket.
With the 1A title game scheduled for 6 p.m. on Saturday evening at All-City Stadium, one half of the 5A bracket was unable to complete play following a two-hour, 26-minute delay of a first-round game.
The result, according to CHSAA assistant commissioner Bert Borgmann, is that the second-round game between Cherry Creek and Chatfield on Saturday has been moved to Sunday. It will be played at 10 a.m. at All-City Field.
In addition, the following changes have been made:
Game 11, which will match the two remaining unbeaten teams on Sunday, has been moved to 5 p.m. at Metro State.
Game 7, between Grandview and Monarch, will be played at 12:30 p.m. at All-City.
Game 8, between Rock Canyon and Pine Creek, will be played at 10 a.m. at Metro State.
Not even a lightning delay was going to slow down the Class 4A defending state champions as they came away with a 4-1 win over Discovery Canyon in the quarterfinals. Two and a half minutes in, Sarah Thilenius found the net to give the Indians a quick 1-0 lead.
When play finally resumed, the third-seeded Indians wasted no time in building their lead. They scored two quick goals, effectively putting the game out of reach.
At Battle Mountain: The Windsor Wizards were not afraid of hitting the road in their pursuit of a state championship. They took a 1-0 lead over Battle Mountain in the first half which would hold up for the final 40 minutes.
With the 1-0 win, the Wizards have advanced to Saturday’s 4A state semifinals.
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(8) Lewis-Palmer 1, (1) Evergreen 0
At Evergreen: The No. 1 seed in the 4A bracket fell as the Lewis-Palmer Rangers topped Evergreen 1-0. Brianna Alger got the Rangers on the board early and the Rangers were able to hang on for the win.
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(10) Ponderosa 3, (18) Standley Lake 2
At Sports Authority Stadium: The Mustangs jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first half.
Kent Denver is moving on to the Class 3A girls soccer semifinals. They were able to sneak by Peak to Peak with a 2-1 victory, setting up a rematch with league foe Colorado Academy.
The fourth-seeded Sun Devils got on the board in the 22nd minute with a goal from Peyton Brophy to take a 1-0 lead a score that held up until halftime.
The convincing win sets up a rematch with Kent Denver in the semifinals. Colorado Academy won the first meeting, 2-1.
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(3) Jefferson Academy 3, (6) Frontier Academy 2
At Jefferson Academy: This game couldn’t be decided in 80 minutes. The teams found themselves locked in a 1-1 tie at halftime, with Jefferson Academy taking a 2-1 lead in the second half.
However, the Wolverines wouldn’t give in and they were able to tie the game, sending it to overtime.
But it was just a minute in that the Jaguars found the net, earning a bid into the semifinals.
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(2) The Academy 1, (10) SkyView Academy 0
At The Academy: The Wildcats took advantage of their home field, winning a nail-biter to send them into the 3A semifinals.
This season’s boys and girls state track and field meet runs May 14-16 at Jefferson County Stadium. Find heat sheets for the second day of events below.
Green Mountain and Erie completed their game at Machebeuf on Friday, but the second game between Lewis-Palmer and Wheat Ridge was suspended by weather. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
DENVER — Poor weather, which brought rain, hail and lightning, has caused the delay of state tournament games in Class 4A baseball.
The ultimate result is that all games originally scheduled for Saturday will now be played on Monday at the same times and sites.
The first-round game on Friday between Wheat Ridge and Lewis-Palmer at Bishop Machebeuf High School was suspended due to rain and lightning. That game will resume where it left off — in the bottom of the sixth inning with one out, a runner on second and Lewis-Palmer leading 2-1 — at 10:30 a.m. at All-Star Park in Lakewood on Saturday.
Immediately following that game, the winner will play Green Mountain at All-Star Park in a game that was originally scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday. Green Mountain beat Erie 5-4 in Friday’s first round at Machebeuf to advance.
The other half of the 4A bracket — Windsor, Evergreen, Ponderosa and D’Evelyn — is on track to complete play at All-Star Park on Friday.
All games originally set for for Saturday have been moved to Monday. All second-round games need to be completed in order to play consolation bracket and third-round games. Sunday was not an option as neither Machebeuf nor All-Star Park were available.
There will be only two games completed on Saturday in the 4A bracket.
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Weather also moves 3A bracket
Poor weather is also dealing some trouble to the 3A bracket.
The Bayfield/University first-round game was suspended with the teams tied in the seventh inning on Friday. They will resume play at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Butch Butler Field.
Immediately following, the winner of that game will play Sterling in a second-round game on Saturday — but then the tournament will delay until Monday.
Concurrent with these changes, the games originally scheduled for Butch Butler on Saturday have been moved to Monday. They will now play at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The 1 p.m. game will be the lone winners’ bracket game played Monday.
The consolation bracket games originally scheduled for Frederick High School will now play at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Monday.
