Allan Dyer announced his decision to retire from coaching baseball at Cherokee Trail in a letter on Wednesday morning.
The longtime Cougars coach, who started the program in 2003, led them to two championships, including a Class 5A title last spring. In his announcement, Dyer wrote that he has “been extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to coach at CT and have the opportunity to build the program from scratch since we opened our doors in 2003.”
“I had a feeling before we won the title last year that I needed to be finished and spend more time at home,” Dyer wrote.
Dyer grew up in Colorado, and played baseball at Arapahoe High School before moving on to play at Northern Colorado.
He got his coaching start in Roswell, Georgia,
“When I returned to Colorado after spending ten great years in Georgia, I have been vested in trying to grow Colorado baseball and help where needed,” Dyer wrote.
In Colorado, he started the Colorado Dugout Club, a baseball coaches association, and said his “hope and vision was to bring more coaches together and promote our sport.”
In an email, ThunderRidge baseball coach Joe White, who grew up with Dyer in Colorado, wrote that, “So many high school coaches in this state have thrived because of Allan and his efforts with the Colorado Dugout Club. More importantly, so many players have thrived because of what he has accomplished with our club.”
It was just one of the many ways he was involved in promoting baseball in Colorado. Dyer also is involved with the Colorado Junior Team, and has served on the CHSAA baseball committee.
“Hosting playoffs for CHSAA being a part of various CHSAA committees has also been rewarding,” Dyer wrote. “My biggest regret to this day is that we still only play 19 games and that others do not share the same desire to make Colorado High School baseball more relevant.
“I believe there are great HS and club programs and coaches out there that do the right thing for kids and I hope that relationship continues to grow in respect for both.”
Said White: “He has helped put Colorado baseball on the national map.”
GREELEY — Shawn Chacon is a memorable name in Colorado baseball lore. Chacon was a Greeley Central product who pitched for the Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Houston Astros.
On Wednesday, Valley senior Shawn Chacon had an outing worthy of his name with only one run given up in four innings during a 7-2 win over Colorado Academy in the Class 3A baseball tournament on Wednesday at Butch Butler Field.
The senior is cousins with the former Major League player.
“Shawn was working his way back into the rotation,” Valley coach Steve Kissler said. “He had a little bit of an elbow issue. Today he got to 49 pitches in four innings. That was awesome. We knew coming in he was going to be able to relish the moment, throw some strikes for us and keep us in the game.”
Chacon did just that, helping the Vikings earn the only undefeated record left in the 3A bracket at 3-0. They also took out Faith Christian 2-1 and Eaton 15-12 on Tuesday.
Valley (18-6) is now the one team guaranteed a bid to the state championship game on Sunday.
Eaton (a 8-2 winner over La Junta), Faith Christian (8-0 over Peak to Peak) and Colorado Academy all have one loss in the postseason, but will each be in the semifinals, as well. In a double-elimination tournament, Valley will need to be defeated twice over the weekend to be knocked out.
The team in black and gold is hoping to accomplish something they haven’t achieved in 34 years. Winning a 3A baseball crown would be the ultimate prize for a school rich in tradition in the sport with seven championships.
(Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
“The tradition is from several years ago as far as state titles go, but there is a rich tradition and a lot of the folks who played on those teams are sitting in the crowd now,” Kissler said. “They are pulling for us to hopefully get back there. That tradition is definitely ingrained into what we do here.”
To take another step in that direction, Valley needed a complete effort against a loaded Mustangs lineup. One of the Vikings’ top hitters happens to be Chacon (.483 batting average), and the senior came through again with an RBI single in the bottom of the first. In the second, Dominik Triana chipped in an RBI single of his own to push the lead to 2-0.
Colorado Academy’s Evan Reiter led off the top of the fourth inning with a double, eventually scoring on a groundout to pull within 2-1. Chacon wiggled his way out of further trouble though. In the bottom of the fourth, Tylyn Nash singled for Valley. Dillon Rudd drove in a run of his own to open a 3-1 lead.
Emmett Ela came in as relief for Colorado Academy’s Isaac Corson, who was pulled after three and two-thirds innings in which he gave up four hits and three total runs. Then, an error allowed Rudd to score.
Mercado added a single to drive in two more runs and make it 6-1. Valley scored four runs in the fourth, all but sealing a bid to the final day of the season.
Raul Rios came in to pitch for Valley, giving up a run when Ben Cole scored on a groundout in the fifth but pitching well otherwise. The Vikings answered back when Rudd tallied another RBI single in the fifth to push the lead to 7-2.
Cesar Mercado finished the game on the mound for the Vikings, giving up no runs in the sixth or seventh frames.
Valley will have a rematch with Patriot League rival Eaton at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday at Butch Butler Field in one semifinal matchup. The Vikings, who also beat the Reds 8-2 on April 25, are 2-0 against Eaton this season.
The Reds recovered from Tuesday’s loss to Valley by staying alive with an 8-2 win over La Junta on Wednesday. Eaton has won more championships in baseball than any other school in Colorado history with 11.
Faith Christian will face Colorado Academy at 10:00 a.m. in the other semifinal showdown on Saturday. They are the defending state champion after beating Manitou Springs last season. They also won 3A crowns in 2007 over Erie and 2011 over Holy Family.
Colorado Academy has never won a state title in baseball.
LAKEWOOD — Valor Christian punched its ticket to a key game in the Class 4A baseball tournament on Monday. Evergreen and Thompson Valley were trying to do the same before rain rolled into All-Star Park and caused play to be suspended.
The Cougars led the Eagles 2-0 with two outs in the bottom of the sixth before the field at All-Star Park was left unplayable because of the rain. By the time the teams left the stadium, there was standing water on the infield.
And so the 4A portion of the bracket that was to be played at All-Star Park on Tuesday will now move to Metro State.
(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
The schedule is below. All times are approximate after the first game, because they depend on when the prior game finishes:
10 a.m. — Rocky Mountain and Mountain Vista finish their game that was suspended in the 5A tournament.
10:30 a.m. — Evergreen and Thompson Valley will resume their game from 4A. Evergreen leads 2-0 with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
11:30 a.m. — Pueblo West vs. Thomas Jefferson in 4A.
2 p.m. — The loser of the 10:30 a.m. game will play the winner of the 11:30 a.m. game.
4:30 p.m. — The winner of the 10:30 a.m. game will play Valor Christian.
The 4A games on the other side of the bracket will remain at Machebeuf. Those are:
10 a.m. — Golden vs. Air Academy.
12:30 p.m. — Winner of the 10 a.m. game vs. Silver Creek.
Valor Christian beat Pueblo West 2-1 and Silver Creek 6-3 to advance in the winner’s bracket. Evergreen edged Air Academy 1-0, while Thompson Valley rallied to beat Golden 9-8 in the first round.
The 4A tournament was already moved from its original Friday/Saturday schedule by a snow and rain storm on Thursday that left fields unplayable until Monday.
The 4A bracket has been updated to reflect the schedule changes.
Rocky Mountain was a mere three outs from securing the only 3-0 record in the Class 5A baseball tournament at All-City Stadium on Monday evening, but a deluge of rain caused the game to be postponed.
As of now, the Lobos’ contest with Mountain Vista has been postponed to 10 a.m. on Tuesday at Metro State with Rocky leading 4-3 in the top of the seventh. If Rocky is able to seal the victory, they would be in the most favorable position of the Final 4 teams on state championship weekend.
The other semifinalists will be Mountain Vista, win or lose Tuesday, Broomfield (5-2 winners over Rock Canyon) and Cherry Creek (13-12 winners over Legend in eight innings).
Entering Monday, the lone unbeatens left in the bracket were Rocky Mountain and Mountain Vista (both 2-0). Rocky Mountain beat Rock Canyon 3-2 and Cherry Creek 7-6 at All-City on Sunday, while the Golden Eagles triumphed over Dakota Ridge 6-2 and Broomfield 6-4 at Metro State on the same day.
And so, just like Rocky Mountain, if Mountain Vista wins, the Golden Eagles would be in prime position.
Right away on Monday afternoon, the Golden Eagles touched the sky with solo shots by Cole Blatchford and Sam Ireland into a huge wind alley in right field in the top of the first inning on Monday to take a 2-1 lead.
An RBI single by Tyler Mata-Lloyd pulled Rocky Mountain within 2-1 in the second inning. Then, singles by Tyler Hyland and Kalen Hammer (another RBI) tied the game at two.
Finally, in a game with a bundle of balls drove deep into the outfield, Rocky Mountain didn’t hit any out of the park. But, in the fifth they found runs again. An error allowed Uhrich to score from second to take a 3-2 lead. Brady Morris’ safety squeeze pushed another run across to go up 4-2.
Mountain Vista’s Alex Clouthier had an RBI single in the sixth to pull within 4-3. Then the game was delayed, and eventually postponed.
ERIE — Loveland’s Lauren Lehigh definitely made it interesting, but she got it done.
“I still knew where I stood. For me, I play really well from behind and I know that,” Lehigh said. “I don’t always play the greatest with a lead, but I managed to keep it today. I knew that it wasn’t going to be an issue, that I trusted my game enough to know I could perform the last couple holes. I had to trust myself.”
Lehigh got back to playing consistent golf in the second round to hold on and win the individual and team title in the Class 4A girls golf state championships over teammate Aili Bundy.
“That was our whole goal this year,” Lehigh said. “To get that for our seniors, for the school, that experience for everybody on the team. It’s amazing.”
Bundy was a late mover on the leaderboard as she made a push after starting the day +5 in the first three holes. In the next 15 holes, Bundy shot two-under-par to finish tied for second with Glenwood Springs’ Lauren Murphy.
“It was so nice to be able to go out there and shoot a solid round the second day,” Bundy said. “I kind of did the same thing today as I did yesterday. I was five over after three holes, and I thought, ‘Something’s gotta change.’ I was really proud about how I came back from that and stayed calm.”
(Cannon Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Loveland effectively had the 4A team title locked up before day two began, and their lead only widened with Bundy and Lehigh’s stellar play.
The Indians finished the first round with a score of +17 — 18 strokes better than the next closest team.
After the second round, the Indians had a team score of +43, paced by Lehigh (+8), Bundy (+9) and Hannah Doran (+26).
“I’m so happy for our team and for our coach. He’s put everything into this season and into us,” Bundy said. “He’s really encouraged us throughout the year. We tried not to get ahead of ourselves during the season, we never really talked about state. It was definitely a storybook ending, I couldn’t have asked for anything better.
“This is the cherry on top. I’m just on cloud nine right now.”
Windsor (+70) came in second, while Glenwood Springs and Golden tied for third with +85.
That Loveland trio all finished in the top-10 of individual scoring.
Lehigh battled the wind and cold weather to make the turn at three over par. Then, things got interesting.
“On the front nine, I hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens, and got up and down when I needed to,” Lehigh said. “The back nine was a little harder for me to hit fairways. I don’t know why, just wasn’t as accurate with it. Missing greens by a little bit isn’t bad, but missing greens that I have to chip, that’s when it gets a little nerveracking.”
Lehigh posted a seven on the par-four 13th. Then, she bogied the next hole and her lead was dwindling.
After two straight pars, Lehigh bogied 17 and clung to a one-stroke lead going into the final hole.
“I’m very trusting in my game,” Lehigh said. “I know that whatever happens happens, and I know I can get it back. I trust my game, I’m confident in myself. I think that’s a pretty good word to describe my game.”
Bundy finished on 18 in the group ahead of Lehigh and could only watch as her teammate played her final hole.
“I told my coach, I’m proud of how I’ve played so far. I’m never going to root against a teammate,” Bundy said. “I knew she was one stroke ahead of me and I just told him I was going to hit a good approach shot and then knock it close and if something happened in the group behind me in that was out of my control, that’s what was meant to be. Lauren really deserved it.”
A par was all the sophomore would need as she went on to claim the individual title.
“It doesn’t bother me as much because I’ve had so much experience in those positions,” Lehigh said. “I’ve played from behind, I’ve played with a lead, it’s at the point right now with me that I just need to play my game.”
Golden’s Sydney Prey and Glenwood Springs’ Lauren Murphy both double-bogied the first hole, allowing Lehigh to build on her two-stroke lead right from the start. Lehigh was up four strokes after Hole 1.
Prey shot a triple bogie on the second hole and ended with a +14.
Murphy rallied back to come within one of Lehigh, but couldn’t get a birdie on 18.
DENVER — On Tuesday morning, Rocky Mountain continued down a path they have walked many times since claiming their first Class 5A baseball championship in 2007.
In a game that had six innings in the books by Monday evening at All-City Stadium, rain pushed the seventh frame into Tuesday at Metro State. Rocky Mountain led 4-3 after six and rode a walkoff in the bottom of the seventh to top Mountain Vista 5-4 in the 5A state tournament.
“It was weird sleeping last night,” Rocky’s Jadon Uhrich said. “You’re three outs from the championship game. At the same time we knew we were playing a good team.”
Both were 2-0, looking for the driver’s seat in the highest classification heading into championship weekend. Mountain Vista struck first in the final inning, drawing back-to-back walks with no outs. Then, John Krysa grounded out but had an RBI to tie the game at 4-4.
Zach Paschke nearly gave the Golden Eagles the lead, but was thrown out at home in a close play. Cole Blatchford grounded out and Rocky Mountain pitcher Kalen Hammer escaped with no further damage done.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Lobos’ John Sorensen drew a walk but pinch runner Sean Cornell was picked off at first base. Uhrich singled and Spencer Gendreau drew a walk. Mountain Vista had a chance of forcing an inning-ending double play as Trey Wagner grounded to the shortstop with one out.
The throw to first was wide though, allowing Uhrich to slide in for the winning run.
“I knew as soon as that ball was hitting the ground I was running,” the senior said. “The headfirst slide was pretty fun. I just had to enjoy that moment. That was a crazy last inning.”
The Lobos will be appearing in their eighth title game since 2007. They won four in a row from 2007-2010, while also claiming 5A in 2014. Cherokee Trail defeated Rocky Mountain 9-4 in last year’s final game. The powerhouse program from Fort Collins is the last unbeaten team remaining in 5A.
Rocky Mountain will face conference rival Broomfield at 10:00 a.m. on Friday at All-City Stadium to kick off championship weekend. The other game will be Mountain Vista vs. Cherry Creek at 12:30.
Win or lose against Broomfield and Rocky Mountain will still be in the championship game, needing only two victories to earn title No. 6. Everyone else will need three wins. A champion will be crowned on Saturday.
Cherry Creek has won eight baseball titles, the last coming in 2012. Broomfield has five championships, the last in 2012 in 4A. Mountain Vista has appeared in two championship games, losing to Columbine in 2006 and Rocky Mountain in 2009.
Golden’s Brad Banks, right, runs down Air Academy’s Nick Weber in a pickle Tuesday at Machebeuf Field. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
AURORA — Golden’s baseball season ended Tuesday afternoon at Machebeuf Field.
A 6-4 loss to Air Academy in an elimination game of the Class 4A state tournament series officially closed the book on what was a wild and at times strange season for the Demons (12-11 record).
“We had a lot of ups and downs. We had a lot of good moments and bad moments. I think that is what helped us, shape us,” Golden junior Jacob Douthit said after the season-ending loss. “I think we’ll be back next year. These juniors are going to lead us.”
The junior-laded team led Golden to its first appearance to the double-elimination state tournament since 2008, the final year Brad Madden coached the Demons before moving over to Green Mountain High School. Madden guided Golden to the 4A 2003 state championship before winning two more 4A titles — 2014 and 2015 — with Green Mountain.
“We’ve been talking about it for a year. We have the potential to be really good,” said second-year Golden coach Jackie McBroom. “Obviously, the culture hasn’t been there in the (recent) past. Rebuilding that culture is tough. I’m super proud of these guys. They are a little ahead of schedule.”
Golden’s Ben McLaughlin (6) and Air Academy’s Josh Dudden plead their case at second base. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Golden’s wild ride this season was highlighted by winning its district tournament in Canon City, despite being the No. 4 seed in the four-team bracket. It seemed like an improbable run after a three-game losing streak where 4A Jeffco rivals Evergreen, Valor Christian and Green Mountain outscored the Demons 35-8.
A key 11-10 victory in Golden’s regular-season finale against Littleton helped spark the playoff run.
“I believed,” Golden junior Jack McLaughlin said of the Demons making the state tournament series. “We’ve battled all year. Our goal at the beginning of the year was to make it here. We worked hard all fall and winter to get here.”
Despite going 0-2 at the state tournament, the Demons didn’t go down easily. Golden trailed Thompson Valley 6-0 heading to the sixth inning in a first-round game Monday at All Star Park in Lakewood. The Demons rallied before eventually losing 9-8 in extra innings.
“Honestly, I didn’t see it coming,” Douthit admitted about Golden’s run to the state tournament. “We just fought through every game. Yesterday was a good example. We were down six runs and we had a seven-run inning. We kept fighting. That is what got us here.”
Air Academy seemed to have things well in hand against Golden on Tuesday. The Kadets held a 5-1 lead through four innings with junior pitcher Micah Bregard throwing a no-hitter. However, the Demons punched across three runs in the top of the fifth inning to make a game of it.
Golden junior Brad Banks fires across the diamond. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
McLaughlin and junior Max Allen started off the inning with back-to-back singles. Those would be the only hits for the Demons in the loss. Golden took advantage of eight walks, three errors and a wild pitch to score their four runs.
“You would like to jump ahead early and not have to fight back, but it’s nice when you get down early you see your kids not give up,” McBroom said. “We did that for two games. We were in both games in the final inning to give ourselves a chance to win.”
Golden loses just one player in senior Matt Kneeskern. Very similar to the Demons’ boys basketball program that made the Final 4 of the 4A state tournament last winter with only one senior in Kaden Sund.
“The future is bright here,” McLaughlin said. “We didn’t come out on top, but at the end of the day it’s a great experience. We’ll be back next year.”
The Jeffco League will be strongly represented in the Final 4 of the 4A state championship series set for Friday and Saturday, May 26 and 27. Defending state champion Valor and Evergreen both advanced to the Final 4 winning their first two game of the tournament.
“The best thing about playing in Jeffco is we see good competition and that makes us a better team,” Douthit said. “I’m happy for Evergreen and Valor to be in the position they are in. They deserve it.”
Golden will watch 4A Jeffco League rivals Evergreen and Valor Christian play in the Final 4 of the state tournament later this week. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Holy Family’s Hailey Schalk won the 3A individual title. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
BROOMFIELD — Monday was full of excitement at the first Class 3A girls state golf tournament. Holy Family freshman Hailey Schalk jumped out to a commanding lead with a 6-under-par 65 and Colorado Academy had all four players shoot in the 70s to take a lead in the team race.
The downfall was that all the excitement Monday sucked out any drama out Tuesday’s final round.
Schalk battled through the wind to shoot a 74, claiming the individual championship by seven strokes. Her teammates at Holy Family helped the Tigers finish with a total of 475 as a team.
Colorado Academy bested that score by 28 strokes.
The winners won big. And in Schalk’s case, the expectation will be to win three more times.
“I think this is a challenge that I want to take,” she said. “I always want to play well and compete against great players and I think that’s what happened this week.”
All eyes were on Schalk as the day started. Spectators were curious to see how she was going to follow up her 65 from Monday.
She started well enough with pars on the first two holes before scoring her first birdie on No. 3. She birdied No. 5 to follow, putting her at 8-under for the tournament.
But soon, troubles with her putter led to frequent bogeys and with the possibility of team hardware also on the line, she she backed off the aggressive play that gave her such a commanding lead.
“The plan was to play conservative with the wind today,” Schalk said. “It was just about playing the best that I could in the conditions.”
But even with bogeys on 10, 12, 15 and 16, she had championship gold well in hand. She sank a par on 18, ending her tournament seven strokes better than Kent Denver’s Charlotte Hillary.
The same type of margin separated the Tigers from Colorado Academy. The Mustangs entered the day with a lead that was going to be difficult to surrender, but coach Beth Folsom didn’t want them thinking that the championship was all tied up.
“I don’t think our strategy changes whether we have a good day or a bad day,” Folsom said. “We really just try to play one shot at a time and try to get them to focus on the present.”
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
It is the second-straight team title for the Mustangs, who claimed last years 4A championship at the Pueblo Country Club. Caroline Jordaan and Cassie Kneen ended the tournament with matching scores of 147, and Caroline’s younger sister Marie finished with a 153.
After experiencing a championship win a year ago, the elder Jordaan was thrilled to be able to share this year’s win with her sister.
The Mustangs will lose Kneen and Trinity Goderstad (160) to graduation, so from here on out it will be the Jordaan sisters who must set the tone for the team.
“(Marie) now understands what it’s like to get the team title,” Caroline said. “And it’s awesome just to have her on the team. We’re competitive and we push each other to be better.”
It was a monumental second-place finish for the Tigers as well. A year ago, there was no golf team at the school. Now there is a first-place individual title and second-place team trophy that need to be put on display.
The future is bright for the Tigers.
“It’s a terrific school that our girls love being a part of,” coach Matt Schalk said. “The school has really supported them so I think they have that feeling of winning for your school and winning for your peers.”
