Win, lose or draw, a smile will always be on Elijah Williams’ face. The Gateway senior sprint star doesn’t often have to deal with disappointment, but when he does, he still feels blessed to have found his true love: track & field.
Lewis-Palmer baseball used a consistent approach at the plate to beat La Junta in a matchup of top-10 teams from difference classifications.
The Rangers, ranked No. 10 in Class 4A, put in runs in four innings and pounded out 13 hits en route to an 8-5 win over 3A No. 6 La Junta.
Lewis-Palmer Jason Shuger led the way with a 2-for-5 day which included three RBIs. Tommy Fiocchi, Evan Walsh, Chris Rhoades and Johnny Behm also had an RBI for the Rangers.
Johnny Houck (three innings, one earned run), Joe Schedlbauer (three innings, three earned runs) and Colton Stegman (one hit, two strikeouts in one inning) combined on the mound for the win.
Schedlbauer earned the win.
La Junta was led by junior Chance Oquist, who was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
Lewis-Palmer is now 10-5 this season, and plays Air Academy on Tuesday.
La Junta is 8-3 following the loss. The Tigers play Lamar on Tuesday.
Yuma’s Paul Brophy in a game earlier this season. (ADIndians/Twitter)
Paul Brophy’s dominant senior season continued on Saturday.
The Yuma pitcher threw a complete game for his eighth-ranked team as they beat No. 9 Wray on Saturday, 9-0. Brophy allowed just one hit in the contest, striking out 15 against three walks.
Brophy is now 5-1 this season with a 1.93 ERA. Opponents are hitting just .183 against him. His 67 strikeouts this season are the second-most in Class 2A, and his five wins are tied for the state lead in any classification.
On Saturday, Yuma spotted him a big lead with a four-run first inning. They also scored one run in the second, two in the fourth, one in the fifth, and one in the seventh.
Chase McCreath was 2-for-4 with three RBIs for Yuma, and Manny Tena went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Alex Falconburg was 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. All three hit home runs.
Yuma, now 10-2 plays at 3A No. 4 Sterling on Tuesday.
Erie has named Gail Hook its next boys basketball coach, the school announced on Sunday.
Hook comes to the Tigers from Monarch, where she has been the school’s highly-successful girls basketball coach from 1998-2015 and 2018-19. Prior to Monarch, Hook coached at Smoky Hill for one season, and eight at Centaurus.
“Coach Hook comes with a pedigree of championship basketball that we are excited about,” Erie athletic director Justin Carpenter said in a statement. “She is going to raise the bar and build on the great foundation set by those before her.”
In her career, Hook has a record of 446-188, leading her teams to 10 conference championships, 16 Sweet 16 appearances, 12 Great 8s, eight Final 4s, and four championship game appearances. She also led Centaurus to a state title in 1991.
Hook also has experience coaching for USA Basketball, and was an assistant at Purdue University when the team advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight. She also spent a season as an assistant in the WNBA in 2003.
Erie, which competes in Class 4A, was 10-14 this past season.
GOLDEN — Golden’s baseball team has successful maneuvered through rough spring weather and a previously undefeated Standley Lake team this week.
The Demons (7-4, 2-0 in Class 4A Jeffco League) pulled off a 12-2 victory over Standley Lake on Friday afternoon a few days after yet another snowstorm swept through the Denver Metro Area and wreaked havoc on prep baseball schedules.
Golden junior Conrad Holmes celebrates a triple during the Demons’ seven-run fourth inning Friday against Standley Lake. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“I don’t care who you are playing. You want to be 2-0 off the bat,” Golden coach Jackie McBroom said of the Demons getting off to a 2-0 start in the 4A Jeffco conference. “Our goal is to get our games in and not get backed up. I was happy we were able to play today when a lot of other teams weren’t.”
A tarp given to Golden High School by the Colorado School of Mines baseball program helped the Demons have their field ready for the second go-around against the Gators. Golden defeated Standley Lake 9-3 on Tuesday.
Standley Lake (5-2, 0-2) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Nate Adams started the game with a single off Golden ace pitcher Ben McLaughlin. A pair of Demon errors allowed Adams and Bryce Cooley to score.
Golden had to rally while facing Standley Lake ace lefty pitcher Brady Rose, who came into the game with a 2-0 record and 0.39 ERA.
“He (Rose) is a good pitcher. He is a good left-handed pitcher,” McBroom said of the Gators’ ace. “We didn’t necessarily crush the ball on him, but we got timely hits and were able to work his pitch-count up.”
Standley Lake lefty pitcher Brady Rose was solid through three innings, but eventually took the loss on the hill for the Gators on Friday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
An RBI single by junior Sam Vogal in the second inning, along with a bases loaded walk of junior Zane Covey and RBI sacrifice fly by senior Joe Quintana in the third inning gave Golden its first lead of 3-2.
The fourth inning proved to be a breakout one for the Demons. Golden sent 10 batters to the plate and all with two outs, scored seven runs to take a commanding 10-2 lead.
A huge play came with the bases loaded. McLaughlin ripped a two-run single to left field and drew a throw from the Gators’ catcher as McLaughlin attempted to take second base on the throw to the plate. The throw from Adams sailed over second base and past the centerfielder, allowing sophomore James Douthit and McLaughlin to score.
“I think that play where they threw the ball away changed the game,” McLaughlin said of the play that scored four runs for the Demons. “After that we ran away with it.”
Quintana put the icing on the cake with a three-run home run to close the inning. Kevin Starnes relieved Rose on the mound with Quintana coming to the plate. The Golden senior jump on an early fastball for his and the Demons first big fly of the season.
Golden junior Ben McLaughlin, right, celebrates with teammates after the scoring on throwing error in the fourth inning. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“I was kind of frustrated,” Quintana admitted after striking out and flying out in his first two at-bats. “I was just trying to square a ball up and wherever it went it went.”
Where it went was over the fence in right-centerfield.
“He (Quintana) did a great job,” McBroom said of his starting shortstop jumping on an early fastball. “He put the barrel on the ball and went the other way with it.”
RBIs by Douthit and McLaughlin in the bottom of the fifth inning induced the 10-run mercy rule to end the game. McLaughlin picked up his third victory on the hill giving up two runs while striking out nine batters.
McBroom actually warmed up a pitcher in the first inning when he was a little concerned about McLaughlin, but the Demons’ ace settled in.
Golden senior Joe Quintana rounds the bases after his three-run home run Friday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“After our Denver North game I’ve been battling a couple of injuries. I didn’t know how long I’d go,” McLaughlin said after striking out nine batters in five innings. “I went with the flow. It felt good.”
Golden is scheduled to host Green Mountain in another league game at 11 a.m. Saturday, but as the Demons worked on the field after the win snow flurries began to fly.
Standley Lake came into the start of conference play this week undefeated, but will look to get back on track with a trio of non-league games starting with Longmont Christian at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Standley Lake High School.
The Gators get back into league play against road-and-home series against Littleton on Thursday and Saturday next week.
Standley Lake second baseman Avery Gaurmer fires a ball to first from his knee during the Class 4A Jeffco League game Friday at Golden High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
LAKEWOOD — The cold weather didn’t derail Chatfield’s girls lacrosse team’s winning streak on Saturday morning.
The Chargers (8-3 record, 4-0 in Jeffco League) captured their sixth straight victory with a 17-4 win over Castle View/Douglas County at Trailblazer Stadium.
Senior Ryley Caron led the way with five goals for the Chargers. Bailey Truex, Grace Talbot and Kenna Mant added three tallies each. Senior Madeline Tokarski had a pair of goals and freshman Sophie Astone put one into the back of the next.
Chatfield returns to conference action against rival Columbine (3-5, 2-2) at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 16, at Trailblazer Stadium. The Chargers are leading the Jeffco League as the lone undefeated team halfway through conference play.
