PUEBLO — A 3-0 win over Fowler gave Peyton the Class 2A state baseball title, the first baseball crown in school history.

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(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

COLORADO SPRINGS — Pueblo West coach Dan Sanchez knows the burden of getting to the second weekend of the Class 4A state baseball tournament as the one unbeaten team.

Luckily for him, Silver Creek coach Brad Steward had no problem taking that burden on this year. Thanks to a walk-off RBI hit from Tanner Regan, Silver Creek got a 6-5 win over the Cyclones and heading into next week’s Final 4, it’ll be the Raptors sitting in the driving seat.

“This is no different then it would be if we were in any other place,” Steward said. “We still have to go out and play our baseball. We can’t look past anybody because it’s anybody’s game. We’ll go back to work on Monday and fix the minor mistakes we made this weekend.”

There’s not a whole of mistakes to point out for the Raptors (26-2 overall) over the course of two days. They got things rolling early at UC Health Park as Justin Swenson ripped a 2-RBI double to left field which scored Michael Wegleitner and Spencer Rich.

Regan then went to work on the mound and cruised through the first two innings before getting into trouble. He walked Dylan Gist and gave up a triple to Tyler Declusin. Jayden Cordova then ripped a ball to shortstop Cam Hassert, who mishandled it and allowed Declusin to score and tie the game.

Cordova scored on an RBI single from Brodie Blackford.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

But Regan wasn’t going to let himself get rattled. He settled in and held the Cyclones (25-3) scoreless for the next two innings.

“I always feel comfortable on the mound,” Regan said. “I have a great group of guys behind me who can make the plays and I don’t have to do it on my own. I feel comfortable throwing the ball over the plate.”

Meanwhile, Regan and the Raptors got back to work at the plate. Charlie Jackson drove in a pair of runs on a single and Wegelitner scored Alex Rich on a single of his own.

The Cyclones tied the game in the sixth inning but couldn’t push a go-ahead run across the plate.

In the bottom of the seventh, Wegleitner singled to start off the inning. A push bunt from Rich put runners on first and second with nobody out. Two batters later, the runners moved over on a wild pitch from Dalton Davis and it was Regan who drove in the winning run with a hard hit ball through the infield gap on the left side.

The Raptors haven’t lost to a Colorado team all year and now they’re just two wins away from claiming the program’s first baseball title.

“We have to keep working hard and play for each other,” Regan said. “We have to know that it’s a faceless opponent in the the other dugout.”

For the Cyclones, they now advance to the second weekend with their backs against the wall. In their two previous attempts as the undefeated team, the haven’t walked away with a state title. Sanchez is hoping that going this route – though not intentionally – will yield a different result.

“I think it could, absolutely,” he said. “There are different ways to look at it and it was always a dilemma. Who do you pitch and all that. Now we have to win every game so that doesn’t matter.”

The Cyclones will take on Holy Family on Friday in an elimination game. The winners will get their crack at a state title. All games next week will be played at UC Health Field, the home of the Rocky Mountain Vibes.

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(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

Fort Morgan, Holy Family still alive

In a win or go home game, Fort Morgan scored seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to beat Cheyenne Mountain 8-4.

Connor Fajardo went 3-for-3 with three RBI’s in the win.

Holy Family also advanced to next week after a 13-2 win over Erie at UCCS.

(Brock Laue/CHSAANow.com)

GREELEY — University won their first baseball crown in 21 years when they topped Lamar last season. That team was deep with hitters as 10 Bulldogs finished with a .400 or better average.

Jerry Martinez is a talented batter, but he was not in the lineup back then. In fact, he moved from California around three months ago. He had heard about the stacked blue and white ball club though.

“I just knew they were a really great squad,” he said. “My dad was here before and he talked to me about the schools. I looked into them and their record last year was incredible.”

On Saturday, during a matchup between the only 2-0 teams in the Class 3A state tournament, Martinez and his fellow Bulldogs were able to fend off Lutheran 9-7 in a memorable game. With the victory, University is the only 3-0 team remaining in the bracket. They will be joined by Eaton, Resurrection Christian, and Lutheran in next weekend’s semifinals.

Jerry Martinez. (Brock Laue/CHSAANow.com)

Martinez did his part for his new club, pitching four scoreless innings before finally allowing two earned runs in the fifth. A hot Lutheran lineup, one that produced 17 hits and 15 runs against Resurrection Christian on Friday, was mostly quieted by the junior. He only allowed three total hits and had a pair of hits himself.

“I was going with a fastball and a curveball most of the time,” Martinez said. “Those were working. I needed to stick to that and stick to my mentality.”

He did, but his pitching counterpart, Landin Latino (5 1/3 innings, 4 strikeouts, 3 earned runs), kept Lutheran in the game as well.

The contest was still scoreless after four innings. Finally, University broke the tie as Nolan Johnson’s infield single allowed River Jackson to cross home plate to give University a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth.

The Lions responded by loading the bases in the bottom of the inning and scoring on a wild throw and a sacrifice fly Brody Schneider. Lutheran held a 2-1 advantage with only two innings to go.

Then, the bats really came alive as each team began dipping further into their pitching staff. A young Lutheran (16-10) team that is growing up quickly was challenging the defending state champions and this year’s favorites.

University’s offense is potent though and the Bulldogs went on a scoring binge in the top of the sixth inning. Mason Ewing scored on a fielder’s choice, and then sophomore catcher Alex Martinez cranked a towering triple to drive in another run.

University tacked on three more runs on an error, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly by Johnson and led 6-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth. They had five hits and five runs in the inning.

And yet, Lutheran matched University in hits and runs in the bottom half of the frame. An RBI single by Aaron Morgan and an RBI double by Kyle Budnack pulled the Lions within 6-4. Then, Nate Nejedlo cracked a two-RBI single to tie it. Teagan Rae added an RBI double as Lutheran took a 7-6 lead.

How would University respond?

“For us, we’ve been down before but that doesn’t mean anything,” Jerry Martinez said. “These guys can really hit. No matter what the score is, what inning, how many outs, we just bang the ball. No matter what, we always bounce back.”

While Lutheran again showed off their firepower, and they will be very dangerous in the semifinals, it is difficult to beat the champions. They have a 26-1 record for a reason.

Only a freshman, River Jackson came through again with a game-tying RBI double in the top of the seventh inning. Then, senior Joe Medina singled in two more runs. Another senior more than did his part, as well, in the final inning.

“I have to give it to Braden Furister,” Martinez said proudly. “He came in seventh inning, two outs, behind in the count, and he draws a walk. That allows River to score him in.”

Furister closed the game out by retiring all three Lutheran batters.

“Everybody in the lineup can hit, everybody can pitch,” Martinez added.” If we need someone to pinch run, they do their job. There’s excellent talent on this team.”

With how many members of the team contribute for University, the Bulldogs (Patriot League champs) remain the title favorites going into the last weekend. Lutheran has also advanced to the semifinals.

They are joined in the final four by two Patriot League rivals in Eaton and Resurrection Christian. Eaton piled up 25 runs on Saturday, beating St. Mary’s 9-3 and Delta 16-1. The Reds are also the only team who has beaten University this season, a 10-4 home win on April 6.

Resurrection Christian, a two-time state champion in 2A, reached the Final 4 for the first time in 3A (they moved up in 2017) by defeating Alamosa 18-7 on Saturday. They have a number of talented hitters and pitchers, as well.

LAKEWOOD and DENVER — Just four teams remain in the Class 5A baseball tournament after the second day: Regis Jesuit, Grandview, Cherry Creek and Mountain Vista.

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Rocky Mountain vs. Legacy

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Cherry Creek vs. Rocky Mountain

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Regis Jesuit vs. Grandview

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(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

DENVER — Grandview baseball started this season 3-8. Now, the Wolves find themselves in prime position in the Class 5A state tournament.

Grandview went 2-0 on the first day of the double-elimination event, setting up an unbeaten showdown against Regis Jesuit on Saturday afternoon at All-City Field.

The Wolves beat Legacy 4-1 in their first game on Friday, then rallied to defeat defending champion Mountain Vista 7-6 in an afternoon contest — thanks in large part to a two-run home run from Josh Hojnowski in the top of the seventh inning.

“It starts with our seniors,” said Grandview coach Scott Henry. “We’ve got a good group of senior leaders that really believed in this team from the get-go, even when it got rough at the beginning, and they never stopped fighting, never stopped believing, and we just kinda got hot.

“It’s a credit to these guys, because they had an opportunity at 3-8 to kind of pack it in and say, ‘This isn’t our year,'” the coach added. “But we got a couple wins here and there and we really just started to believe that we could do anything.”

Grandview has now won 16 games in a row.

“We’ve changed our mindset,” said Grandview senior Amari Smith. “I think we came to our field kinda timid, and we focused on the other team and what they were doing, and what they could do. Now at this point of the season, we’re focused on us, and we’re not really worried about anything else.”

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Hojnowski’s home run on Friday afternoon, a two-run shot to straight away center field, was the first of the senior’s season.

“I was just trying to put the ball in play at that point, and the ball just kept going,” Hojnowski said. “It was very special. I was just overwhelmed with joy.”

Said Henry: “There’s not a better kid that that could’ve happened to. I saw him coming around second base, how excited he was, how excited his teammates were for him. He’s a great kid — great kid — and he deserves so much success.”

Grandview and Mountain Vista played a tight contest throughout the day. The Wolves jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the top of the second — only to see Mountain Vista put up a four-spot in the bottom half. Included in that inning was a solo home run from Clay Burke.

The Wolves inserted Garrett Lippold with one out in the second, and he stopped the bleeding.

“He limited them to four. I thought that was huge,” Henry said. “He just had them off balance all game.”

Lippold pitched into the seventh, going 5 1/3 innings, and he allowed just two runs on four hits.

Each team scored in the fifth, making it 5-4 Mountain Vista, and then Grandview tied the game at 5-5 in the sixth with an RBI single from Tony Castonguay.

“We just don’t quit,” Hojnowski said. “All season. We’ve always been down, and this team has no quit at all.”

Lippold kept Mountain Vista scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, setting the stage for Hojnowski’s two-run home run in the top of the seventh.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Mountain Vista’s loaded lineup responded in the bottom of the seventh, though: Drew Stahl hit a solo home run to center field, and then they loaded the bases. Grandview brought in Harrison Boushele in relief, and he got the final out to seal the win for his third save of the season.

“The great thing about this group is that it’s a different guy each day,” Henry said. “It’s not one guy leading us. It really is a team. It’s fun.”

It was a matchup of Class 5A’s two hottest teams: Mountain Vista entered on a 20-game winning streak, and unbeaten against in-state teams; Grandview had won 15 in a row following the 3-8 start to their season.

The Wolves got a complete-game performance in its first game against Legacy, with Peter Goldy striking out seven and allowing no earned runs on four hits. Smith was 2-for-3 with three RBIs.

Smith followed that performance up with another big hit against Mountain Vista, which tied the game at 4-4 in the fifth.

“He had great at-bat after great at-bat,” Henry said. “He was struggling earlier in the year, and we he started getting going, that’s kind of when we started getting going.”

(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

Regis Jesuit also went 2-0 on the first day with a 7-0 win over Chaparral, and then a 6-3 victory against Cherry Creek.

In the first game, the Raiders’ Patrick Strawbridge and Bradshaw Lewis combined on a five-hitter. The Raiders scored three runs in the first inning, and then Caden Wagner hit a solo home run to left field to spark a four-run third.

Against Cherry Creek, Mark Perchiazzi hit a three-run home run as part of a four-run first inning. Wagner and Geno Macias also drove in runs in the win.

Chase Allen threw five innings for the Raiders against Cherry Creek, allowing no runs on two hits. He had eight strikeouts.

Now 22-5, Regis Jesuit has won nine games in a row.

Regis Jesuit and Grandview met on April 8, a 3-2 Raiders win at Grandview which went nine innings.

Grandview plans to start Hojnowski, who is 7-3 with a 2.49 ERA in a team-high 53 1/3 innings this season.

(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

Cherry Creek advanced Friday morning with a 5-1 win over Heritage. Nathan Mitchell threw a complete game for the Bruins, allowing just one unearned run and striking out five. Clay Cutter and Ben Perla each had two RBIs.

In its first game on Friday, Mountain Vista got a complete-game shutout from reigning player of the year Sam Ireland as he struck out 10 in a 5-0 win over Rocky Mountain.

The Golden Eagles scored all five runs in the top of the first, including a solo home run by Stahl, the leadoff hitter, on the first pitch he saw, as well as a two-RBI single from Matt Klein.

In elimination games at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Chaparral and Heritage will play at All-City, and Legacy and Rocky Mountain will face off at All-Star Park.

The winners of those games will play again at noon, with Mountain Vista awaiting the winner at All-City, and Cherry Creek playing the winner at All-Star.

At 2:30 p.m., Regis Jesuit and Grandview will play at All-City in the unbeaten game. Win or lose in the game, both teams are assured of advancing to next weekend’s Final 4 because of the double-elimination format.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

COLORADO SPRINGS — Spencer Rich had himself a rough couple of at-bats in Silver Creek’s second game on Friday.

The centerfielder laced a shot to the wall in his first at-bat only to cramp up and barely make it to first base. Normally he’d get to third. Then he got hit square in the back in his second plate appearance.

So the third time up, he decided a nice trot around the bases was the way to go. His 3-run home run in the fourth inning proved to be the deciding runs as the Raptors beat the Tigers 11-7 in one of two winner’s bracket games in the Class 4A baseball tournament.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

“I just tried to do my job,” Rich said. “My teammates gave me confidence so I just tried to put the bat on the ball.”

He did and the ball flew way out of Mountain Lion Stadium at the campus of University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.

His trot around the bases was much more pleasant than what he faced in the first as he ripped the ball to left center, scoring Michael Wegelitner to put the Raptors (25-2 overall) up in the first inning.

“Ball in the gap for him, I try to get him to third base,” Silver Creek coach Brad Steward said. “I look up and he’s not there.”

He stayed in the game and ended up scoring on a single from Tanner Reagan to increase the lead to 2-0.

But the Tigers (21-6) weren’t going away easy. They knocked Silver Creek pitcher Ryan Suess out of the game in the second inning after scoring four runs. Steward brought Matthew Koelfgen into the game and the bleeding stopped for the most part.

Koelfgen threw six innings and surrendered just three more runs on five hits to the Tigers. The Raptors’ ability to not get rattled from the four-run second inning is one of the many reasons that they haven’t lost to a Colorado team this season.

“Everyone who comes here wants to win,” Rich said. “We play for each other and we love the game so that puts us in a great position.”

Silver Creek advanced to the late game thanks to an eight-inning, 5-4 win over Wheat Ridge. Rich went just 1-for-4 in that game, a far cry from the 2-for-2 performance against the Tigers where he scored and drove in four runs.

Another performance like that on Saturday against Pueblo West could mean nothing but good things for next week’s final weekend.

“We talked this week, Spencer and I,” Steward said. “He’s been putting a lot of pressure on himself the last few weeks. You have a lot of guys surrounding you that can pick you up if you can’t do it yourself. You have to go up, relax and contribute to the team and I thought he did a great job of that today.”

Silver Creek and Pueblo West are the two unbeaten teams heading into Saturday’s slate of games. They meet at 2:30 p.m. at UC Health Field, the home of the Rocky Mountain Vibes.

Erie will meet Golden and Wheat Ridge will face Cheyenne Mountain in the first slate of elimination games on Saturday.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

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Pueblo West 8, Fort Morgan 7 (8 innings)

Seemingly dead to rights twice, Pueblo West remains alive in the 4A baseball tournament after an extra-inning, walk-off win over Fort Morgan.

The Mustangs held a 5-2 lead going into the bottom of the seventh, but a 2-run triple from Tyler Declusin pulled the Cyclones to within one. He later scored on an infield single to tie the game.

Fort Morgan took a two-run lead in the top of of the eighth and had the Cyclones down to their last strike in the bottom of the inning. Kyle Jameson tied the game with a single and then Declusin ripped the ball down the line to end the game and keep Pueblo West’s title hopes alive.

(Brock Laue/CHSAANow.com)

GREELEY — On a team full of capable hitters, Brody Schneider often leads the way. So when Lutheran watched their senior shortstop crank a two-run homer in the first inning of the Class 3A state baseball tournament, a beauty over the left field fence, the Lions’ other hitters stepped up too.

They did enough damage in wins over St. Mary’s (6-3) and Resurrection Christian (15-5) to put them in a favorable position heading into Saturday with a 2-0 tournament record. Lutheran will face University on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Butch Butler Field in Greeley.

In a double-elimination playoff, with two losses needed to knock a team out, the winner of that game will be the only remaining 3-0 group in the bracket. Yes, Lutheran is in a good position.

“It was really important for us to start 2-0,” Schneider said. “We’re getting super hot at the right time and that’s all that matters.”

How did Schneider, a senior, feel about starting Lutheran’s scoring binge with a home run against St. Mary’s?

“It was super cool,” he said. “I try to keep level-minded and hit line drives. To put that one out is absolutely awesome.”

Brody Schneider. (Brock Laue/CHSAANow.com)

Schneider now has 11 of the team’s 21 homers on the season, while also leading the Lions in batting average (.551 entering Friday) and RBI (45). He spoke humbly after the game, giving plenty of credit to his teammates, but Schneider carries a big stick.

After Teagan Rae scored on a wild throw in the first inning against Resurrection Christian, the Cougars’ Cooper Strong tied the game at one on a Lutheran error in the third. Schneider, who had an RBI single against St. Mary’s as well, came up with a big play in the bottom of the third.

Lutheran loaded the bases and then an unusual play occurred. A hard hit ball made contact with the foot of Rez pitcher Zach Cook, and then a throwing error to first base by another infielder allowed all three runners to score. Lutheran led 4-1, but the Cougars responded with RBI hits by Cooper Strong and Cook. The game was tied at four heading into the fourth frame.

That’s when the Lions really heated up.

Griffin Webb lined an RBI double. Nick Crandall, Carson James, freshman Dorian Pacheco, and Aaron Morgan also had RBI hits as Lutheran recorded eight consecutive hits in an amazing display of prowess in the batter’s box. The scoreboard read Lutheran 9, Resurrection Christian 4.

The Lions pushed the lead to 12-5 in the sixth and the game ended one inning early as Nate Nejedlo cleared the bases with a single, then an error by Rez. The Lions are sitting in a good position with a 2-0 record. University, the defending champions, are also 2-0 after claiming wins over Colorado Academy 5-3 and Delta 9-3 at the other 3A site, Butch Butler Field.

“That was our overall goal,” Lutheran coach Seth Sorensen said. “We needed to get two today. The bats were hot. We got a lot of young guys. For them to go up there and have some intent and some focus, I was just super proud of the way we approached the plate today.”

Colorado Academy will face Alamosa, who lost 5-4 to Delta, in an elimination game on Saturday. Eaton and St. Mary’s will face off in the other early elimination contest as Resurrection Christian (10-2 winners over Eaton) and Delta are also keeping title hopes alive.

Sawyer Shepard drove in a pair of runs in the fourth frame of Rez’s win over Eaton, with the help of the glaring sun in the left fielder’s eyes as he wasn’t able to find the ball on a deep fly. Andrew Iwanicki had a sac fly to lift the Cougars’ lead to 6-2. Will Schrotenboer tacked on a sac fly of his own and Ethan Wheeler notched an RBI single to open up an 8-2 margin.

In the bottom of the fifth, sophomore Zach Cook found the outfield grass for a two-RBI single. The Cougars could be very dangerous on Saturday.

LAKEWOOD — Regis Jesuit went 2-0 on the first day of the Class 5A baseball state tournament, beating Chaparral and Cherry Creek.

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(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

DENVER — Regis Jesuit emerged as the lone remaining unbeaten team in the Class 5A state baseball tournament on the strength of its pitching and stellar defense.

The Raiders’ latest win, a 3-0 decision against Grandview on Saturday, assured that they will play for a championship during next weekend’s Final 4. The Raiders, who have now won 10 games in a row, went 3-0 on the first weekend of the state tournament.

“It’s the first step,” said Regis Jesuit coach Matt Darr. “When you win the first three, most of the time you’ve got a better shot at it. It’s hard to come through. With our pitching and depth, we’ve got a shot anyways, but this helps, because now somebody else has to do that.”

Regis Jesuit used just six pitchers over the three games. Their combined stats: 21 innings pitched, three runs allowed on just 13 hits.

(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

That includes a masterful start from Jacob Thompsen in Saturday’s game, in which he threw six innings and allowed just three hits, and struck out five against four walks.

“The bigger the moment, the better he is,” Darr said of his junior right-hander who also threw a complete-game shutout in the district championship against Chatfield last week. “I’m going to live and die with him on the mound. He’s tough.”

The Raiders scored all three runs in the first two innings, and the quick start helped calm the dugout.

“It let’s everyone relax. It lets the pitcher relax,” Darr said. “You don’t have to feel like you have to be perfect at that point, and I think everyone just gets to breathe a little bit and just play baseball instead of checking the scoreboard every inning.”

Said Thompsen of getting spotted a lead: “It gives you a lot of a confidence, and a little room to work.”

Grandview loaded the bases in both the fourth and fifth innings, but Thompsen got out of both situations. In the fourth, second baseman Mac Padilla made a great play to tag a runner and throw to first to complete a double-play and end the inning.

“That’s a big one,” Darr said.

“That was a huge play,” Thompsen said. “It got us pumped up, and we just continued to play well.”

The loss snapped a 16-game winning streak for a red-hot Grandview team.

Both Regis Jesuit and Grandview will head to next weekend’s Final 4 in the double-elimination tournament. Mountain Vista and Cherry Creek will join them after surviving through the elimination bracket on Saturday.

The Final 4 will be league matchups: Because they haven’t played yet in the bracket, Regis Jesuit will face Mountain Vista (Continental League) and Grandview will face Cherry Creek (Centennial).

As the lone remaining unbeaten team, Regis Jesuit will play in the final game of the season, even if they lose in the Final 4.

The Raiders are seeking their first championship since 2011, when they won the 5A title.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Mountain Vista reached the Final 4 for the third consecutive season with a 9-0 win over Chaparral on Saturday afternoon at All-City.

“It’s a good group,” said Mountain Vista coach Ron Quintana. “I don’t know what else to say, they put the work in, the time, and this senior class is special.”

As they’ve done, the Golden Eagles started hot with six runs over the first two innings, including a home run from Drew Stahl to lead off the game for the second consecutive day.

“It takes that pressure off,” Quintana said of the homer. “When your leadoff guy, obviously twice now in three games, leads off with a home run, it gives those guys in the lineup a little bit more confidence. Not that they need it, but it kind makes it, ‘OK, here we go.’ It takes that pressure off.”

Mountain Vista starter Clay Burke was excellent, throwing a complete-game shutout in which he allowed just two hits, and struck out nine. He needed just 82 pitches.

“He got in a rhythm, and when our starters get in a rhythm, it’s fun to watch,” Quintana said.

Mountain Vista is the defending 5A champion, and after losing the first game of the tournament last season, worked its way all the way back to win the title in elimination games the rest of the way.

“I think they’ve built off that. I mean, this group is three-straight years in the Final 4,” Quintana said. “When you see the Creeks and the Rocky Mountains, that’s how they keep advancing every year when they’re here. You get that playoff experience, and certain things don’t get too big.”

(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

Cherry Creek had a wild ride to make the Final 4. The Bruins trailed Rocky Mountain 7-0 after the top of the fourth — but they started chipping away in the bottom half.

Nathan Mitchell and Ben Perla each singled a run home, and then Clay Cutter scored on a passed ball. It was 7-3.

An inning later, Brice Martinez scored in a passed ball, and then Sam Schroeder came home on a balk. Suddenly, it was 7-5.

The game came down to the bottom of the seventh: Jack Moss and Schroeder each singled, and then Mitchell brought them home with a triple. Tie game.

After two walks, with the bases loaded, Perla pushed the winning run across on a bunt. 8-7. Pandemonium. Cherry Creek had come all the way back, punching its ticket to next week.

Earlier Saturday, Chaparral had eliminated Heritage with a 6-1 win. Preston Tenney, the Wolverines’ starter, was great: He threw 6 2/3 innings, allowing just one earned runs on five hits, and he struck out eight.

Rocky Mountain eliminated Legacy by beating them 6-1. Cade Nelson tossed a complete-game three hitter, and had six strikeouts.

(Bethany Brookens/CHSAANow.com)

PUEBLO — Finally, the wait is over for Peyton’s baseball program.

The Panthers won the first state championship in the sport in the school’s history, edging Fowler 3-0 in the Class 2A state championship game at Hobbs Field at the Runyon Field Sports Complex.

“One of the things we talked about was (Saturday) was going to be about memories and how did we want to be remembered in 50 years?” Peyton coach Kelly Nickell said. “Now, we will be remembered as state champions.”

The Panthers finished their magical season with a 23-1 record. They beat Wiggins 4-1 in the semifinals Saturday morning and then completed their journey by ousting Fowler.

The Grizzlies, the No. 15 seed in the state tourney, ended the season with a 15-10 record. Fowler upset perennial power Rye 4-2 in the semis. Hurler Johnathan Mobbley threw a complete-game against Rye, allowing eight hits and striking out four.

The hero for the Peyton against Fowler was Rupert Shaw.

The right-handed senior fired a complete-game three-hitter and drove in two runs, powering the Panthers into the school’s history book forever.

“This feels amazing,” the 6-foot, 155-pound Shaw said. “We thought this was coming at the beginning of the year and we just had to work for it, and we did it. This (the state championship game) will be something I will never forget. I had five or six games where I couldn’t hit the ball and then this game, I hit the ball and pitched great.

“The team had great defense behind me. This feels great. I was stunned for the first couple of seconds that we won state, but after that it was just pure bliss.”

Shaw finished with six strikeouts, no walks and one hit batter. He added RBI singles in the fifth and seventh inning.

“Rupert did great,” Nickell said about Shaw, who retired the first 11 batters he faced. “He has pitched well for us all season and pitching carried us again.”

Fellow pitcher and first baseman Rodney Gregg concurred with his coach. Gregg got the win on the mound against Wiggins.

“We were ready for this year and we knew we could do this. and I don’t think there’s a feeling any better,” said Gregg, a senior. “It was great to watch Rupert. That’s why we put him out there for this game. He has the stuff and he can do it. He’s a bulldog and he got the job done.”

A year ago, Peyton was the top seed in the Class 2A state tourney and made it to the finals before falling to Paonia 8-6. The last two years, the Panthers have compiled a 45-3 record.

“There was a lot of pressure after being the favorites last year and they handled it like champs,” Nickell said. “This is amazing to share this moment with these players. Most of them I taught when they were in second grade. This group of kids has been great.”

In the top of the second, Peyton took a 1-0 lead when Brennen Meyers, who reached base on an infield hit, scored on a bunt by Austin Strobel.

Fowler had its best rally in the bottom of the fifth down 1-0. With one-out Luke Bitter was hit by a Shaw pitch in the head. After Zane Denton flew out for the second out, Drew Egan had an infield hit. Following a passed ball, Bitter was on third base and Egan second. Shaw regrouped however, to strikeout Braxton Bates to end the inning.

“Coming in as a No. 15 seed, we played very well last weekend and we just had a lot of growth toward the end of the season,” Fowler coach Mark Lowther said. “This baseball game (against Peyton) was a good game. You never know how you’re going to react after an emotional semifinal win.

“The kids played great against Rye and this was a good game against Peyton,” Lowther added. “Their pitcher threw a good game and we just couldn’t string anything together. (Shaw) kept us off balance. He was slippery. Then when we hit the ball, we hit it to them, and they made plays.”