CHSAANow

Month: August 2020

  • Photos: D’Evelyn softball’s late rally sinks Pomona

    Kylee Ornstein went 1-for-3 and hit a two-run home run to lead D’Evelyn softball to an eight-inning 7-5 win over Pomona.

  • Photos: Gruitch tosses shutout as Cherry Creek softball beats Arapahoe

    Alex Gruitch threw a complete game for Cherry Creek softball, allowing just three hits, in a 7-0 shutout win over Arapahoe.

  • Photos: Valor Christian softball beats Heritage, moves to 2-0

    Valor Christian softball beat Heritage 16-4 on Monday, and is now 2-0 so far this season.

  • Conifer softball makes a statement with win over Arvada West

    ARVADA — Conifer’s young softball team showed its maturity and potential to be a Class 4A state contender Monday afternoon.

    The Lobos jumped out to an early 5-0 lead on the road against a historic-rich Arvada West program. The Wildcats rallied, but Conifer held its ground to take a 6-4 victory.

    “It means a lot. We’ve worked so hard this year to get everything together. We have such a strong team this year,” Conifer junior Cheyenne Prieto said. “Winning against a 5A team gives us a lot of confidence. It’s something to be excited about.”

    Conifer junior Cheyenne Prieto struck out 12 batters and also had a pair of hits in the Lobos’ 6-4 victory over Arvada West. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Prieto was solid in the circle for the Lobos (2-1 record). The hard-throwing righty retired the first nine A-West batters she faced, striking out seven. She finished the game in style striking out A-West sophomore Peyton Raley to end the game.

    “I couldn’t get it to work at all this game,” Prieto said of her change-up that she threw to catch Raley looking at strike-three. “That was the point that I needed it. It worked out perfectly and I was really, really happy with it. It was really exciting to throw one in the strike zone to get the final out.”

    Prieto finished with a dozen strikeouts. The only A-West batter who really hurt Prieto was Savannah Clausen. The senior had a pair of triples, driving in two runs and scoring twice.

    “It was nice to be a spark for the team,” Clausen said of her two triples. “I wish we would have taken the momentum a little further.”

    Clausen led off the bottom of the sixth inning with her second triple and would eventually score on an RBI single by sophomore Kendall Mulvaney to cut the Lobos’ lead to 6-4.

    However, Conifer closed the door in the bottom of the seventh.

    “This one feels good,” Conifer coach Carrie Oletski said. “People are going to take notice of this win.”

    Oletski has a junior-loaded squad with a sprinkle of freshmen and sophomores. The Lobos have just two seniors in Sunny Aikin and Amber Prescott. Prescott had a key two-run single in the third inning to extend Conifer’s lead to 5-0.

    Conifer junior Amelia Tatro puts down a bunt during the Lobos’ road victory against Arvada West on Monday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “They decided as seniors they were going to be the leaders, not followers,” Oletski said of her two seniors Sunny Aiken and Amber Prescott. “They were not going to let what happened to them last year happen this year.”

    The Lobos had a 16-win season in 2019, but finished second in the Colorado 7 League behind Riverdale Ridge and failed to advance to the 4A state tournament after losses to Elizabeth and Pueblo County in regionals.

    Conifer returns to the 4A Jeffco League that features No. 3-ranked Wheat Ridge, along with 4A state runner-up Golden, perennial state qualifier D’Evelyn and rival Evergreen.

    “We are expecting the extra challenge going back to 4A Jeffco,” Prieto said.

    The Lobos begin conference play against Standley Lake on Sept. 8.

    “We would love to come back in and take it,” Oletski said of returning to the 4A Jeffco League. “We took 3-of-4 (Colorado 7) league titles the last four years. It would be nice to comeback and win league.”

    A-West (1-2) will try to bounce back playing in the 5A/4A Showdown Tournament hosted by Broomfield and Erie coming up on Aug. 28 and 29.

    “We’ll come back tomorrow to practice and work our butts off,” Clausen said. “We are going to have to figure out what we are doing wrong. We have a short season and we can’t take too long to figure things out.” 

    Arvada West senior Savannah Clause celebrates after scoring. The senior had a pair of triples, but the Wildcats’ came up short against the visiting Conifer Lobos. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Steady hand gives Lamar boys golf’s Jimmy Clark his second win of the season

    TRINIDAD — Lamar’s Jimmy Clark didn’t have to make a run down the stretch, he just needed to have a steady hand.

    And that’s exactly what he had. He played the last three holes even to get his second win of the boys golf season. He fired a 5-over-par 77 at the Trinidad Municipal Golf Course to claim the first Tri-Peaks League tournament of the year.

    St. Mary's boys golf Peter Stinar
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    St. Mary’s won the team championship as senior Peter Stinar finished second on the leaderboard with a 78. Lamar was 25 shots behind the Pirates and finished second.

    Clark played the front nine at 3-over and faltered on just two holes. On the par-5 first in which his wayward drive hit a tree and bounced in the nine fairway. He then made double-bogey on the tricky par-3 seventh.

    His only birdie of the day came on the 18 hole, but it was timely as it put him just one stroke behind Stinar. The St. Mary’s standout, also a winner in the young season, then made double-bogey on 18 to end his day putting Clark in the driver seat.

    Clark made a two-putt par on No. 1 to seal his victory.

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    Prairie View’s Nelson cards low round of the day

    Prairie View senior Jeff Nelson was in a groove at Coyote Creek. At Monday’s EMAC North tournament, Nelson was comfortably in red numbers as he fired a 4-under-par 67 to claim the win.

    He shot even on the front nine before blitzing the back nine, making four birdies in a row and going on a run of five birdies over eight holes.

    Brighton sophomore Kyle Leydon also ended his day under par after shooting 70. He was 2-under on the front and even made an eagle on the par-5 12th. Bogeys on 10 and 11 and a double-bogey on 16 hurt his chances to to hang with Nelson.

  • Photos: Kinder helps Valor Christian softball beat Mountain Range

    Jordan Kinder went 3-for-4 with four RBIs as Valor Christian beat Mountain Range 13-4 on Saturday.

  • Softball rankings: Rock Canyon takes over as No. 1 in 5A

    (@RockCanyonAD/Twitter)

    Rock Canyon has moved up to the No. 1 spot in this week’s Class 5A softball rankings

    Each poll was released on Monday.

    The polls, voted upon by head coaches around the state, will serve as part of the seeding criteria in softball this season. Polls are released each Monday during the regular season.

    Complete rankings for each class are below.

    [divider]

    CHSAANow.com Softball Polls

    Voted upon by coaches around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings will factor into postseason seeding. More information is available here.

    Class 5A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Rock Canyon (11) 3-0-0 130 2 3-0-0
    2 Legacy 2-0-0 108 4 2-0-0
    3 Fossil Ridge 1-1-0 85 3 1-1-0
    4 Columbine 1-1-0 72 1 1-1-0
    5 Chatfield (1) 2-0-0 66 9 2-0-0
    6 Rocky Mountain (1) 0-0-0 65 8 0-0-0
    7 Legend 0-0-0 57 5 0-0-0
    8 Smoky Hill (1) 2-0-0 55 6 2-0-0
    9 Broomfield 0-0-0 36 7 0-0-0
    10 Lakewood (1) 1-0-0 30 – 1-0-0
    Others receiving votes:
    Arvada West 21, Ralston Valley 19, Cherokee Trail 15, Mountain Vista 13, Grand Junction Central 12, Valor Christian 12, Cherry Creek 11, Eaglecrest 11, Brighton 10, Hinkley 10, Castle View 9, Fort Collins 8, Pomona 8, Vista Ridge 6, Fairview 5, Arapahoe 3, Douglas County 1, Fruita Monument 1, ThunderRidge 1.
    Dropped out
    Ralston Valley (10).
    Class 4A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Holy Family (10) 2-0-0 106 1 2-0-0
    2 Erie 0-1-0 69 2 0-1-0
    3 Wheat Ridge 2-0-0 65 5 2-0-0
    4 Silver Creek 0-1-0 58 3 0-1-0
    5 Pueblo South 1-1-0 47 4 1-1-0
    6 Riverdale Ridge 2-0-0 36 – 2-0-0
    7 Pueblo West 1-0-0 30 – 1-0-0
    8 Frederick 3-0-0 24 – 3-0-0
    9 Mead 2-0-0 23 6 2-0-0
    10 Air Academy 1-0-0 19 – 1-0-0
    Others receiving votes:
    Mullen 16, Pueblo County 15, Pueblo Central 10, Pueblo East 10, Roosevelt 10, Discovery Canyon 8, Bear Creek 7, Conifer 7, Elizabeth 7, Mountain View 7, Windsor 7, Golden 5, Mesa Ridge 4, Pueblo Centennial 4, Berthoud 3, Longmont 3, D’Evelyn 2, Evergreen 2, Rifle 1.
    Dropped out
    Mountain View (7), Golden (8), Pueblo County (9), Mullen (10).
    Class 3A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 University (10) 1-0-0 124 1 1-0-0
    2 Eaton (1) 2-0-0 106 2 2-0-0
    3 Strasburg (1) 1-1-0 76 3 1-1-0
    4 Sterling 2-0-0 67 6 2-0-0
    5 Rocky Ford 1-0-0 62 7 1-0-0
    6 Brush 1-1-0 45 4 1-1-0
    7 Limon 1-0-0 40 5 1-0-0
    8 Lutheran (1) 4-0-0 38 – 4-0-0
    9 Lamar 1-0-0 28 – 1-0-0
    10 La Junta 0-1-0 23 10 0-1-0
    Others receiving votes:
    Montezuma-Cortez 19, Basalt 17, Lyons 15, Fort Lupton 12, Peak to Peak 11, Resurrection Christian 7, The Academy 7, Weld Central 6, Alamosa 4, Faith Christian 4, Burlington 2, Cedaredge 1, The Classical Academy 1.
    Dropped out
    Basalt (8), The Academy (9).

  • Rock Canyon beats Columbine softball in battle of 5A’s top two teams

    (@RockyCanyonAD/Twitter)

    Rock Canyon softball, ranked No. 2 in the preseason, made an early-season statement with a win over No. 1 Columbine on Saturday.

    The Jaguars, led by senior Audrey Burt, beat the Rebels 7-0 as they improved to 3-0 so far this fall.

    Burt had 15 strikeouts in seven innings, and allowed just two hits. She also had an RBI at the plate.

    Meanwhile, fellow senior Anna Reimers went 2-for-4, including a two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning.

    Rock Canyon got its offense started early. In the top of the first, senior Annika Sprague and Katie Dack hit back-to-back home runs as the Jags grabbed a 2-0 lead.

    Junior Savannah Avery added an RBI single in the top of the second. She later tripled to make it 4-0 in the fourth. Burt pushed it to 5-0 with a sacrifice bunt.

    Rock Canyon has another big matchup on Tuesday when it faces preseason No. 4 Legacy, which is off to a 2-0 start.

    Columbine is off until Friday, when it faces both Erie and Brighton.

  • No. 9 Chatfield softball no-hits Golden to move to 2-0

    LITTLETON — When Jen Lazzeri took over the softball program in 2017 she knew then that her 2021 senior class was something special.

    “This senior class is one of the best ever to come through Chatfield,” Lazzeri said after the Chargers won their home opener 15-0 against Golden on Saturday. “I feel bad for how their senior year of school is going to be. We are playing for them.”

    Chatfield softball coach Jen Lazzeri has high hopes for her Chargers this season. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Senior Izzy DiNapoli highlights the senior class that also includes Madison Shepard, Courtney Tidwell and Morgan Morrell. DiNapoli has been the workhorse on the mound since her sophomore season. She currently has a career 2.23 ERA with 460 strikeouts in 373 innings pitched.

    “She (DiNapoli) is a phenomenal kid and a phenomenal athlete,” Lazzeri said of her starting pitcher and clean-up hitter. “She is quiet and humble. I call her kind of a sleeping giant. She is our leader. We are counting on her to do a lot offensively and defensively for us.”

    DiNapoli pitched two innings against Golden (0-2 record). She struck out five of the six batters she faced before sophomore Brooklyn Levin pitched the third inning for the Chargers, retiring the Demons in order to complete the combined no-hitter.

    Chatfield hitters peppered all three Golden pitchers that Demons’ first-year coach Steph Martinez threw at the Chargers.

    “We came out and our bats were on today,” Lazzeri said of the 16-hit performance from the Chargers. “All of this is different and we are just getting used to us being out here.”

    DiNapoli had no problem pitching with a solid lead.

    “I like it a lot when we are way up,” DiNapoli said.

    Chatfield senior Izzy DiNapoli struck out five of six Golden batters she faced Saturday to combine for a no-hitter with sophomore Brooklyn Levin. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Junior Peyton Shepard reached base and scored from the leadoff spot for Chatfield (2-0) in all three of her at-bats. Her older sister — Madison — nearly hit for the cycle. Madison Shepard had an RBI single in the first inning. She went 2-for-2 from the plate during the Chargers’ 11-run second inning with an RBI double and 2-run triple to push Chatfield’s lead to 13-0 through two innings.

    Madison is coming off a season-ending knee surgery that kept her playing in the state tournament for Chatfield in 2019.

    “It was really disappointing for me to lose my junior season,” said Shepard who torn her ACL and meniscus. “Having the break with everything (COVID-19) going on I was able work harder, so to PT (physical therapy) and come back stronger.”

    Chatfield had a 16-game winning streak last season, but went 4-4 in the tough Class 5A Jeffco League. The Chargers did advance to the 16-team state tournament, but lost a heartbreaker in extra innings in the opening round.

    “This is our year,” Shepard said. “This is the best we’ve been in my four years here. We have to make the best of it.”

    The 7-game conference sprint for Chatfield begins in early September.

    “I am convinced we have one of the most talented teams in the state,” Lazzeri said. “I would take any of my kids any day. I know there isn’t a lot of attention on us right now, but that’s fine. We’ve got a job to do. We have big goals.”

    The ultimate goal is to get back to the state tournament for the third straight season. The 5A state tournament has been trimmed to just a one-day tournament on Oct. 10 at Aurora Sports Park.

    “Everyday we are out here we are blessed to be out here,” Lazzeri said of the COVID-19 pandemic that has changed prep sports across the country. “We just hope we get to complete the season for all of these kids.”

    Chatfield junior Peyton Shepard slides under the tag of Golden shortstop Gracie Putnam during the Chargers’ 15-0 home victory Saturday against the Demons. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Photos: Pomona softball jumps out early to beat Northglenn

    Pomona softball scored 10 runs in the first inning and held firm defensively to get a 15-0 win over Northglenn on Friday.