The 2014 all-state baseball teams honor the best players in the sport as judged by the leagues and coaches. They are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These teams were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues and coaches, and then a vote of coaches.
Players of the year were also selected by a vote of the coaches.
LAKEWOOD — Green Mountain catcher Justin Akiyama spent early Friday morning dressed in his graduation gown, celebrating the end of his journey as a high school student. Hours later he lifted a bloop-single into shallow left field, driving home two runs and extending his career as a high school baseball player for another day.
Trailing the Durango Demons 6-5 going into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Rams remained patient at the plate, loading the bases with three-straight walks. That’s when Akiyama worked the count full before bringing in the two runners to give Green Mountain a 7-6 win and an opportunity to play for the Class 4A state championship.
“I was thinking I just had to believe in myself,” Akiyama said. “I’ve come up big with some clutch hits throughout the season, but haven’t hit well overall and was able to come up with that hit when we needed it.”
What started out as a pitchers’ duel for the first few innings turned into an offensive outburst. In the top of the third inning, the Demons were able to break a scoreless tie with a five-run rally that was triggered with a two-RBI double by Blake Dunlap.
Dunlap and two other Demons would cross the plate before the end of the inning to give them a 5-0 lead. The Rams began their effort to claw back by scoring one off Demons pitcher Lawrence Mayberry. It was in the bottom of the fourth that Mayberry was replaced by junior Casey Dunlap who struggled right out of the gate. He walked three batters while hitting two others, allowing the Rams to fight back and tie the game at 5.
“That’s been this team all playoffs, we’ve been down to our last out three or four times in an elimination game,” Rams coach Brad Madden said. “But they kept believing and I think we let them off the hook a couple of times where I thought we could really blow it open.”
The Rams botched an attempt to turn an inning-ending double play in the sixth, giving Durango a one-run lead late in the game. As the younger Dunlap settled in on the mound, the Demons coaching staff showed enough faith to let him finish the game. After recording two quick outs in the seventh inning, Dunlap walked the bases loaded prior to giving up the game-winning hit by Akiyama.
The win for the Rams cleared up part of the picture for Saturday’s action. With Niwot standing as the only unbeaten team in the state bracket entering the day, a win over Longmont would have pit them against Green Mountain for the title, with the Rams having to win twice to take a state championship. But the easy path was not in store for Niwot, which fell to the Cougars 11-4 in the second half of Friday’s double header.
The Cougars opted to send sophomore Ford Ladd to the mound against their league rival. Ladd had thrown a shutout against Durango and seemed to be up to the task of eliminating the Trojans.
Longmont had other ideas as it wase able to get to Ladd early and chip away to a 4-0 lead. With two outs in the third inning, he was pulled in favor of Cameron Kopplinger who was able to contain the Longmont bats through the third, fourth and fifth innings.
After two hits and walk to load the bases in the sixth, Andrew Baldt slammed the door on the game by crushing a hanging curveball for a grand slam.
“I knew I hit it square, but had a second thought because I knew it was pretty damn deep (in left-center field),” Baldt said. “I started running a bit but it got over.”
With a six-run lead, the Trojans were able to coast the rest of the way. They exorcised the demons of getting beat by Niwot twice in the regular season and are heading into Saturday loaded with confidence.
“The difference today was that (Niwot) didn’t hit it like they normally do,” coach Tom Fobes said. “Will (Amen) just did a great job (on the mound) and when you can hold them to four runs it’s pretty good and we finally got guys on base and came up with those big hits.”
Longmont’s win over Niwot sets up a true semifinal game between the Trojans and Green Mountain at 10 a.m. Saturday morning. The winner of that game will face Niwot at 12:30 p.m. for the 4A state championship.
LAKEWOOD — Never has the old adage that “baseball is a game of inches” been more true.
Just over 24 hours ago, Green Mountain catcher Justin Akiyama took a 2-2 pitch that was just off the plate. If called a strike, the Rams would have lost to Durango and been eliminated from the Class 4A state baseball tournament. Instead they celebrated as state champions Saturday afternoon with a 10-2 win over the Niwot Cougars.
They earned the right to play the Cougars after defeating Longmont 9-1 in the preliminary game Saturday morning. They did so behind the solid pitching performance of junior Talon Schaller. He threw a complete game, giving up only two hits and a single run against the Trojans. He was so efficient in the first game that Rams coach Brad Madden didn’t hesitate to send Schaller out to start the championship game.
“He looked so good in the first game and only threw 72 pitches, mowing through (Longmont) pretty easily,” Madden said. “We knew we were going to have to use him again anyways so we figured with only the half-hour break (between games) let’s just run him out there and (score) as many as we could and he just started mowing them down.”
Between the two games, Schaller threw 12 innings, giving up four total hits and one run on the day. He only surrendered a single walk between the two games. He had to be pulled after the fifth inning of the state championship game due to CHSAA rules limiting a pitcher to 12 innings in a 72-hour span.
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Prior to his last inning, the Rams bats gave him a big enough cushion to put Schaller in line for his second win of the day. A single and a walk put runners on first and second with sophomore Wyatt Featherston stepping up to the plate. He worked the count full then blasted a home run to left-center to put the Rams up 4-0.
“I knew it was out of the ballpark, I felt amazing about it,” Featherston said. “I knew I needed to drive in my buddies and I looked for my pitch and I got one, driving it out of the yard and it felt amazing.”
Schaller finally gave way to Josh Ramirez who threw a complete game against Durango on Friday, and although he gave up two runs in the final two innings, he never let the Cougars get comfortable and was able to slam the door shut for the Rams.
As solid as the Rams were on the mound, the Cougars never looked comfortable. Green Mountain was able to chase off Niwot ace Bryan Meek in the fifth inning. The sixth inning turned into a nightmare for the Cougars who gave up six runs — four of which were walked in either Nick Elrod or Aldair Cintora.
But the rally aside, the Rams are state champions because of the solid performance of Schaller through the two games.
“I’m just happy to be out here, man — what a day,” he said after the game. “Coach didn’t really tell me what the plan was, but I knew I was going to pitch two and then Josh would finish. He just told me to give it my all and I was just happy to be there.”
The win is a nice send off for the three seniors in the Green Mountain lineup. Since Akiyama’s walk-off hit Friday, the Rams have been energized and borderline destined to walk away as champions.
“That’s kind of the way we’ve been living our last four weeks, we’ve been down to our last out and our last strike,” Madden said. “Our kids will not give up. They will keep fighting and keep fighting.”
The Rams will lose three starters from their roster as Akiyama, Andrew Abercrombie and Josh Rogers have all graduated. But the core of this championship team in Schaller, Ramirez, Schaller and shortstop Cole Shetterly will all return next season to try and defend their title.
“It’s a tribute to them and the great leadership that they brought to us,” Madden said. “Next year is a new year and we’ll get back at it in the summer and fall but for right now we’re going to enjoy this for at least the next six months.”
Niwot went 3-0 on the first weekend of the 4A state baseball tournament. (Brian Miller)
LAKEWOOD — After sitting around for more than two hours while watching an elimination game in the Class 4A state baseball tournament that featured a combined 32 runs, Niwot and Durango took its contest in the opposite direction.
Cougars starter Ford Ladd and Durango’s Ben Wiley were dialed in from the get-go Saturday, not allowing a run between them through six-plus innings. Just when it looked as though extra innings might be in store, Niwot pinch-hitter Cameron Kopplinger drove a two-out base hit through the right side, scoring pinch runner Joe Wilson to give the Cougars a 1-0 victory at All-Star Park.
That means Niwot (21-3) is the only undefeated team remaining in the double-elimination tournament headed into the final four next weekend. The Cougars will play Longmont at 2:30 p.m. on May 23 at All-Star Park, and Durango will take on Green Mountain in an elimination game at noon.
The 4A championship game will be at 10 a.m. on May 24, followed by the if-necessary game.
“This is the most fun I’ve had on a baseball field ever, I think,” Ladd said. “These competitive teams and this stage that we’re on, it’s awesome.”
The Cougars survived two wild contests Friday, holding off Green Mountain 15-11 despite taking an early 10-0 lead. They followed that up by edging Palmer Ridge 5-4 on an obstruction ruling in the seventh inning that brought home the winning run.
Ladd, who improved to 7-0 on the season, came into the tournament knowing he would start the third game.
“I could mentally prepare for that,” he said. “Even though I didn’t know who we were playing against, I could still prepare to pitch today.”
The sophomore left-hander used his curveball to keep Durango (15-9) off-balance, allowing six hits and getting three big double plays to keep the Demons off the scoreboard. He struck out four and walked two.
Wiley was equally tough on the other side, giving up two hits through six innings and striking out three.
“He did a great job. He kept us in that baseball game,” Durango coach Rob Coddington said. “Our defense played outstanding today … and really backed him up.
“Credit Niwot. They came up with a clutch hit there at the end. That kid did a nice job and they were able to get us.”
With one out in the seventh inning, Wiley hit Ladd with a pitch and Wilson came on to run. Skyler Messinger sacrificed Wilson to second, and Kopplinger ripped a ball into the outfield.
“I was just waiting for a fastball,” Kopplinger said. “I got it and got a good hit.
“I was just thinking about getting a good pitch to handle and doing it for this team,” he added. “We’ve been working so hard this year. We just want it so bad and we’re not done yet.”
Blake Dunlap had two hits for Durango, which put two runners on base in the third, sixth and seventh innings but couldn’t push a run across. The Demons had runners at first and second with no outs in the top of the seventh, but Ladd induced a pop-up and a groundball that led to a double play.
“Incredible,” he said of his defense. “I’m speechless.”
Durango will return to the Front Range again next weekend. The Demons reached the final four a year ago before losing to Valor Christian, and Coddington said his players are more prepared this time around.
“They believe a lot. Last year I think it was all kind of new to us, and this year these guys are playing to win the whole thing,” Coddington said. “There’s some good teams … it should be an exciting weekend, and I think all four teams have got their eye on the prize for sure.”
LAKEWOOD — George Washington’s Dior Hall has been a national phenom in the 100-meter hurdles for many years, but accomplished something Saturday that no one in Colorado history had at the State Track and Field Championships.
She ran a 13.09 100-hurdles in the Class 5A finals, smashing the 1996 all-classification record of 13.23 held by Denver South’s Dominique Calloway. The time was the third fastest in U.S. history for a high school girl.
Perhaps the most amazing thing is that Hall’s 13.09 wasn’t even a personal best. The senior holds the national record in the event with a 13.01, a time she ran to win silver at the World Youth Championships last summer. At a March meet in New York, Hall set the 60-meter hurdles national record with a time of 8.11.
George Washington’s Dior Hall. (Brock Laue)
On Saturday, Hall put on a show in the first event of the final day of State at Jeffco Stadium in Lakewood. Her competition was Cherry Creek’s super sophomore Ashley Miller, already one of the fastest Colorado girls hurdlers in history herself.
From the gun, Hall and Miller took control but the George Washington star’s speed and picturesque form cruised her past the field to the near sub-13 performance. Miller placed second in the fourth-fastest time in state history, 13.38.
“I just wanted to complete my race plan,” Hall said of her preparation for the final. “Going into finals I wanted to run 12.9, but I ran 13.09. It’s pretty good.”
Hall, who has mostly focused on the 100 hurdles and the Patriots’ always blistering relay squads during high school, displayed versatility senior year.
“I split a 54 on the sprint medley (relay),” Hall said. “It was my first event of the year. I was actually not supposed to run as fast as I did, but I felt like someone was behind me, so I felt like I had to go faster. I was really happy with a 54.”
Hall’s performance was enough to help George Washington become the first Colorado sprint medley relay team to break 1:43. They own the all-classification record with a 1:42.98, the top time in America when they ran it.
The Patriots chose not to stack the relay at State, but Hall was certainly busy Saturday. Less than an hour after her 100 hurdle performance, she placed second in the 100-meter dash in a time of 11.69, a new personal record. Pine Creek’s Ally Watt claimed the 5A crown in a time of 11.53.
Hall also placed fourth in the 200-meter dash in 24.26 seconds. Watt won the double with a blistering 23.73.
Hall even ran a leg on George Washington’s second place 400-meter relay (47.13). Pine Creek claimed the title in 46.55, a mere .04 seconds off the Colorado record of 46.51, which GW set in 2007.
Hall’s impressive weekend helped the Patriots place fifth in the 5A girls team standings with 51 points. Fort Collins won the state championship with 84 points, four points ahead of Pine Creek.
Elise Cranny-led Niwot won its second straight 4A championship with 66 points. Thompson Valley finished second with 57.5 and Broomfield was third with 55 points.
The Classical Academy won its third consecutive team title in 3A with a dominating 111-point tally. Eaton was second with 82.5 points.
In 2A, Paonia held off a game Hotchkiss 102-86 to claim back-to-back team crowns.
Jennifer Celis did her best to give Hotchkiss a chance at victory with 30 individual points in the 400 (57.84), 800 (2:11.43), and 1,600 (4:58.55) by herself. She also anchored the state championship 1600-meter relay in a time of 3:59.78.
Hotchkiss’ Jennifer Celis. (Brock Laue)
Celis broke her own 2A records in the 800 and 1,600. She closed with a scorching fast kick in both races to beat West Grand’s Tabor Scholl. Celis’ 800-meter race was especially impressive.
“The past few years I would take it on pace and then slow up to make sure I had enough for the kick,” Celis said of her 800-meter state championship. “This year I really just wanted to run my own race. I knew I wanted to break 2:13 this year, but for that race I kind of just wanted to run it to win it and hopefully the time would come.”
One event later, Celis won the 400-meter dash despite admittedly tired legs.
The Hotchkiss star might be a 2A athlete, but will be competing for a big-time college program next season — Oklahoma State University — after winning six individual state titles and three relay titles in her career.
In 1A, Shining Mountain Waldorf won an exciting battle for the State Championship with 74 points. Heritage Christian (71), Dove Creek (68), and Vail Christian (65) were all in the mix late into the weekend.
On a day filled with spectacular performances, Hall’s 100-hurdle state championship run stood out. The senior exudes humility and class, but is honest about her long-term goals.
“To make the Olympics in 2016, win, and break the world record,” Hall said of her ultimate dream.
The George Washington star seems capable of anything after a breathtaking Saturday morning at Jeffco Stadium.
Shining Mountain won the 1A girls track championship. (Whitney Webermeier/CHSAANow.com)Paonia won the 2A girls track championship (Whitney Webermeier/CHSAANow.com)The Classical Academy won 3A girls track’s championship. (Whitney Webermeier/CHSAANow.com)Niwot won 4A girls track’s championship. (Whitney Webermeier/CHSAANow.com)Fort Collins won 5A girls track’s championship. (Whitney Webermeier/CHSAANow.com)
