It’s probably safe to assume that
Wheat Ridge’s Adam Miller was speaking Sunday for just about every high school
baseball coach in the state.
“Our field is like a lake right
now,” Miller said, shortly after walking his diamond. “I’m just hoping we can
get out there by Tuesday.”
As wet weather hit hard during the
past few days, the Colorado high school baseball season was put on hold and
probably will not resume again en masse until Tuesday, at the earliest. With
the regular season set to conclude in eight days, scheduling – and surviving the
postseason push – will be a challenge.
Consider the case of the Farmers,
one of the top teams in Class 4A. They have eight games remaining, although
three are non-league games, meaning they are scheduled to play every day until
the season ends April 28.
“We have a boatload left for sure,
and we are going to try our best to get them in,” Miller said, noting a
non-league game could be moved to accommodate a league contest, or doubleheaders
are a possibility. “I’d rather be in our situation than some of the other teams,
though, who are done with league play early this week. You want to keep playing
meaningful games. I’m just hoping the guys hold up and we don’t have any
injuries before the playoffs.”
Certainly there is much to be
decided, and it’s likely that playoff positioning in many leagues will come down
to the final day. Here’s a quick glance at where the league races stand heading
into the final week-plus of the regular season:
CLASS 5A
Centennial: This could be one of the more
interesting races in the state. Smoky Hill holds a one-game lead in the loss
column over Cherry Creek, Cherokee Trail and Grandview. The Buffaloes play
Grandview and Cherokee Trail, in addition to Mullen and Arapahoe (twice), during
the home stretch. All of those teams still are in contention for one of the
league’s four playoff spots.
Colorado Springs
Metro: Rampart is
one game up on Doherty, and they play twice this week (Thursday and Saturday).
The league gets five postseason berths.
Continental: Are you sensing a theme yet? Regis
Jesuit sits atop the league by a game over Mountain Vista and Heritage, with
ThunderRidge only two back. Regis plays all three before the end of the season,
in addition to a 10-6 Ponderosa team that is a factor for one of the league’s
six automatic berths.
Denver Prep: George Washington is undefeated in
the 5A half of the league, while Kennedy leads the 4A portion of the league.
They meet Friday to expectedly settle the overall city crown, but Denver East
still is in the chase in 5A.
Front Range: Two-time defending state champion
Rocky Mountain has not lost in league play, and neither has cross-town rival
Fort Collins. They meet at Rocky Mountain on Thursday. Both teams also have
games against Legacy and Boulder, which each have lost only once in Front Range
League action.
Jefferson County: Green Mountain has clinched the
league title. The Rams lead Dakota Ridge by a game, but Green Mountain won the
head-to-head meeting, and each has only one league game remaining. Both teams
are secure for the postseason, as is Chatfield. Ralston Valley appears to be
set for one of the league’s five spots, too, leaving Bear Creek, Arvada West and
Pomona to fight it out for the remaining berth. Bear Creek and Pomona are
scheduled to play Monday, while Arvada West finishes against Standley Lake,
which is winless in league play. Arvada West beat both Bear Creek and Pomona,
meaning a win for the Wildcats should translate into a playoff
invitation.
Skyline: Brighton and Westminster are in a
spirited race for the league title and they are scheduled to meet April 27. They
figure to earn the league’s two playoff berths. Prairie View leads the 4A
contingent.
Southwestern: Grand Junction is in control for
one of the two playoff spots, but the Tigers have several makeup games remaining
on the schedule.
CLASS 4A
Colorado Springs
Metro: Cheyenne
Mountain has not been challenged, posting a 10-0 league mark and 14-1 record
overall. The Indians’ only loss came to Shadow Ridge, Nev. Several teams remain
in the chase for the league’s other four playoff berths.
Jefferson County: Wheat Ridge and Evergreen were set
to settle the top spot when the wet weather hit Thursday. They are scheduled to
meet Monday, although Miller said the game likely is to pushed back later in the
week because of field conditions. The league gets five playoff
berths.
Northern: Mountain View beat Niwot last week
to remain the league’s lone unbeaten team. The Mountain Lions have a few
obstacles to dodge, mainly Greeley West, before playing host to Broomfield on
April 27. The Eagles have only one league loss.
South Central: Pueblo South and Pueblo West are
tied for the league lead, with Pueblo County only a game back. Fittingly, the
two meet on the regular-season’s final day, although South must withstand County
and Pueblo East (which figures to be the league’s fourth qualifier) in between.
West also faces those top challengers.
Western Slope: Delta has built a healthy league
and doesn’t figure to be pulled back to the pack. Six of the league’s other
seven teams still could qualify for one of the two remaining playoff
berths.
CLASS 3A
Frontier: Middle Park holds the league lead,
with Jefferson Academy giving chase a game behind. The Panthers have the
head-to-head tiebreaker, though, courtesy of a 5-4 win March 21. Five postseason
berths are awarded to this league.
Intermountain: The league gets only two playoff
berths, and Bayfield and Monte Vista currently hold those spots.
Metro: Holy Family sits unbeaten in the
top spot, and the Tigers will be challenged down the stretch. Denver Lutheran is
only a game back, and the two meet Tuesday. Also on the schedule is a
doubleheader with perennial league power Faith Christian, which has just two
league losses. Kent Denver has lost just once in league play, too, and must make
up a doubleheader with Denver Lutheran and also meets Faith Christian on
Thursday. Six of the league’s nine teams make the postseason.
Patriot: The state’s top team, Eaton, bested
Brush in a doubleheader last week to again seize control of the league race. The
Reds still have five league games remaining, but only University has a winning
league mark among them. There is much to be decided lower in the standings for
the six remaining playoff spots.
Tri-Peaks: Lamar and Trinidad are the top
teams in the league’s East Division, while Manitou Springs has control in the
West Division. Seven playoff berths are awarded to the league
overall.
Western Slope: Gunnison holds a comfortable
two-game advantage, but two of its final three league contests come against
Cedaredge and Aspen, its closest challengers. The league gets five playoff
berths.
CLASS 2A
A quick glance around the
classification shows La Veta (District 1), Dolores (District 2), Evangelical
Christian (District 3), Resurrection Christian (District 4), Custer County
(District 5), Rocky Ford (District 6), Wiggins (District 7) and Maranatha
Christian (District 8).
Resurrection Christian (12-2) has
been the top-ranked team in the classification for much of the season, largely
because of the performance of Lucas Carls. Carls is hitting .594 with 20 RBI and
also has gone 3-0 with a 2.57 ERA on the mound. He has struck out 33 in 16
innings.
CLASS A
In the state’s smallest
classification, Manzanola and Caliche have been most impressive. Each has an 8-0
mark and lead District 3 and District 4, respectively, where most of the state’s
top contenders reside.
The regular season ends for Class
5A, 4A, 3A and 2A on April 28, with the postseason seeding meeting following the
next day. Class A ends its regular season May 2, the day district play begins
for the state’s top four classifications.
ETC.: No team has experienced the fickle nature of Colorado
weather as much as the Palisade baseball team. The Bulldogs have had to
reschedule 10 games this season, but they did play Saturday when most of the
rest of the state was digging out. Palisade split with Rifle . . . Wheat Ridge
blasted six home runs, nearly half of its 13 hits, in a 12-6 victory at
Centaurus last week, which included two each by Jacob Nelson and Eric Shannon .
. .Two no-hitters topped recent pitching performances as Broomfield’s Erik
Lockwood was a seventh-inning walk away from finishing with a perfect game in a
2-0 win against Longmont and Boulder’s Jared Moore blanked Legacy 2-0 while
striking out 11.
