Cherry Creek continues postseason magic with walk-off win against Highlands Ranch

Add the signature moment of Andy Heider's career to the long and storied postseason lore of the Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) baseball program.

The senior drilled a two-out single to left-center field in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Bruins a 3-2 victory against Highlands Ranch on Friday in the Class 5A Championship Series.

Although it was the first walk-off hit ever for Heider, it was the third such victory of the state tournament for the Bruins in their four games, all coming at All City Field.

Cherry Creek will meet defending champion Regis Jesuit (Aurora) at 12:30 pm Saturday at the same venue, with the winner advancing to meet Legend (Parker) for the state title later in the afternoon.

"Creek Mystique is all I can say; it's coming back," said Heider, who had all three RBI for the Bruins. "I just wanted to hit the ball hard, get on base and save it for the next guy. Thankfully, it got past the center fielder."

Heider, who bats No. 8 in the lineup, had driven in the first two runs on a bloop single to right field in the second inning. The shortstop still was thinking about another play in the sixth, though, one in which Highlands Ranch tied it to make the extra frames necessary.

With two outs, Geordy Smith hit a liner in the hole, and Heider dove to his right to make the play. Heider appeared to have the ball in his glove for a moment before it plopped out, which allowed Tony Audino to score from third base.

"It was in the back of my mind the whole time, but I tried not to let it bog me down," Heider said of the play. "I knew I needed to move on the the next (play) and let my boys pick us up."

After Highlands Ranch escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Falcons had a prime opportunity to take the lead in the top of the eighth. Adam Gauthier and Connor McFadden both singled to start the inning, but Highlands Ranch elected not to attempt to bunt to advance the runners.

Instead, Cherry Creek reliever Mason Mostajo struck out three in a row to end the inning to keep it tied, to allow the Bruins to continue their late-game prowess. Mostajo struck out six in his two innings.

With one out in the eighth, Cody Jenkins singled before a strikeout and a single by Matt Rindal brought Heider to the plate. Heider's hit off Audino, who entered after ace Ryan Burr pitched the first seven innings, scored Jenkins and set up a rematch of the 2011 title game.

The Arizona State-bound Burr, who was touching the mid-90s on the radar gun, yielded only four hits and struck out eight, but walked seven.

Cherry Creek, which is after its first title since 1999 and eighth overall, rallied for four runs in the seventh inning against Pine Creek before winning 7-6 in the eighth in its state tournament opener. Then in an elimination game against Grandview last week, the Bruins rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh to win 6-5.

Regis Jesuit 4, Legend 0
Peter Bayer did his part. Now it's all up to his Regis Jesuit teammates.

Such is the life of a starting pitcher, as the senior right-hander fired a two-hitter to keep the defending champion Raiders alive in the Class 5A Championship Series.

Regis Jesuit (20-5) will meet Cherry Creek for the second time this season. The two opened the regular season against one another on March 12, with the Bruins scoring an 18-9 win.

Bayer, who has signed to pitch at Richmond, largely cruised through a familiar Titans lineup. He had beaten Legend 11-3 during the regular season in Continental League play.

"We came out today with a lot of confidence," Bayer said "We had success against (Legend) earlier in the season, and I pitched against them. That was my third start against them in the past two seasons.

"But I came in today knowing I had to mix things up against them a little more (because of that), and obviously I had a lot of success with that."

Legend threatened only twice, but Bayer escaped a bases-loaded mess he created in the third inning, after he hit two batters and walked a third with two outs. Bayer also walked the leadoff batter in the bottom of the seventh before recovering to record his eighth win of the season.

The Raiders gave Bayer all the support he needed with two runs in the first inning. After Max George scored from third base on an overthrow from the catcher Mickey Peterson back to pitcher Brooks Trujillo, junior shortstop Brody Weiss drilled a solo homer to center field.

"Our team has done a great job of scoring in the first inning all season," said Bayer, who struck out four. "We always seem to put up those runs early when I go out to pitch, so it adds to my confidence to know I have the lead when I first go out there."

Trujillo was solid overall in a complete-game effort for Legend, which will have ace left-hander Tyler Honahan and No. 2 pitcher Jake Jenkins ready for the title game.

In Class 4A, Broomfield (21-4) is in firm control in the double-elimination format. The Eagles ousted Canon City 5-4 on Friday, before Air Academy (22-3) eliminated defending champion Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs) 6-2.

Air Academy (US Air Force Academy) will have to beat Broomfield twice Saturday to win the title. The first game is set for 10 am at All City Field. If a second game is necessary, it will follow the Cherry Creek-Regis Jesuit matchup.

In the 3A bracket, Eaton (21-4), Lamar (19-5) and Brush (18-7) are still in contention, and all have one loss in the tournament. Eaton and Lamar will meet at 10 am Saturday at Butch Butler Field in Greeley, with the winner advancing to play Brush at 2 pm.