Underdogs dot Class 4A and 3A state baseball tournament in Colorado

When a large-scale upset occurs prior to the state baseball tournament, many often talk about the surprising omissions more than the teams that busted the bracket.

In Class 3A, No. 21 seed Trinidad and No. 30 Weld Central (Keenesburg) fought their way into the double-elimination final eight, which begins Friday for the top three classifications. And the Miners and the Rebels each have a compelling story of their own.

Trinidad first knocked off 12th-seeded Platte Canyon (Bailey), then appeared poised to oust No. 5 Florence when the Miners took a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh.

This is where the tale takes a twist. Drew Avila relieved Bobby Hernandez, but the umpires ruled the Miners (14-7) had taken too long to take the field, so Avila was permitted only one warm-up pitch. Florence ended up scoring two unearned runs to send it to extra innings.

While Trinidad batted in the eighth, Avila went to the bullpen to get loose. Meanwhile, Jeff Martinez knocked in the go-ahead run to put the Miners ahead 6-5. Avila, now fully ready, pitched a 1-2-3 eighth and Trinidad clinched its first trip to state in more than 20 seasons.

"He didn't get the save, but he got the win," Trinidad coach Frank Falsetto said with a laugh.

The Miners will open against Olathe on Friday and will enter the tournament with the same approach it had in districts.

"We were in the hunt for a league title before we fell to third, so we believed we were a solid team coming in," Falsetto said. "All we had to do was beat La Junta once in a doubleheader and we got swept, so the baseball gods weren't with us that day. But we weren't disappointed with the seed.

"Last year we were a No. 32 and had to play Faith Christian (Arvada), and we played them as close as anyone else did. And I only lost one senior off of that team."

Weld Central punched its ticket by shutting out No. 3 Rifle 6-0 and outlasting No. 14 University (Greeley) 6-3. Not many would have picked the Rebels – or any No. 30 seed, for that matter – considering they entered district play having dropped four straight.

But a closer look revealed two of the losses were narrow decisions against Eaton and Brush, quality opponents the Rebels (10-11) face every season in the daunting Patriot League.

"Three of the final eight are from our league and I think it's like that every year," Weld Central coach Greg Perrin said. "Our league does a great job of preparing teams for the playoffs even though sometimes our records don't look fantastic."

Pitcher Matt Begler threw the shutout against Rifle, holding the Bears (17-3) to five hits while striking out 12. Begler added three doubles at the plate.

"Begler threw fantastic, then we got out to an early lead and I think the pressure kind of got them, playing the No. 30 seed as the No. 3," Perrin said. "You could kind of see it in their faces, like, ‘Wait a minute, we're supposed to walk through this.' Then, in the University game, we had five, two-out base hits to score runs."

Weld Central will open against league-rival Brush (Brush, Colo.), a Beetdiggers squad that pulled out a 3-2 victory against the Rebels on May 1.

The remainder of the 3A bracket is filled with favorites (or tournament regulars, at least) as Faith Christian (Arvada) will take on Holy Family (Broomfield) in a matchup of Metro League stalwarts and Eaton and Lamar will meet in the other first-round game.

Class 5A
The largest classification wasn't without its upsets – No. 29 Mountain Range (Westminster) over No. 4 Columbine (Littleton) springs to mind – but Mountain Range didn't advance to final eight.

In fact, all of the host seeds other than Columbine advanced (the Rebels were replaced by Ralston Valley (Arvada), which defeated Mountain Range in the district final.

What hasn't changed is that top-seeded Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) remains the favorite. The Bruins (19-2) are among the handful of contenders every season, but haven't captured a state crown since winning five straight from 1995-99. Is this the season?

"We have lots of depth, both offensively and defensively," Cherry Creek catcher Lane Milligan said. "Pitching-wise, we have about five guys who could be aces on any other team."

With most of the favorites advancing, this will be a tournament for the big boys. The Bruins open against No. 8 Pine Creek (Colorado Springs), which is no sure thing with 6-foot-7 ace Ryan Warner likely to throw for the Eagles.

Grandview (Aurora) and Highlands Ranch each feature prominent pitching staffs. The Wolves are led by Jordan Schlehuber and Madison Spencer and Highlands Ranch counters with a dual punch of Tony Audino and Ryan Burr, with the latter suddenly regaining his dominant form.

Dakota Ridge (Littleton) is led by Steven Wilson and A.J. Valerio, with Valerio having thrown a 3-0 shutout against Fruita Monument in the district opener. The Eagles will need their pitchers to be sharp in their opener against defending champion Regis Jesuit (Aurora), one of the state's top offensive clubs (Max George is hitting .531 with six homers and 23 RBI). Left-hander David Peterson (6-1, 2.88 ERA) has paced the Raiders on the mound.

Ralston Valley and Legend (Parker) will meet in the other first-round game in a matchup of the only visitor to get through districts against a Titans squad making its first appearance at state.

Class 4A
The 4A tourney has a bracket-buster of its own in Windsor, which entered districts as the No. 25 seed. The Wizards had a sterling comeback against No. 8 Evergreen, scoring six in the top of the seventh to triumph 10-9.

They went on to defeat No. 9 Palisade 8-3 behind a solid pitching performance from Corey Tokunaga-Reichert. Windsor's reward is a first-round matchup with top-seeded Air Academy (US Air Force Academy) (19-2) and its vaunted pitching staff, led by Kevin Giordano and Kevin Megyeri.

D'Evelyn (Denver), which missed the postseason last season, opens against a Longmont squad that probably wasn't thinking final eight on April 14. The Trojans lost 8-1 to Centaurus (Lafayette) that day – a Centaurus squad that finished 1-18.

Elsewhere, Broomfield and fireballer Brandon Bailey will take on Montrose, and defending champion Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs) and power-hitting Michael Levar will look to keep it going against Canon City in a battle of 17-4 squads.

Class 2A & 1A
The smaller classifications will have their state championships decided this weekend.

In 2A, defending champion Rye (21-1) will take on Byers (14-4) in one semifinal Friday at Englewood High School, notable because it is a rematch of last season's title game. The winner will take on the winner between Resurrection Christian (Loveland) and Paonia in the championship game Saturday.

The 1A final is set with Baca County (16-2) squaring off against Stratton (12-2) on Saturday (1 p.m., Englewood). Each breezed through the quarterfinals and semifinals last weekend, with Baca County outscoring its foes 23-2 and Stratton besting its two opponents 18-1. Stratton is the defending champion.