Colorado state baseball enters Championship Series phase

With the disjointed districts schedule, the baseball postseason already has something of an odd flavor to it.

While districts were slated for Saturday in the larger classifications, only a handful of those were played due to the weeklong weather onslaught that saturated much of the Front Range. That meant districts were unevenly incongruent, some being played as late as Wednesday.

Some of the results were wacky for the districts that did actually play on schedule, none more so than Class 5A's District 4 in Fruita. A high-profile matchup of the host Wildcats against defending champion Rocky Mountain (Fort Collins) appeared imminent, but each team was upset in the first round and No. 28 Chatfield (Littleton) emerged to state.

Perhaps more wackiness awaits when the 5A playoffs begin Saturday and 4A and 3A on Friday.



"This year across the whole state, I don't think there's a team that ever just wowed anybody," said Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch) coach Ron Quintana, whose Golden Eagles ousted Fairview (Boulder) in perhaps the marquee district final. "You see a lot of teams that just show up and they do all of the little things right."

In 5A, three road seeds emerged from districts. While Chatfield was an absolute surprise, advancements by No. 19 Regis Jesuit, which moved on from Denver East, and by No. 25 Grandview, which escaped Legend, weren't as much of shockers.

Top-seeded Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) and No. 2 Rock Canyon (Highlands Ranch) will enter as favorites, but as Quintana alluded to, there is something of a wide-open feel.

Although the tournament has been pushed back a day (now Saturday and Sunday at All City Stadium and Metro State), it will be compelling to see how Regis Jesuit (Aurora) and No. 4 Monarch (Louisville) adjust. Each had to wait until Wednesday to advance and their top pitchers likely won't be ready on two days' rest.

Cherry Creek dual threat Blake Goldsberry and freshman power hitter Tanner O'Tremba have helped the Bruins (19-2) to another vintage season, along with the hard-hitting Aeneas Roberson.

Among the additional standouts to watch are Rock Canyon pitcher Bryce Dietz (9-0), Pine Creek (Colorado Springs) infielder Peter McEvoy, Mountain Vista pitcher Will Dixon and Monarch's Logan Soole, a left-handed pitcher/outfielder. Soole rebounded from a hamstring injury to strikeout 14 in the Coyotes' district final win over Horizon (Thornton).



Of note, Monarch (16-3-1) has allowed only three runs over its past five games.

The 4A Championship Series, slated for Friday and Saturday at All-Star Park and Bishop Machebeuf High School, will have an undoubted Jeffco flavor. Four teams from the league – Evergreen, D'Evelyn (Denver), Wheat Ridge and defending-champion Green Mountain (Lakewood) – are among the final eight.

Two Tri-Valley League teams also align the bracket with Windsor and 4A first-timer Erie. Ponderosa (Parker) and Lewis-Palmer (Monument) are the remaining seeds. Windsor pulled off the shocker of districts with 16-over-1 upset of Pueblo West. Evergreen, Green Mountain and Lewis-Palmer also won on the road.

Among the 4A notables are Green Mountain's Wyatt Featherston and Talon Schaller, D'Evelyn's Dylan Nelson, Wheat Ridge's Diego Garcia, Ponderosa's Alan Jeanjaquet, Paul Tillotson of Lewis-Palmer and Erie's Kyle Leahy (9-0).

The 3A tournament is also on schedule for Friday and Saturday but has undergone a site change. Games scheduled for Niwot High School have been moved to Frederick, which is more playable. Games scheduled for Butch Butler Field in Greeley are on as scheduled.

With two-time defending champion Holy Family now in 4A, top-seeded Eaton (21-0) has resumed its role as favorite. The Reds brought four of their Patriot League brethren with them in University (Greeley), Valley (Gilcrest), Brush and Sterling.



Otherwise it's Gunnison, first-timer Peak to Peak (Lafayette) and southern power Bayfield. Bayfield junior Kelton McCoy has crushed 11 homers, driven in 50 and is batting .595.

Additional 3A athletes to peruse include Eaton's Matt Burkart, Valley's Payton Chacon and Carter Chacon, and Peak to Peak lefty ace Nick Kakavas (10-1, 108 strikeouts).

The 2A round of 16 will begin Friday at the Runyon Complex in Pueblo, with top-seeded Rye and defending-champion Resurrection Christian (Loveland) the favorites. Rye (21-0) has gotten a monster season from Luis Ortiz, Jr., both on the mound and in the batters box. Senior Luke Mondt has been the chief threat for No. 2 Resurrection Christian with nine triples and 42 RBIs to his credit.

The 1A title game featuring Granada and Dove Creek will be played in Denver at 6 p.m. Saturday.