Loveland among those aiming to end Legacy's reign in Colorado softball

To be frank, the Legacy (Broomfield) softball team is intimidating. The Lightning has won five consecutive big-school state championships, seemingly replacing standout talent with more each season.

This season was supposed to be the one in which the Lightning fell back to the pack. The first three years featured pitcher Shelby Babcock (now at Arizona). The previous two featured Rainey Gaffin (Tennessee). No surefire Division I player – at least not yet – was returning in the pitching circle.

When the brackets were released Monday, however, there the Lightning was again. The No. 1 seed, the favorite to win Class 5A again (Friday and Saturday, Aurora Sports Park), with an on-the-rise pitcher in sophomore Haley Smith.

But if there is one team that is immune to the dominating aura of the Lightning, it is Loveland. The Front Range League rival has beaten Legacy the past two seasons. The Indians defeated a full-strength Lightning 2-1 last season and walloped them 15-4 this season, although Smith was out with an injury.

"Our first test is to get through Friday," Loveland coach Mike Felton said. "If we do that, we will face Legacy in the semis on Saturday morning. I'm trying to stress to our players that Friday will be very difficult."

MaxPreps Colorado state softball brackets

Fourth-seeded Loveland (18-2) will open against No. 13 Cherokee Trail (Aurora) and, if the Indians get through, will face the winner of Arvada West and Grandview (Aurora). Only then will Felton and his strong corps of athletes, including pitcher Cassidy Smith and catcher Addie Coldiron, think about Legacy.

Cassidy Smith has pitched every inning of every game (1.41 ERA, 18 walks, 86 strikeouts) and Coldiron has picked off 12 runners with snap throws. Those are some of the reasons Felton believes his squad can make a good run.

"We have always had good defense - 28 double plays last year - but this year our hitting has been more consistent," Felton said. "It's not always the same two girls. Now we can produce from different spots in the order."

In the past, discussing Front Range League teams before Jeffco teams would have seemed vastly out of sorts. But the formerly dominant Jeffco has not captured the 5A title in eight seasons. This season, though, three of the top five seeds are from the league with No. 2 Dakota Ridge (Littleton), No. 3 Chatfield (Littleton) and No. 5 Arvada West.

"I've talked to some coaches who've been around for awhile, and they were saying that it's nice to see Jeffco getting back to where it used to be," Chatfield third-year coach Nicole Janssen said. "I kind of think it is. The schools are starting to get some better athletes."

Janssen believes if the Chargers (15-5-1) can scratch out three or four runs, they figure to be a factor. Talented pitcher Rebecka Mintz (11-4, 0.96 ERA) has kept Chatfield in games all season.

If things go well for the Jeffco squads, Chatfield and Dakota Ridge could meet in the semifinals.

"I'd rather them be on the other side of the bracket for the potential of a Jeffco-Jeffco matchup in the finals, but I think it will be good for the girls," Janssen said. "Dakota came in and waxed us a good one when they came to our place. But to get to there, we have to relax, do the simple things, not over-think the game and just play."

Pardon Janssen if she sneaks over to the 4A site. She is a former Frederick athlete (2004 graduate), and the Warriors are the No. 5 seed in that bracket. Her mother, Lucy, is the athletic secretary at Frederick, so she'll be able to text results to Nicole if the coach has to remain at the 5A complex to scout upcoming opponents.

The 4A bracket features many compelling story lines. Unbeaten Pueblo East (20-0-1) is the top seed. Second-seeded Niwot has the player widely considered the best in the state in South Carolina-bound Nickie Blue (18-1, 0.29 ERA, 243 strikouts), who no-hit D'Evelyn in districts.

Fourth-seeded Erie advanced to 12 straight title games in 3A, winning 10, before moving to 4A in 2010. Then the Tigers won it all in their first season in the bigger classification.

But while each makes for a sizzling story, don't forget about No. 3 Pueblo South. The Colts (16-5) believe they also have the goods to make a title push.

"It's an exciting year, but I think 4A is always exciting just because the competition is so close," Pueblo South coach Gene Maio said. "You never know how it's going to turn out, especially this year. There's a lot of parity in the top eight and I think anybody can jump in and take this thing."

You know the field is deep when Wheat Ridge, which has won three of the past four titles, is the No. 6 seed. Berthoud, the runner-up the past two seasons in 3A, is No. 7 and upstart Discovery Canyon (Colorado Springs) the eighth seed.

What's it going to take for Maio's Colts squad to make a prolonged run?

"It's going to start with our pitcher Lexi Martindale," Maio said. "She's done a great job for us in the four years she has been at South. She has good velocity on the ball, but she also has excellent control and hits her spots. If she does that, we're going to control the hitters.

"The other thing that we have is very good hitting. If our hitters come and they bring their bats, we are solid 1-through-9 in our hitting."

In 3A, two-time defending champion Valley (Gilcrest) is back in the mix as the No. 3 seed. If Niwot's Blue is regarded as the state's top pitcher, Vikings Colorado State-bound shortstop Haley Hutton is the top hitter – or at least in the handful of top hitters.

Hutton (.515, 5 HR, 20 RBI) leads a Valley squad seeded behind No. 1 Rocky Ford and No. 2 Holy Family (Broomfield).

"We trying to approach it like it is this team's first championship that we're going toward," Valley coach Kevin Miles said. "We're not approaching it like a three-peat or anything like that."

Rocky Ford (20-1) earned the top seed helped by the efforts of senior pitcher Sheradann Jones (17-0, 0.76 ERA) and Holy Family with help from longtime starting pitcher Nicole Gardon and the hitting efforts of junior Grace Petersen (team-best 30 RBI).

But even with those teams and potent Strasburg looming as the No. 4 seed, it's difficult not to cast Hutton and Valley in the role of favorite.

"We have the advantage that, if we make it to the championship game, we have girls who have played in these games," Miles said. "No other team out there has it, because Berthoud (which lost to Valley the past two seasons) has moved up to 4A."