There was a span of 17 consecutive seasons — starting in 1993, when the 5A classification was only a few years old — in which a Jeffco League softball team reached the Class 5A state championship game every year.
That streak came to an end in 2010, and in the nine seasons since, only two Jeffco teams have made it to the final game. A team from the league hasn't won the 5A state championship since Wheat Ridge did it back-to-back in 2002-03.
But with league play getting under way this week, there is a resurgence within Jeffco taking place thus far. Two teams from the league — Chatfield and Columbine — are currently sitting in the top four in the 5A rankings, with the undefeated Chargers holding down the top spot. Columbine, fresh off a victory over 4A No. 1 Holy Family, was also unbeaten going into a tough battle Tuesday with No. 2 Rock Canyon.
Video: Top 10 Plays of the Week Steve Montoya and Chris Stonebraker tackle the best of the past week.
Lakewood is 13-2 after a 3-2 showing in the Dave Sanders Memorial Tournament last weekend. The Tigers hadn't won more than 10 games in a season over the past decade. Along with Chatfield and Columbine, the trio currently sits in the top 10 in 5A RPI, and boast three of the state's top pitchers.
Columbine's Korbe Otis is 11-0 with a 0.66 ERA and 139 strikeouts. Chatfield's Isabelle DiNapoli is 12-0 with a 0.80 ERA and 92 strikeouts, and Lakewood's Destiny Martinez has a 0.52 ERA with 109 strikeouts.
With less than a month remaining in the regular season, Jeffco is among a number of leagues state-wide that figure to be tightly-contested over the second half of the season. No. 1 Chatfield closes out the regular season with a visit to the rival Rebels on Oct. 10 in a game that could have major seeding implications.
With regionals set for Oct. 19, and the state tournament running Oct. 25-26, here is a look at some potential league-deciding contests over the next few weeks:
Class 5A
Centennial League: Smoky Hill (Aurora) (12-2) is off to its best start in years. The Buffs were 15-12 a year ago, their best mark in more than a decade, and made the state tournament. The team struggled in league play though, finishing next-to-last at 2-5. Smoky Hill opens league play Sept. 21 against a tough
Arapahoe (Centennial, Colo.) team that's also off to a hot start.
Cherokee Trail (Aurora), the state runner-up last fall, awaits in the regular-season finale.
Continental League: League play has already begun in the Continental, where No. 2
Rock Canyon (Highlands Ranch) (15-1) has established itself as the team to beat. A trip to defending state champion
Legend (Parker) comes on Sept. 27, with No. 9
Castle View (Castle Rock) up Oct. 2.
East Metro Athletic Conference: If
Prairie View (Henderson) has designs on taking the league crown away from
Brighton, the Thunderhawks will have to come up with a victory Thursday when the two teams meet at Brighton.
Front Range League: What is historically one of the toughest leagues isn't getting any easier. Four teams are ranked in the top 10 and hold four of the top eight spots in RPI.
Broomfield,
Rocky Mountain (Fort Collins) and
Loveland are a combined 25-3, with
Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins) sitting at 10-3. Legacy is 7-3 and opened league play with a loss to the Lobos. Loveland and Broomfield played Tuesday, with Rocky Mountain drawing both teams before the month is through. Loveland ace
Laurin Krings leads the state with 143 strikeouts and has an ERA of 0.58.
Southwestern League: Grand Junction Central is 9-2 but has yet to play an SWL game. The Warriors are seventh in RPI, with
Fruita Monument (Fruita) (8-4, 3-0) in the 12th spot. Those two teams have their first meeting Thursday, and close out the regular season against each other Oct. 10.
Class 4A
Jeffco League: Golden is ranked third in 4A but is first in RPI going into play this week. The Demons (13-0, 1-0) figure to draw their stiffest competition from rival
Wheat Ridge (10-2), with those teams going back-to-back next week. Golden plays the Farmers in Wheat Ridge on Sept. 24, and two days later hosts Wheat Ridge. Demons senior
Makayla Middleton is hitting .776 with eight home runs, and sister
Makenzie Middleton is batting .694 with six home runs.
D'Evelyn (Denver) (8-5) is currently ninth in RPI.
Northern League: Silver Creek (Longmont) (11-4, 6-0) is the only Northern League team in the top 10 in rankings and RPI. The Raptors dropped three of four games in late August, but are 7-1 in September (the only loss was 4-3 to Golden).
Northridge (Greeley) (9-2), which is 13th in RPI, gets its second chance at Silver Creek on Sept. 20.
Tri-Valley League: Holy Family (Broomfield) and
Erie are 1-2 in the 4A top 10, and 2-3 in RPI, though not in the same order. Holy Family (9-1, 2-0) lost to Columbine in the Dave Sanders Memorial, but has a handful of impressive victories under its belt. The Tigers host Erie (12-0, 4-0) on Sept. 24, and visit their rival to close out the regular season Oct. 10. Erie's
Kat Sackett and
Madysun Vaughan are 1-2 in the state with a combined 19 home runs. Mead is currently 11th in RPI.
South Central League: The SCL figures to be a round-robin of highs and lows for the Pueblo-area teams. After one league game,
Pueblo South,
Pueblo Central and
Pueblo County are ranked in the top 10 and hold three of the top seven RPI spots. Central handed
Pueblo Centennial its first loss of the year. Fourth-ranked South hosted County on Tuesday and gets Pueblo Central at home on Thursday, then visits both teams the first week of October.
Class 3A
District 3: The Patriot League is 3A's toughest, and midway through the season that continues to hold true. The top three spots in the 3A rankings belong to
University (Greeley),
Eaton and
Sterling, and those teams are also in the top eight in RPI – along with
Lyons (fifth), defending state champion
Strasburg (7th). University (12-0, 3-0) has already notched a 9-3 victory over Eaton, and faced Sterling on Tuesday and Strasburg on Thursday. Eaton gets both of the latter two teams over the next week as well, with the Strasburg game a rematch of the 3A state title game. All four teams still have a second go-round in league play as well. Brush is 10th in RPI.
District 5: Basalt is playing spoiler in the RPI, holding down the No. 2 overall spot. The Longhorns (8-1, 3-0) already swept a pair of games from
Montezuma-Cortez (Cortez,), which is ninth in RPI.
4A/3A Colorado 7: Two 3A teams are at the top of the standings, with No. 4
Riverdale Ridge (Thornton) (9-1, 1-0) off to a strong start. The Ravens are also fourth in RPI, with
Fort Lupton (11-4, 1-0) 12th. Those two teams face off Oct. 10.
