Mid-October always means that state tournaments are in full swing. That will be the case at Aurora Sports Park this weekend as the state softball tournaments for all three classes begin Friday.
After a modified format last year that just had semifinals and championship games at the venue, the tournament will have a much more normal feel this time around.
Through all three classification there are several teams that should contend for state championships. Here's a look at a few of those teams that are worth an extra look when games begin Friday.
Class 5A // BracketAll season
Horizon (Thornton) has looked like the top overall team in 5A. It's fitting that the Hawks enter the state tournament as the No. 1 seed and are hunting for a state championship. The lone blemish on the record is a 3-2 loss

Elizabeth Browning, Fossil Ridge
File photo by Brent Murphy
against
Erie on Aug. 31. The Hawks have a good sophomore core in
Madison Shama and
Madison Vollmar, who are both batting better than .430 and have combined to hit eight home runs. Vollmar has also been the team's standout pitcher with a 10-1 record and 1.82 ERA. And it's another sophomore who accounts for 10 of the other 12 wins:
Hadley Hudson is 10-0 and her ERA sits at 2.50.
Legacy (Broomfield) stumbled a bit early in the season but really got rolling when the calendar turned to September. Since then the only loss for the Lightning is to 5A No. 1 seed Horizon. They have picked up wins over
Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins),
Broomfield and
Cherokee Trail (Aurora) in that time.
Kendall Aragon has emerged as one of the top hitters in the state with a .667 batting average that comes with 40 runs scored and three home runs. Junior
Samantha Bocis has hit a team-high six home runs and also hits for average as she sits at .593 on the season.
Janessa Esquibel will be the key pitcher for the Lightning as she has gone 14-2 this year and struck out 119 hitters.
Fossil Ridge played its way to an emotional state title win last season and wants to claim another crown this weekend. The Sabercats have been edged 1-0 by No. 1 seed Horizon so championship ambitions aren't out of the realm of reality. They will have to rely heavily on their seniors as
Elizabeth Browning and
Nikki McGaffin are both hitting north of .490 and have scored a combined 55 runs. McGaffin will once again try and keep a steady hand in the pitching circle as she enters the state tournament with a 19-2 record and a 0.92 ERA. She has also struck out 227 batters this season.
Other teams to watch: Columbine (Littleton) has put together an impressive resumé this year and is the No. 2 seed heading into state. The Rebels have outscored their opponents 215-97 this year.
Legend (Parker) has some big wins over teams that will be playing in the state tournament this weekend. The Titans have come away victorious over Legacy, Columbine and
Lakewood.
Class 4A // Bracket Holy Family (Broomfield) is sitting right where every defending state champion wants to be heading into the tournament. The Tigers enter as the No, 1 seed and have ambitions of winning a third title in four seasons. They got there thanks to a

Ava Kuszak, Holy Family
File photo by Brent Murphy
combination of youth and experience as freshman
Isabella Arroyo and senior
Ava Kuszak are each hitting over .500. Kuszak leads the team with 25 RBIs while Arroyo has been the ace of the pitching staff with a 13-0 record and a 1.83 ERA. Her best performance came in a 3-0 win over
Mead (Longmont) where she threw seven innings and struck out eight batters. The big kicker was that she allowed zero hits and just one batter reached base on a walk. That no-hitter avenged an earlier loss to Mead and should both teams win in the first round Friday, they would see each other for the third time this season.
In the southern half of the state,
Pueblo South has put together a solid season and wants to spoil Holy Family's party in the state tournament. Sophomore
Albanie Cordova has shown tremendous power with a .563 average and six home runs. She has gotten a lot of help through the lineup as
Jada Montoya and
Maddie Doverspike are each batting over .400 with each driving in 23 runs.
Emily Abraham will do her best to keep hitters off the bases as she has allowed opponents to hit just .185 against her. The Colts have two wins over teams -
Pueblo Central and
D'Evelyn (Denver) - that advanced to the state tournament.
Riverdale Ridge (Thornton) suffered a loss to Mead in last year's state tournament, but the Ravens have ambitions of a deeper tournament run this season. Senior
Sydnee Fordham has been the spark in the batting lineup as she is hitting .524 with an OPS of 1.198. She has struck out just three times, so the ball will generally be put in play when she's at-bat. Two freshmen are also essential to the Ravens offense.
Neila Lucero is hitting .486, while
Madyson Ortiz is hitting .429. Junior
Aubree Davis has been good in the pitching circle with a 13-3 record and a 2.31 ERA.
Other teams to watch: Erie heads into the tournament as the No. 3 seed, but has shown how competitive it is against the top teams. They suffered a narrow 4-3 loss to Holy Family on Oct. 5.
Elizabeth finished with an undefeated league record and has been competitive against teams like Mead and Pueblo South.
Class 3A // BracketEaton (23-3) is looking to make another run to a 3A softball title and enters the bracket as the No. 3 overall seed. Their second state title in a row will be dependent on the performance of their two big pitchers in
Julia Meagher and
Sadie Ross.

Hailey Maestretti, Lutheran
File photo by Lance Wendt
The two sophomores are a combined 18-2 and struck out 137 batters. Senior
Emma Pinkstaff leads the offense as she hit .539 and scored a team-high 51 runs. Between the hitting and the pitching, the Reds have the experience from last year's state championship team to make another run at gold.
Lutheran (Parker) enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed, and has already registered an 11-1 win over Eaton this season. The Lions might be the heavy favorite to win state, having outscored their opponents 336-20 this year. Freshman
Meredith Barnhart has been a big reason for that as she is hitting .615 with 10 home runs and 53 RBIs. A player of the year candidate, Barnhart is hoping to give the Lions the same freshman boost that Ross gave Eaton in the state tournament a year ago. Sophomore
Hailey Maestretti has limited opposing hitters to a .098 batting average and she has registered 232 strikeouts on the season.
Back to the Patriot League,
Sterling could make a surprise run given some of its big wins this season. They have beaten Eaton,
Strasburg and
Brush, which are all state tournament teams.
Aubrey Wright has been outstanding on the offensive end, hitting .557 with 25 RBIs and 29 runs scored. Junior
Reagan Fehringer has given up just 29 earned runs this season in the 110 innings pitched. She also helps on the offensive front with a .461 batting average with 26 RBIs. Her presence in the pitching circle and the batting lineup gives the Tigers a shot to compete and win each game they play.
Other teams to watch: Fort Lupton comes in as one of the hottest teams in the state, having won 11 of its past 12 games. Also, the only 3A team to beat
La Junta this season was Eaton, but that was back in August. The Tigers have played great softball heading into state.