The only things standing between Mountain Vista and its first Class 5A baseball state championship Sunday were two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning when southpaw Jack Liffrig slipped on the infield grass and fell to his chest.
Uh-oh.
A Heritage runner crossed home plate to cut the Vista lead to five runs, and now its senior ace hit the deck attempting to cover first base. If any worry existed whether Liffrig felt comfortable in this moment, the biggest of his four seasons at Vista, he erased it quickly. Liffrig rose from the grass — but not until his “Did I do that?” swagger lightened a tense and near-capacity crowd at All-City Field.
“Jack just started doing push-ups,” Vista junior first baseman Jon Zakhem said. “He’s a crazy kid.”
After a quick set of about five up-downs, Liffrig sprung to his feet, struck out two batters in succession and then held both arms out wide as teammates and coaches rushed from the dugout to dogpile after a 7-2 victory. Liffrig’s resilience was one of several team story lines that had coach Ron Quintana fighting back tears while holding the championship trophy.
“Emotional,” Quintana said. “This is for every kid that has played Vista baseball. We’ve always been real close knocking on the door — and we finally did it.”
Vista, established 2001 in Highlands Ranch, reached the state finals and lost in 2006 and 2009. But about two seasons back, Quintana saw a new generation of Golden Eagles underclassmen poised to take the next step. Their potential entering this spring wouldn’t go unrecognized, either, with at least six players committed to play at the next level: Liffrig (Utah), RHP Sam Ireland (Minnesota), RHP Clay Burke (Oregon), SS Zach Paschke (Metro State), 2B Drew Stahl (Washington State) and C Grant Magill (Indiana State).
Vista maintained a No. 1 Class 5A ranking from The Denver Post and The Associated Press for almost the entirety of a perfect 21-0 regular season.
“This group has played together for a few years now,” Quintana said. “They put the work in day in and day out year round. … We talk about being a winner and expecting it. We were playing for this.”
Added Liffrig: “We honestly didn’t care about the rankings.”
Vista’s title quest was humbled, though, when Arapahoe handed it a 8-1 first-round defeat in the double-elimination tournament. Zakhem said: “After that loss, we were just hungry to come back and win it all. We knew we had the team to do it.” The Golden Eagles left little doubt. A 2-1 win over defending champ Rocky Mountain. A 5-4 victory against Pine Creek. And then, a 5-0 route of Heritage to reach Sunday.
Vista blasted Mountain Range 14-4 in the morning game to earn a winner-take-all rematch with Heritage for the championship. No small task facing Heritage senior right-hander Riley Egloff, a Yavapai College (Ariz.) signee whose fastball touches the low 90s, on the mound. The Golden Eagles (26-1), again, remained unfazed.
Zakhem singled to right field in the second inning to score the game’s first run, and Vista never looked back, adding five hits and six runs in the fourth to run away with the title. The Golden Eagles joined their fan base on the diamond long after the final out to soak in every moment.
“It’s just crazy to have all your friends and family out on the field celebrating this moment,” said Zakhem, who went 3-for-4 at the plate in the title game. “It’s amazing.”
Liffrig was equally elated, and smooth, in his assessment of his performance — including those crunchtime push-ups. “Don’t make it all bigger than it has to be,” he explained. “Baseball is a kid’s game.” Liffrig will remember this moment forever.
“I’ve thrown a lot of complete games, but have never gotten a ring after one of them,” Liffrig said. “It was just pure happiness. Childhood dreams coming true.”