Big games ahead as Colorado high school baseball season hits home stretch

Class 5A
Regis Jesuit (Aurora) at Douglas County (Castle Rock), May 2, 4:15 p.m.
The result of this game could have a dramatic ripple effect on the outcome of the Continental League title hunt. Regis Jesuit is one of two unbeaten teams, but a loss to Douglas County will tighten the race between the top eight teams.

The Raiders might have the most power of any team in the state. Four players in the lineup have gone yard at least three times this season. Dallas Macias leads that group with six bombs and also has a team-high .589 batting average. Finn O’Connor has four home runs, while Nate McHugh and Isaac Wachsmann each have three. Wachsmann leads the Raiders with 25 RBIs.

For a game like this, the Huskies will have to rely on pitching. If they get Cooper Latino out there, they will have a shot to win as he's given up just eight earned runs in 19 innings. Offensively, Eli Athanas and Hunter Gotschall will have to keep pace. They're each hitting .400 or better and have scored a combined 28 runs.

Legend (Parker) at Legacy (Broomfield), May 17, 4:15 p.m.
As far as non-league games go, this will be a good one to end the regular season for both teams. Legacy is regarded as the top team in the classification, while Legend belongs in the conversation of standout teams.

The Titans have a great mix of average and power at their disposal. Conner Boyd, Kai Wagner and Max Meuli are all batting north of .410. The team has hit a combined 20 home runs, as Wagner and Ty Kennedy share the team lead with four each.

The Lightning have hit less than half the number of home runs as Legend, but the offense has still been good. Brandon Sanchez leads the team in average at .622 and also has a team-high 23 RBIs. Freshman Ethan Sanchez provides the pop in the lineup and leads the team with four home runs.

Player of the Year Watch
Tyler Genrich, Pine Creek (Colorado Springs): Genrich is currently No. 2 in 5A in batting average (.636) and seventh in RBIs with 26. He has also hit four home runs and will be a big factor when it comes to how far the Eagles can reach into the postseason.

Markus Hamre, Ralston Valley (Arvada): The Mustangs senior is fifth in the class in batting average (.600) but has shown a lot of power as he has blasted a state-leading 10 home runs this season.

Tyler Mejia, Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch): Mejia was a big reason the Golden Eagles claimed the 5A title last year and his 1.18 ERA and .178 opponents' batting average is a big reason why they can win a second straight crown.

Class 4A
Rifle at Palisade, April 26
The showdown between the Bears and the Bulldogs was a pivotal one for the Western Slope standings, with Palisade winning 11-1. Palisade has yet to drop a game, and Rifle had an opportunity to get itself back into the league title conversation with a win.

The key for Rifle is to get its hitters on base and do what it can to get those runners across home. The Bears doesn't score at the clip that Palisade does, so they will have to find some offense somewhere moving forward. Sophomore Logan Gross will try to light that spark as he's hitting .625 and has scored a team-high 23 runs. Both Gavin Peterson and Austin Bowlan have driven in a team-high 19 runs.

One of the reasons Palisade has been so tough to beat is its pitching staff. Ryder Mancuso has been the definition of an ace as he has thrown 36 innings and given up just 11 earned runs. Melacio Perez, Ryker Harsha and Josh Zotto have each thrown at least 13 innings each and all maintain an ERA of 2.62 or better.

Pueblo Central at Pueblo County, May 3, 7 p.m.
Pueblo Central will have a bit of revenge on its mind as it got blanked the Hornets 5-0 on April 16. A win against County could get the Wildcats back in the South Central League race, while the Hornets need the win to keep Pueblo West at bay.

Derick Domenico has been solid at the plate all season for Pueblo County. He's batting .489 with eight extra-base hits, two of which are home runs. Jace Barger leads the Hornets with a .541 average and is second on the team in runs scored (17) and RBIs (13).

Perhaps one of the biggest benefits for Central is its youth. Four underclassmen are batting at least .413, with sophomore Zach Mehess leading the way at .523. He has also scored a team-high 26 runs, while his classmate Hugo Sanchez-Algien has driven in 30 runs.

Player of the Year Watch
John Sekich, Silver Creek (Longmont): The Raptors senior has been efficient offensively all season. He has gone hitless in just three games and has amassed a .656 average with four home runs and 22 RBIs.

Riley Warmbrod, Windsor: On top of batting .525, Warmbrod has been solid on the mound. In 29.2 innings he has given up just 15 hits and two earned runs.

James Wright, Air Academy (US Air Force Academy): Wright has emerged as one of the most feared hitters in the classification. He's hitting .680 with a .714 OBP and has three home runs and 37 RBIs.

Class 3A
Lutheran (Parker) at Eaton, May 6, 4 p.m.
Eaton has looked good against some of the top teams in the state, and it hopes that trend will continue when it hosts Lutheran in a big non-league clash.

Ryder True leads defending state champion Eaton with a .514 average and is second on the team with 17 RBIs. Tate Smith leads the team with 22. While hitting just .378 as a team, Eaton has scored an impressive 128 runs in 13 games.

The Lions are stacked with six players who have at least 30 at-bats and are hitting over .400. Dorian Pacheco leads the way with a .488 average, while a lot of the power comes from elsewhere in the lineup. Sophomore Drew McNear has blasted four home runs and scored 29 runs this season, both numbers being team highs.

Sterling at Lamar, May 7, 12 p.m.
If measuring by the top teams in the classification, Sterling has gotten everyone's attention with two competitive games against Eaton. The two squads have met this season, with the Tigers getting a 10-0 win on March 26 but this will be a good chance for Lamar to measure improvement.

Andrew Meick leads Sterling with a .486 average. He has a team-high 26 RBIs and has hit one home run. Jackson Keil, Steven Seghi and Noah Soper have all hit two home runs for Sterling this season.

Freshman Cael Buxtonn has been a bright spot for Lamar this season. He's hitting .425 and has scored a team-high 12 runs. Tyler McTaggart has been reliable on the mound. He has thrown 28 innings, giving up 10 earned runs and striking out 34 hitters. If he's the starting pitcher against Sterling, Lamar should have a fighting chance at redemption.

Player of the Year Watch
Greg Garza, University (Greeley): The Bulldogs senior has been mashing the ball all season. He has a .638 average with two home runs and 22 RBIs. He's a big reason why University remains a threat to claim the 3A title.

Jackson Queen, Bayfield: When Queen takes the mound, Bayfield feels pretty good about its chances at winning a game. In 27 innings pitched, he has surrendered just 14 hits and walked five batters. He holds an impressive ERA of 0.78.

Braxton Shelton, Brush: When Shelton makes contact with a baseball, that ball has a tendency of flying far. He's batting .467 and has hit a classification-best six home runs to keep Brush competitive in a tough Patriot League.

Class 2A
Buena Vista at Peyton, April 28, 3:30 p.m.
As the Demons and the Panthers inch closer to the postseason, both squads are looking to see solid competition before the regular season ends. No better way to do that than to take on each other.

Buena Vista has overcome a slow start to the season. The Demons dropped three of their first four games but have gone 10-1 since. Cole Reavis leads the team in batting with an average of .432. Zandon Mitchell and Jake Duncan share the team lead with 20 RBIs. Mitchell has shown his power as he has four home runs.

The Panthers have a solid lineup top to bottom with five players batting north of .500. Evan Neumaier leads the way with a .622 average. He has hit two home runs and driven in 24 runs so far this season. From a pitching standpoint, he's 4-1 with a 0.76 ERA.

Limon at Denver Christian, May 12, 7 p.m.
The Badgers came into this week undefeated and still have some tough teams to face before the regular season comes to an end. The May 12 showdown with the Thunder should tell each team a lot about itself with the playoffs beginning the next week.

Keon Bandy has been a stalwart for the defending 2A champs as he's hitting .528 with three home runs and 26 RBIs. Senior Brady Rockwell has solidified himself as the staff ace as he has a 5-0 record with a. 1.79 ERA. He has 40 strikeouts and has walked just five hitters.

Mason Reilly and Asher Hawes are having good seasons at the plate for the Thunder. Hawes leads the team with a .581 average, to Reilly's .537. They have both scored 22 runs and driven in at least 22 apiece.

Player of the Year Watch
Ben Compton, Rye: The Thunderbolts senior is hitting .444, which is good, but it's his pitching numbers that are truly impressive. He is 3-0 and has surrendered just one earned run all season.

Ashtin Gilio, Dawson School (Lafayette): The junior is hitting a staggering .636 and also leads the classification with six home runs.

Caleb Smith, Colorado Springs Christian: Smith leads 2A with 30 RBIs and has a .436 batting average. He drove in a season-high eight runs in a win over Dolores Huerta Prep (Pueblo) on March 31.

Class 1A
Holly vs. Merino, April 30, 2 p.m.
This late-season showdown could serve as a state championship game preview. These two teams are regarded as the top two in 1A, and before postseason play they will get to see how they match up in the regular season.

Defending state champion Holly has a stacked lineup as six players have driven in at least 10 runs. Dakota Eaton is hitting .510 and has 10 doubles. Julian Terrazas is hitting .368 and five of his 14 hits have been home runs.

The Rams also have an impressive lineup and have combined for 52 extra-base hits. They also have one of the best pitching duos in the state, as Deacon Trenkle and Kaden Piel are a combined 9-0 with 115 strikeouts.

Eads at Simla, April 30, 10:30 a.m.
In this late non-league showdown, both teams will have a little something to prove. Eads wants to be seen as a top team in 1A and has the personnel to do just that. The Eagles have five players in the lineup who have at least 18 at-bats and are batting over .500. Perhaps the best part is that not a single one of those five players are seniors. AJ Vasquez leads the Eagles with a .591 average. Keenan Smith has a team-high 13 RBIs.

The Cubs don't quite have the batting average numbers that the Eagles have, but they're not short on offensive pop. Brayden Glover is hitting .471 with 21 RBIs. He has also scored 24 runs. Underclassmen Wyatt Stanko and Dalton Hisle are both hitting over .300 and have each driven in at least 11 runs.

Player of the Year Watch
Jonathan Bunker, Evangelical Christian (Colorado Springs): The senior is hitting .697 with 25 RBIs and 20 runs scored. He may not have a lot of extra-base hits, but he is productive in nearly every at-bat that he gets.

Julian Terrazas, Holly: Leads 1A with five home runs and is every bit as dominant when he pitches. In six appearances, he has struck out 54 batters.

Deacon Trenkle, Merino: Has a 5-0 record on the mound with a 0.88 ERA to go with it. At the plate, he's hitting .535 with a pair of home runs.