Lewis-Palmer senior Paul Tillotson is getting it done on the mound and at the plate for the Rangers. The Nebraska recruit is batting .649 and a Class 4A-best 31 RBI, while posting a 5-1 record and a 0.92 ERA.
File photo by Derek Regensburger
They don't hand out all-state awards in the latter half of May, but the baseball season absolutely is approaching the stretch run. That means its not too early to take inventory of which athletes are having beastly seasons as teams clamor for playoff position.
Here's a peek at a brief handful of players who are brightening up the box score in each classification as the postseason beckons.
Class 5ASeeing that
Pine Creek (Colorado Springs) shot to the top of the
CHSAA RPI rankings this week, it's fitting that we start with a pair of Eagles sophomores.
Justin Olson has drilled five home runs, driven in 17 and is batting .394. The lefthander also is 1-0 on the mound with a 2.88 ERA. Classmate
Jay Onken has been similarly proficient – if not more so – with a .500 average, three homers, a classification-best 20 RBI and a 3-0 pitching record with a 1.17 ERA. The tandem is a large reason why the Eagles are 9-1.
Others of note in the big-school classification include 6-foot-5
Cherokee Trail (Aurora) first baseman
Ryan Sullivan, who is batting a 5A-best .636, and
Legacy (Broomfield) sophomore
Ryan Overboe, who is right on his heels at .633. The
Ralston Valley (Arvada) tandem of
Peter Carlson and
Levi Leisenring also is tearing it up, as is the
Regis Jesuit (Aurora) duo of
Quin Cotton and
Travis Marr.
Pitching-wise,
Fruita Monument's Sam Schroeder,
Fort Collins's Preston Snavely and
Grant Schroeder of
Grandview (Aurora) are among those carrying sub-1.00 ERAs. The latter has helped the Wolves to a No. 3 spot in the poll.
Class 4A Green Mountain (Lakewood) outfielder
Wyatt Featherston is a two-time state champion and has punched his ticket to Western Kentucky. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have time left to bash the ball in Colorado for a little longer. The slugger has crushed a classification-best seven home runs – including two multi--homer games – and has driven in 16 to go with a .500 batting average for the Rams (6-5).
Mike Berg of
Thompson Valley (Loveland) (.560, six homers, 23 RBI) also is prominently featured on the leaderboard for an Eagles squad undergoing a late-season renaissance. After a 2-6 start, the Eagles have reeled off five straight wins.
And don't forget Nebraska-bound
Paul Tillotson. The
Lewis-Palmer (Monument) standout is batting .649 with two homers and a 4A-best 31 RBI, but that's only half the story. He's also 5-1 with an 0.92 ERA and 48 strikeouts in just more than 30 innings. A pair of unbeaten pitchers on prominent teams also stand out, including
Cole Winn (5-0) of top-ranked
Silver Creek (Longmont) and
Zach Maize (6-3) of No. 3
Pueblo West.
Class 3A Davin Jacobs of No. 3
Lamar isn't waiting until he is an upperclassman for his turn in the spotlight. The Savages sophomore is batting .493 with two homers and 22 RBI (the latter is tied for best in 3A) and has chipped in with a 1-0 record and 1.05 ERA on the mound. One of those tied with Jacobs for the RBI lead is
Ben Padrnos of
St. Mary's (Colorado Springs), who is a primary reason why the Pirates are No. 8 in the poll.
It wouldn't be a story about elite players in 3A, of course, without a mention of top-ranked
Eaton (11-0).
Matt Burkart, who will play at Northern Colorado, tops the 3A leaderboard with a .692 average to go with two homers and 19 RBI. Reds teammates
JT Mossberg and
Dalton Lind each are 4-0 on the mound.
Trenton Miller of No. 9
The Academy (Westminster) also is having an outstanding season on the hill, as is classification wins and strikeout leader
Donovan Contreraz of unranked
Sheridan (Denver).
Class 2A An unmistakable Western Slope flair accompanies the 2A leaderboards, with players such as
Jonathan Gonzalez of
Hotchkiss and
Kayden Seriani of
Paonia, both sophomores, displayed prominently. Gonzalez has gone 5-0 with a 0.48 ERA for the No. 3 Bulldogs (12-1) while Seriani has blasted seven homers, driven in 26 and is batting .488 for top-ranked Paonia (12-0). He's also 2-0 with an 0.48 ERA. The Eagles defeated Hotchkiss 3-0 on Tuesday in the first of two league meetings between the powerhouses.
And to think, Seriani might be outdone by teammate
Trevor Smith (.636, five homers, 28 RBI). Not to be outdone,
Haxtun slugger
Wyatt Workman is pulverizing the ball for the No. 8 Bulldogs with a .423 average, seven bombs and a 2A-best 35 RBI.
Emmitt White of
Sargent (Monte Vista) is batting .778 to lead the classification, a tally that includes 10 extra-base hits.
Swink pitcher
Trey Redner (3-0) hasn't allowed an earned run in 25 innings (three overall) for the No. 7 Lions. Also keep an eye on
County Line [Wiley/McClave] pitcher
Caden Eastin (5-0), who has permitted only one earned run in just over 17 innings.
Class 1A Starting with the pitching here,
Ryan Koeller of top-ranked
Granada has started 4-0 with a 0.98 ERA and an impressive 41 strikeouts in just more than 21 innings.
Ricardo Juarez (4-0, 1.24) of No. 2
Holly has an even more absurd strikeout rate, having set down 50 batters in just more than 22 innings. Freshman
Levi Barr, meanwhile, has helped
Cotopaxi (10-1) climb to No. 5 by beginning the season 5-0.
Barr's Pirates teammates
Sam Dunlap and
Justin Walden each have collected 16 hits in 27 at-bats, with the latter leading 1A with 23 RBI.
Colin Hobbs of defending-champion
Dove Creek leads the classification in homers with four.
