Colorado baseball districts preview

While the deep rounds of state deservedly get more attention, it's hard to deny that Saturday will be the single-most hectic day of the high school baseball season. Win two games and you're off to the state tournament. Fail to do so, and that's it.

Here's a look at some of the key themes entering what largely can be considered an all-or-nothing day.

Class 5A

Pine Creek (Colorado Springs) (17-2) bashed and pitched its way to the top seed, trumping other top-flight squads such as Regis Jesuit (Aurora), Lakewood and Heritage (Littleton) for pole position. The Colorado Springs-based Eagles have outscored foes 184-46 this season.

"We didn't expect to be number one at this point, but the kids have played very good baseball most all year," Pine Creek coach Glenn Millhauser said. "I don't particularly like being ‘one' but the kids don't seem to notice much. They're a pretty level-headed bunch."

The Eagles have gotten monster seasons from sophomores Justin Olson and Jay Onken. Olson has clubbed nine homers, driven in 26 and is hitting .431. Onken is batting .508 with six bombs and 33 RBIs. The tandem has combined to go 8-0 on the mound as well.

"We expected both to do well," Millhauser said, noting Olson also excelled as a freshman while and Onken made some key contributions off the bench. "However, the numbers from those two players are surprising."

Also of note in the big-school bracket: After a slow start, defending-champion Rock Canyon (Highlands Ranch) (11-8) landed No. 5 and secured a home site for districts. Perennial power Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) (13-6), meanwhile, landed at No. 18 and is in the same district as Regis Jesuit (15-4).

One year after an unforeseen run to the title game, Chatfield (Littleton) (10-9) checks in at No. 26. This year, Lakewood (14-5) has been Jeffco League's surprise team to date.

Class 4A

Buoyed by the efforts of pitchers Holden Bernhardt and Locke Bernhardt, Mountain View (Loveland) rocketed to the top seed. The senior twins have combined to go 11-1 with an ERA under 1.00.

"Locke and Holden definitely feed off each other," Lions coach Brian Smela said. "They are each others' best cheerleaders, they can be each others toughest critic, and they try to match each other pitch-for-pitch. They've elevated their games so much. They made huge strides last summer, now they're just warriors that want the ball and really get up for tough games."

Mountain View (17-2) is embracing the designation as top seed after edging talented squads Pueblo West, Denver North and Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) for the honor.

"No, I don't think there's added pressure," Smela said. "This is an extremely competitive group. They've been together a long time and have had success along the way. They've played in a lot of big games on smaller stages and I think they'll handle the pressure just fine on this, the biggest high school stage."

For those who haven't followed closely, Denver North's inclusion as a No. 3 seed is an eyebrow-raiser, but the Vikings (18-1) have earned it. Pitcher Jose Pepe Robles leads a pitching staff that has compiled a 2.29 ERA and is one of four hitters with an average above .500.

Just as noteworthy is that two-time defending champion Green Mountain (Lakewood) (9-10) is not in the bracket.

Class 3A

Typically it doesn't qualify as breaking news when Eaton nabs the top seed. But this was a year of transition for the Reds with a new head coach at the helm.

There was still plenty of talent in the cupboard, however, and new coach Bob Ervin has the Reds (18-1) back in that familiar position after big-time seasons at the plate by Matt Burkart, on the mound by ace Dalton Lind and several other key contributions.

Another concept that also stayed the same is the prowess of Eaton's Patriot League. Three other teams from the powerhouse league earned top-10 seeds with University (Greeley) checking in at No. 2, Valley (Gilcrest) at No. 7 and Brush at No. 9.

But it's not all about the Patriot League. Squads such as St. Mary's (Colorado Springs), which nabbed the No. 3 seed, will be aiming to make its own mark with heavy hitters such as Ben Padrnos (14 doubles) in the fold. Southern powers Lamar and La Junta also earned host seeds, as did Metro League powers Faith Christian (Arvada) and Kent Denver (Englewood).

Class 2A

District play here is a little different in that the eight district winners move on to state and the other eight are determined by RPI. In 2A, a 16-team single-elimination bracket is in place rather than the eight-team, double-elimination bracket of the larger classifications.

Western Slope foes Paonia and Hotchkiss continue to serve as favorites, as each has lost one game – to each other. The powerhouses are in the same district, but both should be a shoo-in for state. Paonia sophomore Kayden Seriani has blasted 13 homers this season, and unheard-of total in the days of BBCOR bats. The Eagles have blasted 32 as a team.

Hotchkiss doesn't play the long-ball game – the Bulldogs have hit only two – but the pitching staff boasts and ERA of 1.64.

Among the several additional teams to keep an eye on are Sedgwick County (Julesburg) (17-1), Sargent (Monte Vista) (16-2) and defending champion Rye (14-3).

Class 1A

The state bracket is set here, with 2015 runner-up Granada bestowed as the top seed. The Bobcats (10-2), who lost to Dove Creek in the final last season, enter the tourney with 10 straight wins. As fate would have it, Granada and Dove Creek (8-13) will square off in the first round.

The Bobcats likely will deploy pitcher Ryan Koeller, who is 7-0 with an 0.93 ERA and strikes out nearly two per inning.

Other contenders include No. 2 Eads (9-4), No. 3 Holly (9-6) and No. 4 Fleming (14-4), which enters as winners of eight straight. Wildcats junior Jaxon King (7-1) has struck out 72 batters in just under 43 innings and is batting .585.