Cherry Creek faces early Colorado non-league baseball gauntlet

The Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) baseball team isn't cutting any corners coming out of the gate.

The Bruins' non-league schedule in March isn't for the feint of heart. Cherry Creek opened the 2018 season with three consecutive victories over Legend (Parker), Dakota Ridge (Littleton) and Ralston Valley (Arvada), and over the next eight days faces three of the state's top-seven teams from the CHSAANow.com Class 5A preseason poll.

The top-ranked Bruins visit No. 2 Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch) on Friday and No. 7 Pine Creek (Colorado Springs) – which already upended No. 4 Rock Canyon (Highlands Ranch) – next Tuesday. The team hosts sixth-ranked Regis Jesuit (Aurora) next Thursday in its final game before spring break.

When the Bruins return to the field April 2, defending state champion Rocky Mountain (Fort Collins) is paying a visit.

"I would guess our schedule is stronger than anyone in the state," longtime Bruins coach Marc Johnson said. "The next couple of games we have some big challenges."

Cherry Creek won 19 games a year ago and went 4-2 at the 5A state tournament. The team's only losses came by one run to Rocky Mountain and state runner-up Broomfield. The Bruins needed extra innings in between those games to edge Legend and Mountain Vista.

"I feel we kind of overachieved a year ago from what I had expected," Johnson said. "We got hot at the right time, and we didn't falter until we played Rocky Mountain. We're returning seven of those starters, so we do have some experience to draw from."

Cherry Creek was relatively young in 2017 but did graduate two of their top three hitters in Andrew Chavez and Cody Schultz, along with pitcher Sam Colehower. But outfielder Tanner O'Tremba – named a preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball and who has signed to play at Texas Tech – is back after hitting .515 a year ago with 10 home runs and 31 RBI and scoring 30 runs.

Isaac Kron returns for the Bruins in left field. Brice Martinez is back at third base and is hitting .600 through the first three games, while outfielder Tyler Schultz has moved from outfield to shortstop. Johnson said Cherry Creek has good depth on the mound, with Quentin Parr – 7-0 last spring with a 2.29 ERA – back, along with Jake Lawrence and Nate Kujowski.

"We're a bit of a work in progress. Obviously we're happy to get off to a 3-0 start, but we have some kinks we're trying to iron out," Johnson said. "If your pitching is competitive and you play above-average defense and swing the bat, you've got a chance. We're above average in all those categories, but we're not absolutely unbelievable in any of them."

As Cherry Creek contends with a deep 5A field, Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) brings back plenty of all-state talent – including reigning Player of the Year Luke Ziegler – in its bid for a three-peat. Defending state champions Valley (Gilcrest) (3A) and Paonia (2A) also have the 2017 POY back this spring in Jose Mercado and Kayden Seriani, respectively.

Here is a quick overview of all five classifications with spring break just around the corner:

Class 5A
Defending champion: Rocky Mountain
Overview: Rocky Mountain captured the program's sixth state title in 11 years, going 4-1 in the state tournament. The Lobos graduated the core of their lineup, including Player of the Year John Sorenson. Junior Tyler Mata-Loyd hit eight home runs as a junior. … Cherry Creek opened the year ranked first in the CHSAANow.com preseason poll and scored a combined 29 runs in season-opening victories over Legend, Dakota Ridge and Ralston Valley. … Mountain Vista won its first two games at state before losing by one run to both Rocky Mountain and Cherry Creek. The Golden Eagles had a handful of sophomores who played big roles in 2017, and Jack Liffrig was 7-1 with a 3.04 ERA as a junior. … Broomfield won three consecutive elimination games before falling to Rocky Mountain 9-5 in the title game. The Eagles graduated their top two pitchers, but return some talent on offense. Tanner Garner led the team with a .464 average as a junior.
Returning all-state players: Jack Liffrig, Sr., Mountain Vista (2nd team); Tanner O'Tremba, Sr., Cherry Creek (1st team).

Class 4A
Defending champion: Valor Christian
Overview: It's an embarrassment of riches for the two-time defending state champions, who return two first-team all-state players in seniors Noah Kuzma and Ziegler, and second-team selection Josh Danyliw. Kuzma led the team in hits, RBI and runs scored and tied for first in home runs; Ziegler was 6-1 with a 1.76 ERA and 76 strikeouts. Danyliw was 4-0 with a 2.85 ERA. …Evergreen was in the driver's seat before losses to Thompson Valley (Loveland) and then Valor in the title game. Ben Muscatello returns as the team's staff ace, and Jack Patterson led the team in RBI. … All-state pitcher Cole Winn moved out-of-state, but Silver Creek (Longmont) returns a few starters. The team opened with a 2-1 loss to Broomfield. … Micah Bregard was 6-1 with a 2.04 ERA and 62 strikeouts as a junior for Air Academy, which went 2-2 at state. … Pueblo West had some standout sophomores on the pitching staff a year ago, and Kyle Jameson batted .435 as a sophomore. … Northridge (Greeley) was one of the state's younger teams last spring but still won 15 games before falling in districts.
Returning all-state players: Micah Bregard, Sr., Air Academy (1st team); Josh Danyliw, Sr., Valor Christian (2nd team); Noah Kuzma, Sr., Valor Christian (1st team); Ben Muscatello, Sr., Evergreen (1st team); Luke Zeigler, Sr., Valor Christian (1st team).

Class 3A
Defending champion: Valley
Overview: Reigning 3A Player of the Year Mercado hit .458 as a junior, scoring 37 runs and going 8-2 on the mound with a 2.90 ERA and 68 strikeouts for the defending state champions. The Vikings did lose all-state talent Shawn Chacon to graduation. … Valley and state runner-up Eaton met four times last year, including three times in the state tournament. Reds senior Jake Sandau led the team with a .447 average last spring, driving in 30 runs and scoring 33 more. Eaton also returns two of its top pitchers in senior Travis Cunningham and junior Jared Ure. … La Junta's pitching staff should be one of 3A's best with the return of Jon Nuschy, Dyson Oquist and Ty Addington, who were a combined 15-6. Nuschy pitched 53 innings as a sophomore and went 7-2 with a 2.25 ERA. … A young Colorado Academy (Denver) squad had a breakout year with 20 victories last spring, winning three games at state. Ari Fierer batted .533 as a sophomore with 34 RBI, and staff aces Sam Richards and Chase Allen are back. … Faith Christian (Arvada) graduated staff ace Landon Ford, but Michael Thorne struck out 60 in 46.2 innings pitched as a sophomore, winning five games.
Returning all-state players: Jose Mercado, Sr., Valley (1st team); Dyson Oquist, Sr., La Junta (1st team); Jake Sandau, Sr., Eaton (1st team).

Class 2A
Defending champion: Paonia
Overview: Paonia was the No. 1 seed in 2A, and save for a 1-0 nailbiter over Hotchkiss, the team had its way with opponents at state. The Eagles outscored the four teams 29-2 and didn't allow a run in the final three games. Seriani hit .553 with nine home runs and drove in 40, and was 10-0 on the mound with a 0.75 ERA and 125 strikeouts in 56 innings pitch. Slater Podgorny and Jaden Miller also had strong campaigns as juniors. … Rocky Ford may it to the title game as the 11th seed. Andre Montano was second-team all-state as a freshman, hitting .409. The Meloneers had a number of freshmen play key roles. … Peyton won 21 games, and Rodney Gregg was first-team all-state after hitting .535 as a sophomore. Rupert Shaw batted .484 as a sophomore. … Chandon Dunker was 7-0 with a 1.38 ERA and 76 strikeouts as a junior for Sedgwick County (Julesburg), which won 19 games. … Hotchkiss returns its leading hitter and workhorse starter in Jonathan Gonzalez, who hit .402 as a junior and was 6-3 with a 2.38 ERA.
Returning all-state players: Chandon Dunker, Jr., Sedgwick County (2nd team); Jonathan Gonzalez, Sr., Hotchkiss (2nd team); Rodney Gregg, Jr., Peyton (1st team); Jaden Miller, Sr., Paonia (1st team); Andre Montano, So., Rocky Ford (2nd team); Ricardo Ramirez, Sr., Highland (Ault) (2nd team); Kayden Seriani, Sr., Paonia (1st team).

Class 1A
Defending champion: Nucla
Overview: Nucla knocked off the top three seeds at state, including No. 1 Holly in the title game. But the Mustangs graduated its core, including Player of the Year Trenton Armintrout, though Cord Colson hit .411 as a junior. … Holly lost only two seniors, but they were key contributors. Brandon Wilson hit .633 as a junior. … Fleming must regroup without Jaxon King, but Kolton Dickinson led the team 30 runs scored and 20 stolen bases as a junior. … Kiowa/Simla junior Brody Schneider hit .483 and drove in 30 runs as a sophomore.
Returning all-state players: Brandon Wilson, Sr., Holly (1st team).