CLASS 1A BASEBALL WEEKEND REPORT
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
With the season at its midpoint, we’ll start breaking down each week into two reports… Tuesday through Thursday, and Friday through Monday. For Class 1A, this weekend has some very important match-ups, with Saturday’s schedule looking especially loaded. All of the rankings are from Friday morning’s release of the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index.
FRIDAY
The top team in the Index is Akron and the Rams will host #13 Caliche in a doubleheader. Akron is
second in District 5, a game behind #3 Merino, while the Buffs are sixth. The Rams have won two in a row since dropping the opening game of a twin bill against Holyoke two weeks ago. Thursday, they took a 15-0 win at 2A #23 Wiggins, with Brandon Hellyer, Ryan McCaffrey, and Anderson Filla each driving in three runs. Tucker Stahn gave up one hit and struck out seven in four innings to get the win. Caliche broke a four-game slide on Monday, beating Briggsdale 18-8. Orian Adolf collected three hits, including a double, and 4 RBI. On the bump, he punched out 10 in four innings.
McClave (#6), Eads (#7), Holly (#8), and Stratton (#9) are in a tight race at the top of District 4, and three of the four are in action on Friday. McClave is the lone squad in the group to have the day off, following a 10-0 loss against 2A #9 Fowler on Thursday. It was the first loss of the season for the Cardinals.
Eads takes a five-game winning streak into its road game at Granada. The Eagles have scored 73 runs during that streak, including 19 and 17 in a sweep of Baca County on Tuesday. Porter Spady has been huge for them this season, stealing 17 bases and scoring 15 runs so far. Case Nelson is sporting a 0.70
ERA to lead the staff. Granada has been outscored 29-1 in its last two games.
Holly puts a three-game winning streak on the line when it hosts Cheyenne Wells. The Wildcats blanked #15 Wiley 10-0 on Tuesday, as Truman King slugged two home runs and drove in four. Along with Dylan Tamayo and Andre Salgado, he helped hold the Panthers to just three hits. Cheyenne Wells snapped a four-game slide with a 16-6 win over La Veta. Carson Noe went 3-4 with two doubles, 3 RBI and 4 runs.
Stratton has a mighty challenge, stepping up to play 2A #1 Limon on the road in a Union Pacific league
game. The Eagles have not beaten Limon since 2014, dropping the last eight match-ups. They’re hoping to carry momentum over from Tuesday’s 22-0 win at Manzanola. The Badgers picked up their second straight shutout on Thursday, blanking 2A #2 Yuma 11-0. They beat CSCS 17-0 on Tuesday. Their pitchers gave up a total of four hits in those two road wins.
SATURDAY
Dove Creek (#17) hosts 2A #33 Rangely in a doubleheader, trying to remain unbeaten against in-state opponents. The Bulldogs have lost twice to Shiprock (NM) and they fell to Monticello (UT) 14-4 on Tuesday. That loss broke a four-game winning streak in which Dove Creek had outscored the opposition 54-12. Taber DeJane has reached base 21 times in 30 plate appearances, with 10 hits, 10 walks, and a hit by pitch. Rangely trailed North Fork 12-4 entering the bottom of the sixth on Tuesday and put together a rally, but could only cut the deficit in half, eventually losing 12-8. Landon Bollinger and Marcos Quintana
each recorded 2 RBI.
Merino hosts #5 Haxtun in a top-five doubleheader with both teams coming in off wins. After suffering a 7-6 walk-off defeat to Otis in the ninth inning on Tuesday, Merino blasted Peetz 16-2 on Thursday. Tyler Miller and Josiah Mackintosh both had 3 RBI, and Coen Schmidt got the win after striking out six in three innings of two-hit ball. Haxtun downed Otis 11-1 on the road, scoring nine runs in the final two innings. Colin Cone drilled his first career homer in the victory.
Fourth-ranked Flatirons Academy visits 2A #18 Front Range Christian, looking to bounce back from a 15-4 loss to 2A #7 Holyoke on Thursday. That broke a five-game winning streak for the Bison. Most of the damage came late, as Holyoke scored a total of 12 runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Flatirons Academy committed four errors, walked 13, hit five, and threw four wild pitches. Aidan Lambrecht was a bright spot, driving in two runs. Front Range Christian is also looking to get back on track after falling 10-2 to Dayspring Christian on Tuesday. Haedan Morton and Nate McInturff drove in the runs for the Falcons.
One of the tri-leaders in District 5 will fall from the top of the standings, as McClave visits Stratton.
McClave won the regular season meeting last year, 13-11, but the Eagles got their revenge in the district
tournament, 11-3.
MONDAY
The biggest games on Monday have Otis hosting #23 Prairie in a District 4 doubleheader. The Bulldogs
have ridden the emotional rollercoaster this week, between the walk-off win over Merino and the late loss to Haxtun. Erick Thorn drove in three in the win over Merino, and Mitchell Stivers delivered the game-winning RBI. Prairie got off to a 3-0 start on the season, but has since dropped four of its last five. The Mustangs were swept by Peetz on Tuesday, 20-19 and 3-1. Wyatt Chase is hitting .733 on the season and has an on base percentage of .846, reaching base 22 times in 26 PA
MileHigh Prep Report 