CLASS 1A BASEBALL MIDWEEK REPORT – APRIL 23RD-25TH
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
The final week of regular season play in Class 1A is here and several teams still have a lot to play for. Most of the districts have the seeding for their tournaments all but settled. Four of the five districts meet the requirement for having their top two finishers from their tournaments automatically qualify for regionals, meaning seven at large spots are up for grabs instead of six. All rankings come from the Tuesday morning release of the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index.
TUESDAY
Jumping off the page right away is a clash in District 5 between #1 Akron and #3 Haxtun. Akron has won six in a row and the lone loss for the Rams this season came to 2A #3 Holyoke, 5-4, in a walk-off back in late March. Akron’s pitching has been the key this season, with its staff having a combined 1.63 ERA. They have better than a 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio as a group. Haxtun rolls into the match-up having won five straight. The Fightin’ Bulldogs have swiped 65 bases as a team, 16 by Ryland Wolff.
Evangel Christian (#11) visits #9 Simla with the top seed in District 2 on the line. The Eagles have won their last three, including a 7-3 victory over 3A Woodland Park last Thursday. They have been able to win low scoring games (3-2 over Elbert) and slugfests (28-7 over Calhan) in the last three weeks. Simla rides a six-game winning streak into the contest, with the Cubs having allowed a total of four runs in the stretch. Three came in one game, and only one of those was earned.
Stratton (#6) has already sewn up the top seed in District 4, so the Eagles’ contest at #19 Cheyenne Wells probably means more to the host Tigers. Barring a run to the title game in next week’s tournament, the Tigers are looking at needing an at large berth to get into the regional field. A win over Stratton, who has won three straight, would definitely improve their chances. The Tigers have won three of their last four.
The Seeding Index doesn’t look too good for #22 Dove Creek and #24 Nucla. Both need to reach the title game in District 1 to guarantee a spot in regionals. One will have to go through #8 Sierra Grande to make that happen. Dove Creek visits 3A #20 Montezuma-Cortez, with the Bulldogs having dropped their last six games, including an 8-7 loss to Nucla last Saturday. Montezuma-Cortez had a three-game winning streak snapped that same day in a 6-5 defeat by Alamosa.
Nucla has the challenge of visiting 2A #16 Ignacio, who is suddenly red-hot. The Bobcats have won eight straight and have climbed more than 20 spots in the 2A Seeding Index in the process. They’ve scored double digits in all but one game during their hot streak, and that was against Nucla. The Mustangs were the first to fall to Ignacio in its current run, dropping a 6-1 decision three weeks ago.
WEDNESDAY
All of the action on Wednesday takes place in the Northeastern corner of the state, with #5 Merino hosting 2A Holyoke and #16 Peetz welcoming 2A #27 Sedgwick County to town. Merino has had to wait a full week since being swept by Akron last Wednesday, putting the Rams on a three-game slide. The Dragons, conversely, have won three straight, scoring 43 runs in the streak.
After dropping its first four games of the season and five of six, Peetz has righted the ship by winning four straight and six of its last seven. The Bulldogs ripped Weldon Valley on Monday, winning game one 37-6 and following that with a 26-4 decision in the night cap. The doubleheader took more than five hours. Sedgwick County has lost its last five, only one of which was by fewer than seven runs. The Cougars need to string together victories down the stretch to make the postseason field in 2A.
THURSDAY
Flatirons Academy (#4) steps up a classification to host 2A #4 Denver Christian in one of the more anticipated match-ups of the season. The Bison have won four straight since suffering a loss to Holyoke almost two weeks ago. Most recently, they downed #2 Otis 11-2 on Monday, with Rex Beck driving in four runs. Denver Christian took a six-game winning streak into Tuesday’s contest at Denver Academy. The Thunder had allowed five runs in those six games, with three shutouts. Only one of their four losses is to a Colorado opponent (Limon).
Speaking of Limon, the top team in 2A hosts the top team in 1A, with Akron making the trip south. The Badgers have allowed a total of 24 runs in 16 games, and one quarter of those came in the 8-6 win over Denver Christian. Only nine of the runs have been earned, putting the team ERA at 0.66, with nobody even close to 2.00. Cale Bennett’s 1.62 would lead most teams in 1A or 2A.
Caliche (#14) helped its postseason chances by winning three straight before an 18-6 loss to Holyoke on Monday. The Buffs have a great shot at bolstering their hopes when they host Haxtun in a doubleheader on Thursday. Those are the final regular season games for Caliche.
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