CLASS 2A BASEBALL MIDWEEK REPORT – APRIL 23RD-25TH
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
With the 2A regular season in its final month, every game seems to carry extra importance. The first half of the week is loaded with huge match-ups, including some cross-classification clashes between top-five teams. All rankings come from Tuesday morning’s release of the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index.
TUESDAY
Fifth-ranked Peyton is looking to win consecutive games for the first time in two and a half weeks, when the Panthers host #7 Burlington. Peyton has alternated wins and losses since a doubleheader with St. Mary’s back on April 6th. The Panthers got 5.2 solid innings from Noah Martin in last Friday’s 9-2 win over #24 Dolores Huerta Prep. The junior allowed two earned runs on two hits and four walks, while striking out nine. Burlington is on a season-high five-game winning streak, with pitching leading the way. Last week, freshman Lenny Ramirez no-hit Calhan in a 16-0 win and junior Zack Foose followed with a one-hitter two days later against McClave. The Cougars won that cross-classification match-up 13-0.
Yuma (#8) steps up to challenge 3A #7 Sterling on the road, with the Outlaws looking to get back on track. They’ve lost two of their last three, getting shutout in both losses. Yuma had won five straight before this rough patch. Sterling has won two in a row since suffering consecutive shutout losses to University and Eaton.
Tenth-ranked Buena Vista puts a five-game winning streak on the line in a non-conference game with #25 Rye. The Demons own wins over #19 Meeker, #5 Peyton, and two over 3A Centauri during the run. They swept the Falcons 14-3 and 17-5 last Tuesday. Kaden Schell had 8 RBI in the sweep, five in the nightcap. Rye is trending the opposite direction after falling to Peyton and Limon last week. The Thunderbolts were swept by the Badgers 10-0 and 12-2 last Friday. They committed nine errors in the opener of that set.
Lyons (#11) got a 10-0 shutout of Byers on Monday to get back in the win column following a forfeit loss to Jefferson Academy last Friday. Zack LaCrosse allowed one hit and one walk in five innings, with 13 punch outs. They’ll try to make it two in a row when they visit #30 SkyView Academy in a Mile High contest. The Hawks have won their last two, including a 9-1 victory over Clear Creek last Thursday. Lukas Gregory drove in four runs to help Andrew Gildehaus earn the win.
Ignacio picked a good time to get hot, as the #16 Bobcats have won eight straight. They’ve climbed more than 20 spots in the Seeding Index during their run. They host 1A #24 Nucla for two, and they already own a win over the Mustangs after beating them 6-1 just two weeks ago. That is the only game in the winning streak in which the Bobcats failed to score double digits.
It’s a climb of not one classification, but two, when Meeker visits 4A #39 Glenwood Springs for a doubleheader. The Cowboys have rolled six consecutive wins since suffering the loss to Buena Vista almost three weeks ago. Two of those victories have come by one run apiece. Glenwood Springs has won its last three, taking a 5-4 decision over Montrose last Saturday. Both Meeker and the Demons have sweeps of Steamboat Springs in their winning streak. The Cowboys won 9-2 and 3-2 two weeks ago, while Glenwood won 14-5 and 17-2 last Thursday.
WEDNESDAY
Two big doubleheaders take place in the Northeastern corner on Wednesday, with #3 Holyoke visiting 1A #5 Merino and #27 Sedgwick County traveling to 1A #16 Peetz. 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 (1A #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. Akron took a six-game winning streak into Tuesday’s DH with 1A #3 Haxtun, with the lone loss on the season coming to Holyoke, 5-4 in walk-off fashion. The Rams may have the pitching to match-up with Limon, as their staff ERA is just 1.63. They’ve allowed 43 runs on the season, only 19 earned.
Less than a week after beating the Scorpions 9-2 on the road, Peyton will host Dolores Huerta Prep on Thursday. The Scorpions broke their two-game slide on Monday, beating #26 CSCS 16-11. After seeing the Lions tie the game at 11-all with four runs in the top of the sixth, Dolores Huerta Prep plated five runs in its half of the frame to secure the victory. CJ Mercado had four RBI in the victory.
MileHigh Prep Report 