CLASS 2A BASEBALL REPORT – WEEKEND
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
Class 2A is heating up with more top match-ups on tap. As 1A wraps up its regular season in the coming days, more of these top games will be 2A vs 2A, with some contests against 3A squads. All rankings in this weekend’s preview come from the early Friday afternoon release of the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index.
FRIDAY
#10 HIGHLAND VS 1A #2 AKRON
Highland ran its winning streak to six with a sweep of #24 Wray last Saturday, winning 9-6 and 11-1. DJ Rogers homered and drove in four in the game one victory, and Stetson Hendren went deep with three RBI in the nightcap.
Akron used a seven-run bottom of the fourth to propel past #8 Limon 11-4 on Thursday night. Caleb Poss, Jax Kusel, and Merek Charney all had two RBI in support of Anderson Filla, who gave up three unearned runs in five innings to collect the win.
SATURDAY
#1 FORGE CHRISTIAN VS 3A #5 EATON
The Fury completed the home-and-home sweep of Jefferson Academy, taking an 8-1 win on Thursday. Easton Wilde and Will Taylor had two RBI apiece for Forge Christian. Wilde combined with Sullivan Strange and Ben McLean on a four-hitter. Strange earned the win.
Eaton suffered a heartbreaking 6-5 loss to #12 Platte Valley on Thursday. The Reds gave up two in the top of the seventh to go down 6-2, only to rally back within one before the comeback ran out of legs. Cooper Nider and Shane Welle had two RBI apiece for the Reds.
#3 FOWLER VS #28 ROCKY FORD (DH)
It’s the first action for Fowler since running its winning streak to eight with a pair of 17-0 wins over Hoehne last Thursday. Joe Salvo struck out nine in a four-inning no-hitter to win game one. He got plenty of run support from Hagen McCuiston, who drove in three. Weston Johnson punched out 10 in four innings of one-hit ball in game two. Bryce Froman and Isaiah Montoya had three RBI apiece in that victory.
Rocky Ford had its losing streak reach three with a 13-3 defeat by #16 Crowley County on Tuesday. The Meloneers gave up 10 runs over the final three innings, as the Chargers pulled away from a 3-all tie. The big blow came in a seven-run fifth.
#4 PEYTON AT #22 BURLINGTON (DH)
Peyton bounced back from allowing five runs in the bottom of the sixth to 1A #15 La Veta to score five in the top of the seventh and collect a 12-7 win on Wednesday. It was the eighth in a row for the Panthers. Colton Cobb went 4-4 with two doubles four RBI, and three runs, while Noah Martin was 3-4 with two doubles, three RBI, and two runs scored.
Daxton Skarpohl threw a complete game three-hit shutout for Burlington on Thursday as the Cougars beat 1A Stratton 8-0. Scout Humrich delivered a three-run triple to blow the game open, and Rowdy Humrich scored two runs in the contest.
#7 LAS ANIMAS VS #16 CROWLEY COUNTY
The Trojans are coming off a 20-0 perfect game victory over Florence on Tuesday, with Damien Baca striking out eight over three innings. Jesus Lopez went 4-4 with five RBI, and Braydon Ortiz helped the team steal 20 bases, as he collected four.
Seth Schulz and Jack King both drove in three runs in the 13-3 win by Crowley County over Rocky Ford. Landon Smith allowed three earned over six innings with eight strikeouts to earn the victory.
#8 LIMON VS 1A #3 MERINO
Aiden Kollath, Brooks Scherrer, Logan Haflich, and Liam Yoder all drove in a run in Limon’s 11-4 loss at Akron on Thursday. Haflich, Yoder, and Quinten Blatnick each had a double.
Merino broke out the big bats on Thursday, beating Sedgwick County 17-2. The Rams did all of their damage in the third (eight runs) and fourth (nine runs) innings. They held the Cougars to just two hits in the contest.
#9 DENVER CHRISTIAN VS 3A #11 PROSPECT RIDGE ACADEMY
The Thunder dropped both ends of a home-and-home series with 3A #9 Peak to Peak, falling 6-4 on Thursday. Denver Christian held a 3-2 lead, but gave up four in the fifth. James Lord had two hits and two RBI, while Nate Bovasso went 3-4 with an RBI.
Prospect Ridge Academy had the opposite outcome in its home-and-home with The Academy, winning 13-0 on Tuesday and 4-1 on Wednesday. Liam Schilling got the complete game two-hit shutout on Tuesday, recording eight punch outs. Austin Huffman allowed one unearned run in five innings on Wednesday. Avery Stark worked two scoreless frames for the save.
MileHigh Prep Report 