CLASS 1A BASEBALL REPORT
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
The regular season in Class 1A wraps up next week, with district tournaments finishing up next weekend. The final week of the schedule is littered with important match-ups. Some of those will impact tournament seeding, others will see teams fighting to position themselves for the final few regional spots. All rankings come from the Tuesday morning release of the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index.
With the postseason qualification process requiring a district to have at least five teams to send its top two tournament placers automatically into the regional bracket, only three districts meet that criteria. Districts two, four, and five will automatically put two teams into the bracket, but the other two districts fall short. District one only has four teams, and District three has three. Therefore, only the district champion earns a spot in the bracket. That means that instead of six at large spots that will be filled by the Selection and Seeding Index, there will be eight spots available.
A team like #17 Holly gave its chances of earning one of those spots a boost on Monday, with the Wildcats grabbing an 8-7 win at #11 Wiley. They stole 10 bases in the game, three apiece by Drayden Williams and Jessie Pizarro, and scored three runs in the top of the seventh to pull of the upset. The Wildcats are still just outside of the top-16, and close with an important doubleheader at #18 Baca County on Friday. If either team sweeps that DH, it might be enough to move right on the cut line heading into districts.
Other key games on Monday saw #6 Otis upend #9 Stratton by a 10-2 count, with Gavin Price hitting his fifth home run of the season. He has hit four in his last five games. Peetz (#13) picked up a key victory in District 5 with a 10-0 win over #14 Caliche, as Conner Schumacher homered and tripled for the Bulldogs. Kiowa (#15) fell to 2A #14 Peyton, 13-3, and #19 Dove Creek was outscored 16-6 by 2A #30 Dolores.
A number of top teams are in action on Tuesday, several with match-ups against highly-ranked 2A squads. That includes #1 Flatirons Academy, who hosts 2A #11 Estes Park, and #2 Haxtun, who goes to 2A #5 Wray. Seventh-ranked Eads hosts 2A #15 Crowley County, #16 Rocky Mountain Lutheran hosts 2A #4 Dayspring Christian, and #20 Nucla plays a doubleheader against 2A #16 Ignacio.
Inside the classification, #4 McClave travels to #23 Granada for a doubleheader, while there is a showdown in District 2, where #10 Simla hosts #8 Evangel Christian Academy. The two teams are tied atop the district standings.
Highlighting the Thursday slate is a trio of games, including #2 Haxtun at home against 2A #16 Wiggins. Third-ranked Akron goes to 2A #6 Limon, and #10 Simla hosts #6 Otis. Games involving bubble teams have #14 Caliche at 2A #5 Wray, and #16 Rocky Mountain Lutheran heads to Front Range Baptist.
Along with the doubleheader between Holly and Baca County, Friday’s docket has some other highly-anticipated contests. Leading off is a District 4 clash between #4 McClave and #7 Eads. They are tied atop the district standings, and will play two in McClave. Akron will host 2A #25 Highland, and #19 Dove Creek and #20 Nucla will face off as part of a round robin with 2A Center.
Saturday is packed, with top-ranked Flatirons Academy hosting #6 Otis, #2 Haxtun hosting 3A #17 Brush, and #5 Merino hosting 2A #6 Limon. Peetz (#14) hosts #12 Prairie for two, #10 Simla has two at home against 2A Calhan, and #8 ECA will host 2A #24 Byers.
There are only three games showing on the Monday schedule, but all three could be big ones. Flatirons Academy travels to 2A #17 SkyView Academy, Akron hosts 2A #27 Burlington, and Rocky Mountain Lutheran hosts #29 Sierra Grande.
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