Have the players in the Class 5A baseball championship series shown how this is the greatest game that ever was, or what?
Down to three, possibly four, games Friday and Saturday at All-City Field, Colorado’s big boys in double elimination have proved entertaining nearing the wire. Of the 11 games, five were decided by one run, two by two runs, three by three runs and one by four runs.
In last Friday’s opening rounds, five runs would have won five of the six games. There was timely hitting, crack fielding and steady pitching.
A day later, we had wild slugfests, games in which there were runners left on base after every half inning, gobs of longballs and errors, near constant lead changes and more comebacks than from an aging boxer.
Obviously, teams had to dig into their pitching staffs, some of which were less than the depth of a shovel head, and it carried over into fielding woes, too many pitches and crucial mental errors.
Still, the drama superceded the negative.
Here’s what we have remaining: no outright league champion from the regular season; everything from a perennial power to a former power to a one-time winner to another seeking its first pennant; a player base light on big-time prospects; and a fab four of significant stories.
Cherry Creek being here is nothing new. The Bruins are in search of their eighth state title since 1983, sixth since 1995.
This particular batch of players for longtime coach Marc Johnson has ridden interesting ups and downs. Just when it seems Cherry Creek has gotten it together, something happens. The Bruins dropped their opener to Arvada West; won 10 games in a row; didn’t hit and committed 11 errors in their two Centennial League losses; looked good down the stretch of the regular season, districts and first two rounds of the championship series; then made six errors and had poor execution at the plate (12 runners were stranded) and on the mound.
And don’t be surprised Cherry Creek had the bases loaded and the winning run at first base in the bottom of the seventh before falling 9-7 to Grand Junction.
No matter. Top starters Adam Morrison and Nick Bryant are rested. The bulk of the order has been swinging it well with Danny Sheridan, Tyler Robbins (.488), Brett Sowers (10 home runs, 43 runs batted in) and Bryant (.469). Count Darin McDonald, Todd Weir and Willie Watters as contributors.
Cherry Creek will face Regis, which won its only title in 1988, for the right to play Saturday. The Raiders, in the words of coach Tyler Munro, “kind of snuck through.”
And he offered no apologies.
Like the other three still alive and 61 others in the classification, Regis entered 2005 knowing there was no dominant team, and the Raiders have played like it. They finished second in the Continental League, were a strike away from being eliminated in districts, fell 4-3 to Grand Junction last weekend, then dispatched of Jefferson County powers Pomona and Arvada West.
“I’m surprised every game. I’ve been amazed by this group of kids,” Munro said. Lately, though, he added: “It’s kind of funny. For the first time I’m not amazed. We belong here.”
Admittedly not overly convinced that’s a good sign, Munro gladly will roll with this bunch.
The Raiders, who began the season 1-3, rock with Blake Davis and Andrew Scheid on the hill. At the plate, it’s no secret Regis plays in a hitter’s league. Jeff Arbayo, Chad Lomas and Tito Martinez – he has hit safely in 12 of his past 13 games and had nine RBIs against Rangeview – regularly lead the onslaught.
Meanwhile, Grand Junction has a spot assured in Saturday’s title game even if it loses Friday to Green Mountain. And it should. It’s unanimous – the Tigers are being called the most impressive and complete 5A club. As the only team undefeated in double-elimination rounds, the Tigers have a loss to burn, and it’s nice, but doesn’t dominate their thoughts. Quite easily, one disappointing game can be followed by another.
“We just have to win, it’s that simple,” Grand Junction coach Kyle Rush said.
No big-school player of the year conversation can exclude the Tigers’ Dane Hamilton, eye-catching at shortstop, the plate and mound. Hamilton, bound for New Mexico, is batting .457 with 38 hits and is 9-0 pitching. Fellow four-year starter Tyler Anderegg, who has 25 RBIs and a 9-2 pitching record, is the other main pillar.
Grand Junction’s 15-player roster, small by big-school standards, also has the interchangeable Ryan Bernal, Darin Coleman, Justin Murray and Mark Novotny. Ben Sawyer is 3-0 on the mound and had three hits and three RBIs last week against Cherry Creek.
Grand Junction, state champion in 1976, has won 13 games in succession … and counting.
“They want their weekend to come,” Rush said of his itchy players.
So do the Green Mountain Rams, in search of their first baseball pennant and personably responsible for eliminating the top three seeds – 1. Rocky Mountain, 2. Bear Creek and 3. Smoky Hill – of the 2005 big-school postseason.
Ram tough in nearly every sense, Green Mountain’s odyssey toward its first title has taken the team through a wide range of highs, lows, comeback victories, rallies, razor-sharp close victories, big pitches and a refusal to be fazed against any foe.
“I think they appreciate it,” coach Brad Kidwell said.
Like most coaches who must be part preacher, Kidwell has fulfilled his duties: “You always say stuff, but until the kid actually experiences it …”
Color Green Mountain as a veteran in the area of playoff thriller. Each of its three games in the championship series has had multiple lead changes and been decided by one run.
Basically, after Jared Osif, the Rams do it by committee on the bump. It doesn’t matter if no Ram throws fastballs with vapor trails or has unbelievable movement and location; the only concern is to record outs at appropriate times, and it’s working.
At the plate, freshman Ryan Barban has made it clear he will be a royal pain for the opposition through 2008. He reaches base to set up a lineup with possibilities.
Chris Juarez and Mark Wood precede Thomas Myers, who furthered his RBI- machine status last weekend with 11 and has a 5A-leading 48 on the season. Fill in the rest of the blanks – Matt Raabe, Cory Miller, Josh Schaefer, Jordan Robinson and most other Rams have some pop in their bats.
Staff writer Neil H. Devlin can be reached at 303-820-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com.
