No team has the playoff tradition of Eaton, with four straight Class 3A state baseball titles and 13 title-game appearances in the past 15 years.
No team has performed better in the first two rounds of this season’s playoffs than Bishop Machebeuf, with back-to-back shutouts by a combined score of 23-0.
No team has more momentum and confidence than Roosevelt, with three undefeated pitchers and a late-season victory over vaunted Eaton.
And no team has racked up the runs and pulled out the close games like Bayfield, which has scored at least 10 runs in 11 of 23 games and hit 28 home runs.
Welcome to the final weekend of the 3A baseball championship series to be played Friday and Saturday at the Runyon Complex in Pueblo.
The four teams remaining are the top four seeds, and all of them are ready.
“We are not just happy to be there. We feel like we’ve earned our right to be in the top four,” Bayfield coach Ken Hibbard said.
Bayfield (21-2) plays Roosevelt (22-1) in the semifinals at 12:30 p.m. Friday. Eaton (22-1) and Machebuef (21-2) follow at approximately 3 p.m., and the title game will be at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The four teams have a total of six losses, with Roosevelt and Eaton dropping a game to each other.
Recent history shows Eaton is the team to beat.
Last season was supposed to be the year the Reds could be caught, but they weren’t. Under coach Jim Danley, Eaton’s playoff record is 44-5 since 1993 with seven state championships. The team has won 13 straight regional tournaments.
When asked if that type of mystique plays into a high school player’s head the week before facing the giant, Bishop Machebeuf coach John Gechter sounded as if he couldn’t believe the question.
“No,” said Gechter, who has nine seniors on the team. “We are playing good ball right now. We have to play a good baseball game and do what we’ve been doing all year. It’s as simple as that. Everyone has their minds and their hearts in the right place.”
Shane Dyer and Josh Noblitt are a solid 1-2 punch on the mound for Eaton, as are Jordan Johnson and Greg Schaer for Machebeuf.
Roosevelt is coming off an impressive 5-4 victory over Denver Christian in the quarterfinal round. Facing one of the top hitting teams in the state, the Roughriders rallied with two big doubles in the sixth inning.
“We have really been able to execute in the late innings,” Roosevelt coach Alan Gibson said.
Sean Lydon (9-0) is the team’s ace, and he pitched a one-hit shutout against Manitou Springs in the first round. Cody Schlagel (8-0) and Ty Cardona (5-0) also are undefeated.
Still, Bayfield presents a unique challenge.
“No team in the state wins 20 games by accident,” Gibson said.
The Wolverines are led by Cody Moore, a 9-0 lefty with a .573 batting average. He finished third at 160 pounds in the 3A state wrestling tournament and played quarterback on the football team.
Bayfield was helped through the first round when University allowed runs on a passed ball and hit batsman in the bottom of the ninth inning. But the team’s hitting has been solid and consistent throughout the order, and the school’s location in the southwest corner of the state provides a layer of mystery.
“Nobody knows us down here,” Hibbard said. “We may not play the Front Range teams, but we think we have a pretty good team, too.”
