Aurora – Most teams in their second varsity year at a new school would be content with winning their first playoff game and maybe one or two more.
Not Cherokee Trail.
The Cougars, with just four seniors, have cracked the Class 4A rankings, and after Wednesday’s 10-0 victory over Ranum are the top 4A team in the Skyline League standings with a 5-1 record, trailing 5A Brighton (5-0) overall. Ranum fell to 3-2 in the league, 6-7 overall.
But the eighth-ranked Cougars (10-2 overall) have set their sights higher.
“Our goal is to take it all,” junior leadoff hitter Steph Thurston said after going 4-for-4 and driving in the game’s first run in the fifth inning. “We want to be the first team in the school (to win a state championship).”
Buoyed by its potent hitting attack and a strong pitching corps, Cherokee Trail is contending. Although it took them until the fifth to solve Ranum starter Jennifer Maple, the Cougars’ bats erupted thereafter until the game was stopped with two outs in the sixth by the 10-run rule.
The Cougars, who had reached double-figure scoring in seven of their first 11 games, scored two unearned runs in the fifth, then pummeled Maple for eight runs and eight hits in the sixth. Cherokee Trail collected all of its runs and 10 of its 15 hits in the final 1 2/3 innings.
Cherokee Trail pitcher Heather Hansen, a senior right-hander, improved to 4-0 with a two-hit shutout that included five strikeouts.
Ranum 000 000 – 0 2 3
Cherokee Trail 000 028 – 10 15 1
Ranum – B. Garcia rf 3-0-0-0, Bernal lf 1-0-1-0, Banuelos c 2-0-0-0, Rocha 3b 2-0-0-0, Maple p 2-0-0-0, Olivas ss 2-0-0-0, Ross 1b 2-0-0-0, C. Garcia cf 2-0-1-0, Doyle dh 2-0-0-0, Padilla 2b 0-0-0-0. Totals 18-0-2-0.
Cherokee Trail – Thurston 3b 4-1-4-1, Norte 1b 2-1-1-0, Hansen p 3-2-0-0, Bails c 3-1-3-2, Chavez ss 4-1-1-2, Cuellar 2b 4-2-2-0, Blanton lf 4-1-3-1, Archuleta rf 3-0-0-0, Brown cf 2-1-1-0, Dougal ph 1-0-0-0. Totals 30-10-15-6.
E – B. Garcia, Bernal, Olivas, Cuellar. LOB – Ranum 2, Cherokee Trail 7. DP – Ranum. 2B – Blanton. 3B – Bails. S – Bernal, Norte. SB – Cuellar, Blanton.
Batteries – Maple and Banuelos; Hansen and Bails. W – Hansen (4-0). L – Maple. WP – Maple 3. PB – Banuelos.
