The silence surrounding the Class 4A field is sometimes deafening, while the echoes are kind of annoying.
Ask a coach who is the favorite in their league or statewide and you’re bound to get a silent shrug. If you’re lucky, you might get asked the same question.
One suddenly realizes why the cliché “it’s a wide-open race” has stuck around so long.
“It would be nice to just wait three weeks to come out with your rankings,” Mountain View coach Greg Brock said, perhaps unaware of the exact science used to determine preseason rankings. “It will be an interesting year. I think you will see some different names up there.”
Brock’s Loveland-based Mountain Lions are one of those names. Although no stranger to playing quality baseball, Mountain View is one of several teams off the backburner now that two-time defending champion Niwot is reloading.
State finalists in 2004, the third-ranked Mountain Lions should be toward the front of the talented 16-team Northern League that includes No. 2 Broomfield, No. 4 Niwot, No. 7 Greeley West and sure-fire contenders Northridge, Longmont and Silver Creek and a dark horse in Fossil Ridge.
The Mountain Lions return seven starters and will start eight seniors, including pitcher Danny Brock, center fielder Chris Stine, pitcher Taylor Hall and catcher Jake Walkowicz.
With only four starters returning from last season’s near-perfect squad, Niwot might take some early shots before climbing back among the state’s elite. Adding to the transition woes is the half-season suspensions of two seniors.
Senior Mike Harpe should be a cornerstone at shortstop and on the mound for a Cougars bullpen that has “five or six kids throwing in the low 80s.”
“I’m just hoping by the end of the year we could be really tough,” veteran Niwot coach Bob Bote said. “I definitely have to coach this year.”
Broomfield junior Chris Grandinetti has one of the best gloves in 4A and is one of eight returning starters for an Eagles squad that has an ace in senior pitcher Andy Herrman.
Greeley West will try to make another run behind veteran coach Richard Ziegler. The Spartans bring back all nine starters and should be solid, offensively and defensively. Pitching is a question mark.
Ralston Valley gets the early No. 1 nod despite returning just four seniors from last year’s squad. TheMustangs return their infield and have a solid pitching staff with sophomore phenom Matt Skipper and seniors Casey Schmidt and Jake Wood.
Evergreen – behind all-state senior Tim Wulf – Golden and D’Evelyn should push Ralston Valley in the Jefferson County League.
One of the most talked about pitchers in 4A is Cherokee Trail senior Bradshaw Perry, who was 5-2 last season with 69 strikeouts. The No. 5 Cougars, 15-4 last season, return all nine starters.
Cheyenne Mountain heads up the Colorado Springs Metro League. The Indians have good pitching in Rex Ingham and one of the state’s better hitters in Matt Presley.
Two dark horses worth mentioning are Liberty and Pine Creek. The Lancers return five starters but have a four-deep pitching rotation loaded with juniors. Pine Creek is still retooling but has standout lefty Ryan Prentiss.
“I’m looking for him to be one of the top kids in the state,” Eagles coach Tim Hafey said.
Pueblo South remains the team to beat in the South Central League, although Pueblo Central, Pueblo County and Cãnon City will push the Colts.
“You got to show up to play every day because any of these teams can beat South or us on a given day,” Pueblo Central coach Zach Odell said. “You don’t get a game off.”
Rifle returns four seniors, including Eli Snead and Bryce Enewold, and should be in a dogfight with Moffat County, Delta and Palisade for the Western Slope title.
Montrose brings back five seniors and two juniors and should be an improved squad out of the Southwestern League, which is a mixture of 4A and 5A squads. The Indians “have a chance to be fairly good” says coach Bill Womack. Fourteen home games this season certainly won’t hurt.
4A
TOP 10
1. Ralston Valley
2. Broomfield
3. Mountain View
4. Niwot
5. Cherokee Trail
6. Pueblo South
7. Greeley West
8. Cheyenne Mtn.
9. Evergreen
10. Golden
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Devin Black, Evergreen, Sr., OF
Danny Brock, Mountain View, Sr., P-1B
Seth Budde, Greeley West, Sr., C
Seth Bunting, Greeley West, Sr., P-CF
Brian Chritz, Ralston Valley, Jr., SS
Kevin Cover, Pueblo South, Sr., P-OF
Justin Crandell, Cherokee Trail, Jr., C
Austin Davis, Fossil Ridge, Sr., P-3B
Mark Deering, Elizabeth, Sr., P
Kyle Dennis, Silver Creek, Jr., INF
Steve DiIorio, Pueblo South, Sr., SS
Bryce Enewold, Rifle, Sr., C
Joe Esker, Liberty, Jr., P-3B
Travis Ewing, Falcon, So., P
Clay Garcia, Alamosa, Jr., P
Travis Godec, Pueblo Central, Jr., C
Josh Goetz, D’Evelyn, Sr., 1B
Chris Grandinetti, Broomfield, Jr., INF
Jay Gromelski, Woodland Park, Jr., SS
Mike Harpe, Niwot, Sr., SS-P
Andy Herrman, Broomfield, Sr., P
Andy Hesse, Greeley Central, Sr., U
Landon Hornbeck, Montrose, Sr., 2B-P
Rayne Hulce, Ftn.-Fort Carson, Sr., C-P
Rex Ingham, Cheyenne Mountain, Sr., P
Tom Kasten, D’Evelyn, Sr., CF
Jon Lewis, Longmont, Jr., OF
Adam Lozano, Ftn.-Fort Carson, Jr., CF
C. Maldonado, Cañon City, Jr., P-1B
Tyler McBride, Broomfield, Sr., OF
D.B. Moenning, Evergreen, Sr., OF
Cameron Montee, Pueblo Central, Sr., SS
Bradshaw Perry, Cherokee Tr., Jr., P-SS
Anthony Pineda, Longmont, Sr., SS-P
Ryan Prentiss, Pine Creek, Sr., P
Matt Presley, Cheyenne Mtn., Sr., 3B-P
Kevin Sanchez, Alameda, Jr., P-INF
Mike Sanchez, Pueblo East, Sr., SS
Nick Saraceni, Niwot, Jr., CF
Casey Schmidt, Ralston Valley, Sr., P
Matt Skipper, R. Valley, So., P-1B
Eli Snead, Rifle, Sr., P-SS
Justin Snyder, Pueblo South, Sr., 2B
Tony Weber, Elizabeth, Sr., P
Bryan Wojtkiewicz, Moffat Co., Sr., U
Tim Wulf, Evergreen, Sr., INF
