Louisville – Batting is rarely a concern for Monarch.
The Coyotes put up 23 runs against Hinkley in the first game of the Class 5A District 5 baseball playoffs Saturday.
But when it really counted, when it meant getting another win and advancing to the double-elimination tournament, Monarch was all about pitching and defense.
Coyotes senior pitcher Joe Sawicki threw a four-hit, complete-game victory, left fielder Mike Goldstein gunned down the tying run at home plate, and shortstop Wade Landowski made three flawless put-outs in the bottom of the seventh to secure a 2-1 victory over Arvada West in the final game of the District 5 tournament at Monarch.
“If I hit my spots, we are going to win. If I don’t, it might be rough for us,” Sawicki said.
It is safe to say Sawicki hit his spots. He gave up the only run in the top of the first when Arvada West’s Lincoln Harmer drove in Trevor Zott with a single. He scattered just three hits the rest of the way.
Monarch (18-3), which beat Hinkley 23-1 in their first game Saturday, has won 10 straight games. The Coyotes will move on to the eight-team tournament next weekend. Arvada West, which overcame a three-run deficit by scoring seven runs in the seventh inning to beat Lewis-Palmer on Saturday, ended its season with a 12-8-1 record.
Monarch’s powerful offense, which scored 226 runs in 16 regular-season wins, was held in check by Arvada West’s hard-throwing junior Ryan Hill. Hill also tossed a four-hitter but found himself in trouble early after walking the first three batters he faced.
Monarch’s Billy Smart drove in Goldstein to tie the score 1-1 after an inning before the game settled into a pitchers duel.
“Joe missed about two spots all day,” Monarch catcher Mike Raudenbush said.
In the fourth inning, Monarch loaded the bases with help from a pair of Arvada West errors. With two outs, Raudenbush ripped a line-drive to left field to easily score Tyler Dunn, but Joe Ray, who tried to take advantage of a misplay in the outfield, got caught at the plate with a throw from Zott.
Trailing by a run in the top of the fifth, Arvada West’s Robbin Vinnola took first base after getting plunked by Sawicki. The next batter, Jake Smith, blasted a double to left field on a hit-and- run call, and Vinnola tried rounding third to tie the score.
But Goldstein delivered a bullet from deep in the outfield to catch Vinnola and keep the lead for the Coyotes. Sawicki put an exclamation point on the inning by striking out the final batter.
“We really wanted to get back at these guys,” Hill said, referring to a 12-4 loss to Monarch in the first game of the season. “This is always a hard loss because we are out of the tournament. I feel sorry for the seniors. They are my role models.”
Championship
MONARCH 2, ARVADA 1
Arvada West 100 000 0 – 1 4 2
Monarch 100 100 x – 2 4 2
Arvada West – Zott lf 2-1-0-0, Flora 1b 3-0-1-0, Harmer rf 3-0-1-1, Biren dh 3-0-0-0, McDougal cf 1-0-0-0, Campbell ss 3-0-1-0, Capra 2b 3-0-0-0, Vinnola 3b 2-0-0-0, Smith c 2-0-1-0. Totals 22-1-4-1.
Monarch – Goldstein lf 3-1-0-0, Valenzuela rf 1-0-0-0, Raudenbush c 1-0-1-1, Landowski ss 2-0-0-0, Smart 3b 3-0-2-1, Manders 1b 3-0-0-0, Dunn cf 2-1-1-0, Vaughn dh 3-0-0-0, Ray 2b 1-0-0-0. Totals 19-2-4-2.
E – Capra 2; Manders, Goldstein. LOB – Arvada West 4; Monarch 7. 2B – Smith. DP – Monarch 2; Arvada West 1.
Batteries – Hill and Smith; Sawicki and Raudenbush. W – Sawicki (6-2). L – Hill (3-2). WP – Hill. PB – Smith. HBP – Zott, AW, by Sawicki; Vinnola, AW, by Sawicki; Ray, M, by Hill. Time – 1:26.
FIRST ROUND
MONARCH 23, HINKLEY 1
Hinkley 0 00 10 – 1 2 2
Monarch (11)30 9x – 23 14 0
Olson, Enriquez (2), Kaputska (4) and Ung; Bartsch and Raudenbush. W – Bartsch (7-0). L – Olson. HR – Valenzuela, M, one on in first; Landowski, M, two on in first; Sawicki, M, two on in fourth. Highlights – Kaputska, H, 2-for-2, 2B; Vaughn, M, 1-for-2, 3B; Dunn, M, 2-for-2, 2B; Smart, M, 2-for-4, 2B; Raudenbush, M, 3-for-3.
ARVADA WEST 9, LEWIS-PALMER 5
Arvada West 100 100 7 – 9 8 2
Lewis-Palmer 011 201 0 – 5 10 2
McDougal, Zendejas (4) and Smith; Galindo, Viera (6) and Aschenbrenner. W – Zendejas (3-0). L – Galindo. HR – Zott, AW, solo in 1st. Highlights – Zott, AW, 2-for-3, HR, 2B; McDougal, AW, 3-for-4, 2B; Watkins, LP, 2-for-3, 2B; Aschenbrenner, LP, 2-for-4, 2B.
