Arvada – The Ralston Valley bats were relatively quiet Saturday afternoon. However, Mustangs starting pitcher Matt Skipper made sure Widefield’s bats made even less noise.
Skipper gave up six hits, struck out 10 and survived one bad inning as the top-seeded Mustangs advanced to the Class 4A Championship Series with a 6-4 victory over the No. 17 Gladiators.
The Mustangs (17-3), who have won nine games this season by 10 or more runs, managed just seven hits and no home runs on their home field but won their 13th straight. No player on either team had multiple hits.
“He was throwing harder in the sixth inning than he was in the first,” Mustangs coach Shane Freehling said of Skipper, a sophomore.
Ralston Valley, which drilled No. 32 Montbello 16-6 in the morning game, jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second inning. The Gladiators, who used five home runs to crush two-time defending state champion Niwot earlier in the day, cut the deficit to 5-4 in the top of the third.
Skipper found his groove in the fourth inning, striking out five of the next six batters he faced before giving way to reliever Casey Schmidt in the seventh after throwing more than 100 pitches.
Designated hitter Aaron Arrieta scored twice, catcher Adam Young drove in two runs and shortstop Brian Chritz had a run-scoring single to put the Mustangs up 6-4 in the fourth.
“We saw that they could hit the ball, but we knew we had good pitching, too,” Chritz said.
The Gladiators (15-6) got five innings from starter Joey Mulready before bringing in senior Boomer Kelly. Mulready, who hit two home runs against Niwot, gave up just three earned runs and struck out three.
“We’re leaving with our heads held high, even though we lost,” Mulready said. “That’s the No. 1 team in the state right now.”
Widefield first baseman James Gordon drove in two runs in the third inning when he ripped Skipper’s offering up the middle with the bases loaded.
Skipper’s run-scoring double in the first inning gave the Mustangs a 1-0 lead. They scored four runs in the second, helped by three consecutive walks.
In the third inning, Skipper couldn’t find the strike zone. He walked five batters in the inning, including Justin Cordova with the bases loaded.
Widefield 004 000 0 – 4 6 3
Ralston Valley 140 100 x – 6 7 0
Widefield – DeMatto 2b 3-1-1-0, Pagan lf 4-0-1-0, Mulready p-ss 4-1-1-1, Kenebrew cf 3-1-1-0, Gordon 1b 3-0-1-2, Martinez 3b-rf 3-0-0-0, Woodside rf 2-0-0-0, Cordova ss-3b 2-0-0-1, Vega c 2-0-1-0, Masters cr 0-1-0-0, Kelly 0-0-0-0. Totals 26-4-6-4.
Ralston Valley – Young c 4-0-1-2, Chritz ss 2-0-1-1, Wood 3b 3-1-0-1, Skipper sp-1b 3-0-1-1, McKinney cf 3-0-1-0, Rowe 1b 3-0-1-0, Alvarado rf 2-1-0-0, Yost 2b 2-1-1-0, Arrieta dh 1-2-1-0, Brym lf 1-0-0-0, Cammon cr 0-0-0-0, Schmidt rf 0-0-0-0, Graham cr 0-1-0-0. Totals 24-6-7-5.
E – Cordova 2, DeMatto. LOB – Widefield 5, Ralston Valley 4. SB – Alvarado. 2B – Mulready; Skipper, Arrieta. DP – Widefield 3. PO – Yost.
Batteries – Mulready, Kelly (6) and Vega; Skipper, Schmidt (7) and Young. HBP – Chritz (by Mulready in the 2nd). W – Skipper. L – Mulready.
First round
WIDEFIELD 14, NIWOT 5
Widefield 013 214 3 – 14 19 3
Niwot 320 000 0 – 5 8 2
Martinez, Mulready (5) and Vega; Taylor, Haas (4), Harpe (6), Dresler (7) and Hawley. W – Martinez. L – Haas. HR – Martinez, W, solo in second and one on in seventh; Mulready, W, two on in third and solo in seventh; Gordon, W, two on in sixth. Highlights – Martinez, W, 2 HRs, 3 RBIs; Mulready, W, 2 HRs, 4 RBIs.
RALSTON VALLEY 16, MONTBELLO 6
Montbello 000 420 – 6 9 3
Ralston Valley 921 211 – 16 11 0
Castanon, Torres (2) and Cassillas; Wood and Young. W – Wood. L – Castanon. HR – Chritz, RV, grand slam in first. Highlights – Chritz, RV, 3-for-4, 2B, 6 RBIs, three runs scored.
