Greeley – Northridge coach Mike Huston and his gang of Grizzlies, including son Mikel, were written off as one of the many good teams in the Northern League that were going to have to prove themselves come playoff time.
Point taken.
Northridge (17-6) advanced in the winners bracket of the Class 4A championship series Friday with a 7-5 victory over Liberty at Butch Butler Field.
“At the beginning of the season, we played that rag-tag role to our advantage, nobody expected us to do that much,” Mike Huston said. “The kids have really rallied around each other and we have really become a team.”
Up next for Northridge will be Northern League rival Broomfield on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Englewood High School.
The Grizzlies have never defeated the Eagles, who beat them by 10 runs earlier this season.
Liberty (20-3) dropped into the losers’ bracket and will play the winner of the Ralston Valley-Cherokee Trail game Saturday in Greeley at 2:30 p.m.
Northridge dug itself a hole early and trailed 4-1 after four innings before it got the jolt it needed. Catcher Jared Wallace led off the fifth with a drive that went all the way to the 400-foot sign in center for an inside-the-park home run.
“It just brought us back to life a little bit,” Mike Huston said.
Liberty answered in the bottom half of the inning when Brandon Vargas drove in Joe Esker with a sharp single to center.
Momentum was still with the Grizzlies, who rallied with with a home run with the bases empty and two outs in the sixth. Back-to-back base hits by Rhett Morgan and Wallace set the table for Mikel Huston. The center fielder delivered a single to left field that drove in both runners and gave the Grizzlies the lead.
“Coming through in the clutch, always got to like that,” said Mikel, who was 6-for-8 in the two games. “Nobody really gave us a chance but ourselves. We knew we would be here.”
Said Liberty coach Lance McCorkle, whose team ousted Thomas Jefferson 8-5 in the first game: “We’re not done, we’ve got to keep going. Somebody’s got to come through the losers’ bracket, so why not us.”
The Lancers’ bats that pounded out 14 hits against TJ were silent down the stretch against Northridge pitcher Aaron Roybal. Hard-hit balls that were finding gaps earlier went right at outfielders in the sixth and seventh innings.
Wallace and Huston each had three hits to pace a 14-hit attack for Northridge.
GAME 6
Northridge 101 013 1 – 7 14 2
Liberty 030 110 0 – 5 8 2
Northridge – deBesche rf 4-1-2-2, Ferguson 2b 3-1-0-0, R. Morgan 1b 3-0-1-1, K. Morgan pr 0-1-0-0, J. Wallace c 3-1-3-1, Hood cr 0-1-0-0, Huston cf 4-0-3-2, Maldonado lf 2-0-2-1, Roybal p 3-0-0-0, Puga 3b 4-1-1-0, C. Wallace ss 3-1-2-0. Totals 29-7-14-7.
Liberty – Mattice ss 4-1-2-0, Koch cf 3-0-1-1, Fontana c-p 4-0-1-2, May cr-pr 0-0-0-0, Falconi rf-lf 3-0-0-0, Hibar 1b 4-0-0-0, Esker 3b-c-p 4-1-1-0, Helmer lf-c 2-1-0-0, Howes 2b 3-1-1-0, Vargas dh-3b 3-1-2-2, Dickenson p-rf 0-0-0-0. Totals 30-5-8-5.
E – C. Wallace, Ferguson; Falconi, Dickenson. LOB – Northridge 10; Liberty 5. 2B – deBesche 2, C. Wallace; Mattice, Esker. HR – J. Wallace, solo in fifth. SAC – deBesche, Ferguson, R. Morgan, C. Wallace. CS – C. Wallace; Howes.
Batteries – Roybal and J. Wallace; Dickenson, Fontana (4), Esker (7) and Fontana, Helmer (4), Esker (6), Fontana (7). W – Roybal (6-3). L – Fontana (3-2). PB – Helmer, Esker. HBP – Helmer (by Roybal in second).
GAME 3
NORTHRIDGE 10, D’EVELYN 4
D’Evelyn 001 111 0 – 4 10 5
Northridge 315 001 x – 10 13 5
Norris, Graeve (3) and Sylvester; R. Morgan and J. Wallace. W – R. Morgan (7-1). L – Norris (6-2). Highlights – Huston, N, 3-for-4, 3B, 2 runs scored, RBI; Maldonado, N, 2-for-4, 3B, run scored, RBI; Ferguson, N, 2-for-2, 3 runs scored, RBI; R. Morgan, N, 2-for-4, 3 RBIs; Gesell, D, 3-for-4, run scored; Kastens, D, 2-for-4, RBI; Baldessari, D, 2-for-4, RBI.
GAME 4
LIBERTY 8, THOMAS JEFFERSON 5
Liberty 312 000 2 – 8 14 0
Thomas Jefferson 000 410 0 – 5 8 2
Falconi, Esker (4) and Fontana Nathan and Maloney. W – Falconi (8-1). L – Nathan (6-3). Highlights – Mattice, L, 2-for-3, 3B, 2 runs scored; Fontana, L, 3-for-4, 3B, 2 runs scored, 2 RBIs; Falconi, L, 1-for-4, 3B, 2 RBIs; Hibar, L, 3-for-4, 2B, RBI; Mi. Mankoff, TJ, 2-for-4; Smith, TJ, 2-for-3, run scored, RBI; Qiu, TJ, 1-for-3, run scored, 2 RBIs.
Jon E. Yunt can be reached at 303-820-5446 or jyunt@denverpost.com
