In Class 3A baseball, it’s time to get serious.
The final four contenders for the crown began the season as the Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 5 teams in the preseason rankings, and finished the regular season first, second, fourth and fifth.
“None of these teams is here by accident,” said Bishop Machebeuf (21-4) coach John Gechter, whose team faces Eaton (23-1-1) in the first game of the Class 3A Championship Series.
The four are quite familiar with each other, although only Eaton has played every remaining opponent.
The Reds defeated Machebeuf 6-1 and Roosevelt (22-2) 9-7, and tied Faith Christian (20-3-1) 5-5 early in the season.
“There aren’t too many weaknesses on any of these teams left,” said Jim Danley, coach of the Reds.
Faith Christian has played everyone except its semifinal opponent, Roosevelt, which has allowed the Eagles the freedom to focus solely on their immediate game.
“It was our vision to get to this point and beyond,” Eagles coach Gino Carbajal said.
Of the final four, Roosevelt has only played Eaton, but has scouted the other teams extensively.
“We tried to keep an eye on the (Metropolitan League) all year long,” Roughriders coach Alan Gibson said.
But all of this familiarity will only do so much once the games begin Friday at the Runyon Complex’s Hobbs Field in Pueblo.
“They’ve got to be focused on Friday,” is the mind-set Gechter is promoting.
Eaton is mirroring that approach, refraining from looking beyond Friday’s matchup to Saturday’s championship.
“We’re just going to try to win the game on Friday and wake up Saturday and see where we’re at,” Danley said. “It will come down to who has things going their way at the end.”
One team thinking that things are starting to go its way is Roosevelt, which defeated St. Mary’s and Lamar the past weekend.
“We’ve just started to come into our own offensively,” Gibson said. “While we have the same people, we have them in different places in the order, so, hopefully, we have them in the right place at the right time.”
Gibson also felt that the remaining schedule is favorable to making pitching matchup decisions, stating, “It’s advantageous for us, because we play the second game – we will be able to see who has won and make our decision from there.”
One sentiment shared by every remaining coach, though, was summed up best by Gechter when he said, “It’s going to be two good games (Friday).”
