Pueblo – After accepting high-fives and hugs from everybody in sight, Roosevelt pitcher Cody Schlagel had to admit his 6-0 complete-game shutout over rival Eaton in the Class 3A title game Saturday turned on a “strike” in the first inning.
It was one perfect throw that Schlagel couldn’t take credit for.
Right-fielder Sean Lydon bailed Schlagel out of a shaky opening inning with an outfield assist, gunning down Eaton’s Whitman Jones at the plate after catching a flyball. Eaton had loaded the bases with nobody out after Jones was hit by a pitch and the next two Reds drew walks.
But after the double play, Eaton stranded two baserunners when Schlagel (9-0) got Perry Hood to ground out.
A senior left-hander, Schlagel found his control and Roosevelt (24-2) gained its first state title in baseball. Schlagel’s three-hitter included eight strikeouts. Things might have turned out different, however, if Eaton (24-2-1) had scored some runs in the top of the first.
“That throw by Sean was a big part of the game,” said Schlagel, who has committed to pitch this fall for Daytona Beach (Fla.) Community College. “It wasn’t that I was nervous in the first inning, but I was trying to be too fine with my pitches. After Sean threw the guy out, I settled down.”
Lydon, a senior, pitches when he isn’t playing outfield.
“My dad told me that was the best strike I’ve thrown all year,” Lydon said with a chuckle. “After I made that throw, I thought, ‘OK, they got two walks and a hit batter, but now it’s our turn.”‘
Fans at Runyon Sports Complex’s Hobbs Field were treated to a crisply played pitchers’ duel for much of the game. Eaton senior right-hander Shane Dyer, a New Mexico signee, held Roosevelt scoreless until surrendering two unearned runs in the fifth inning. Reds third baseman Drew Smith committed two errors in the inning, but Dyer (10-1) didn’t help himself with two wild pitches.
Roosevelt pushed across four insurance runs in the sixth against its Weld County rival, bunching together four hits, including an RBI triple by Lydon.
Eaton was going for its eighth state title after reaching the championship game for the 11th time in 13 years.
“We helped out Schlagel in the first inning with a base-running mistake, and you can’t do that in a big game,” Eaton coach Jim Danley said. “He was tough. He was moving his slider away and throwing his fastball inside. That was something our hitters couldn’t handle.”
Eaton 000 000 0 – 0 3 4
Roosevelt 000 024 x – 6 6 0
Eaton – Jones cf 3-0-0-0, Smith 3b 2-0-0-0, Dyer p 1-0-1-0, Rapp pr 0-0-0-0, Carlson c 2-0-0-0, Hood lb 3-0-1-0, Payne ss 3-0-0-0, Harris dh 3-0-0-0, McLavey 2b 0-0-0-0, Ottoson lf 3-0-0-0, Bell rf 2-0-0-0, Craddock ph 1-0-1-0. Totals 23-0-3-0.
Roosevelt – Montoya cf 3-1-0-0, Hildreth 2b 4-0-0-0, Hess c 2-0-0-0, Valverde pr 0-0-0-0, Cardona dh 3-0-0-0, Treat lf 0-0-0-0, Schlagel p 2-1-1-0, Wilson pr 0-0-0-0, McFarland ss 3-1-3-0, Gibson 1b 3-1-1-1, Hernandez 3b 3-2-0-1, Lydon rf 3-0-1-1. Totals 26-6-6-3.
E – Smith 3, Payne, LOB – Eaton 7, Roosevelt 5. DP – Eaton 1, Roosevelt 1. SB – Valverde (2), Montoya (3). 2B – Dyer. 3B – Lydon. Batteries – Dyer and Carlson; Schlagel and Hess. W – Schlagel (9-0). L – Dyer (10-1). HBP – Jones (by Schlagel), Dyer (by Schlagel). WP – Dyer 2.
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-820-5456 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
