Aurora – Holy cow, Holy Family!
Having fallen victim repeatedly to Erie, just like the rest of the classification for nearly a decade, Holy Family finally ended one of Colorado’s most glorious softball runs in decisive fashion Monday night at the Aurora Sports Complex.
Riding the stellar pitching of Sara Baumberger, solid defense and a power surge by Alyssa Sommers, Holy Family rolled by Erie 6-0 to win the Class 3A state championship and halt the run of the six-time defending champion and winner of seven of the past eight championships.
Holy Family capped a 22-3 season and exacted a modest measure of revenge against Erie (19-6). In four of the past five seasons, Holy Family watched Erie end its season, including in the 2005 title game that included a perfect game. Erie also beat Holy Family 2-1 this season.
“We knew we could beat them at any time. We just needed to pull it together and focus,” Sommers said.
The senior, who ripped a home run in the 10th inning of a 2-0 semifinal victory over Limon, cleared the left-center field fence in the top of the second inning for a three-run homer off Erie’s Katie Smith that was the spark Holy Family needed.
“That one stroke was the difference,” said Erie coach Bob Bledsoe, whose team’s remarkable 27-game state tournament winning streak ended.
Taking a lead against Erie always is imperative, and Holy Family took it a few steps further – Erie had a couple of errors, surrendered single runs in the fourth and sixth innings and had no answer for Baumberger, who finished her season with a 21-3 mark.
Having fanned 17 Limon hitters in the semifinals, Baumberger let her confidence grow.
It was as if the ace dared Erie hitters to step into the batter’s box.
“You know, I’ve lost to them a few times in the past, and it’s just amazing to finally beat them,” Baumberger said.
Baumberger never blinked after Saturday’s postponement because of snow. She struck out the side in the first, faced the minimum batters through four innings, gave up just four hits and remained in command, even when Erie had runners on first and second with no outs in the fifth.
She got out of the mini-jam by starting one of two double plays on a comebacker and cruised down the stretch.
“It’s the atmosphere of state that helps to push me, I guess,” she said.
Sommers’ homer, her fifth of the season, was backed in the second inning by a single by Mary Peterson – her first of two in the game – a sacrifice and the second of three Erie errors.
In the third, Lindsey Halligan, who singled and went to second on an error, scored on Erie’s third miscue, and Lara Mathew- son’s run-scoring single in the sixth finished the scoring.
“We came out and started hitting the ball,” Holy Family coach Glen Ramos said of his senior-dominated team.
Erie, which cruised past Faith Christian 7-0 in the other Monday semifinal, had no answers. The three runners it left on base were stranded over the final three innings.
“(Holy Family) was very motivated, and you could see the intensity in them,” Bledsoe said.
Said Baumberger, “It was challenging for us, and we did it.”
3A SOFTBALL MVP
Sara Baumberger, a senior right-hander at Holy Family, pitched her Tigers to their first softball title, the initial girls championship in school history. She struck out 17 in a 2-0, 10-inning victory over Limon in a semifinal, then struck out seven and permitted only four hits in a 6-0 victory over six-time defending champion Erie in the finale. She was 21-3 this season.
Championship
HOLY FAMILY 6, ERIE 0
Holy Family 041 001 0 – 6 8 1
Erie 000 000 0 – 0 4 2
Holy Family – Mathewson 2b 4-0-1-1, McGinnis cf 4-0-0-0, Halligan ss 4-1-2-0, Hollick 3b 3-0-2-0, Baumberger p 4-0-0-0, Clyncke cr 0-1-0-0, Connelly c 3-0-0-0, Boothe cr 0-1-0-0, Sommers dh 3-1-1-3, Peterson rf 3-2-2-0, Johnson 1b 1-0-0-0, Balzen lf 0-0-0-0. Totals 29-6-8-4.
Erie – Ruiz 2b 3-0-1-0, Reider rf 3-0-0-0, Ortega ss 3-0-1-0, Rahrich 1b 3-0-2-0, Estrada c 3-0-0-0, Nichols cf 3-0-0-0, Parker 3b 2-0-0-0, Baker lf 2-0-0-0, Smith p 2-0-0-0. Totals 24-0-4-0.
E – Parker, Baker, Rahrich, Johnson. DP – Holy Family 2. LOB – Holy Family 6, Erie 3. SAC – Johnson 2. 2B – Ruiz. HR – Sommers, two on in second.
Batteries – Baumberger and Connelly; Smith and Estrada. W – Baumberger (21-3). L – Smith (17-5). HBP – Hollick (by Smith). WP – Baumberger. PB – Connelly. T – 1:29.
SEMIFINALS
ERIE 7, FAITH CHRISTIAN 0
Faith Christian 000 000 0 – 0 1 3
Erie 030 030 1 – 7 15 2
Haight and Stephens; Smith and Estrada. W – Smith (17-4). L – Haight.
Highlights – Jordan, E, 3-for-5, double triple; Rider, E, 3-for-4; Smith, E, 3 RBIs.
HOLY FAMILY 2, LIMON 0
Holy Family 000 000 000 2 – 2 10 3
Limon 000 000 000 0 – 0 4 1
Baumberger and Connelly; Dutton and Holm- stedt. W – Baumberger (20-3). L – Dutton.
HR – Sommers, solo in 10th. Highlights – McGinnis, HF, 2-for-5; Peterson, HF, 3-for-4; Halligan, HF, 2-for-5, RBI.
