Lakewood – Expectations of a jumbled Jefferson County League race this season have so far proven true.
The fact that the Chatfield Chargers are right in the thick of things is a mild surprise, and only makes the Class 5A postseason picture a little fuzzier.
“We don’t get a lot of respect because the last few years we haven’t played real well,” Chargers senior pitcher Elliott Riege said. “Now we’re crushing pretty good.”
Riege remained perfect on the mound today and the Chargers won their fifth straight, banging out 13 hits in an 8-5 victory over slumping Green Mountain.
Sophomore Mark Shannon went 4-for-4 from the No. 6 spot, leadoff man Jake Davis had three hits and scored twice and pinch hitter Kerry Masock hit an insurance home run in the top of the seventh as the Chargers improved to 10-4 overall and 5-1 in Jeffco.
Riege (4-0 this season) pitched five innings and allowed four runs on seven hits. His biggest mistake was a belt-high pitch to Rams catcher Cory Miller that the senior drove over the center-field fence to tie the game 4-4 in the fifth inning.
“We’ve just been getting good pitching,” Chargers skipper Mike Yansak said. “We don’t have guys that go out and strike out 10 or 12. We’ve got guys that try to keep the ball down and let our defense go to work.”
The Chargers, who got the leadoff batter aboard five times, sealed the victory with three runs in the top of the sixth on run-scoring hits by Dave Geppert and Davis.
Chatfield had two baserunners picked off but turned two double plays, the last to end the game.
“They kept competing,” Rams coach Vince Schade said of the Chargers. “They’re a good team. They deserved to win. They did what it took to get the win.”
Sean Juarez (3-1 this season) pitched seven innings for the Rams (10-5, 3-3), who lost their second straight and third in four games. The Rams stranded 11 baserunners and left the bases loaded in the fourth and sixth innings.
Jordan Robinson and Matt Raabe both went 2-for-4 at the plate and No. 9 batter Shane Hunt was 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
Chatfield 1030031 – 8 13 3
Green Mountain 0010301 – 5 9 2
Chatfield – Davis rf 3-2-3-1, Coy 2b 3-0-1-0, Summers 3b 4-1-1-2, Riege sp-1b 4-0-1-1, Jirik c 3-0-0-0, Masock ph 1-1-1-1, Shannon lf-rp 4-1-4-0, Collins 1b-rp 4-0-0-0, Fritze cr-lf 0-1-0-0, Geppert dh 3-1-2-1, Hageman ss 0-0-0-0, Shotwell cf 1-1-0-0. Totals 30-8-13-6.
Green Mountain – Robinson cf 4-0-2-0, Hebert 3b 3-1-0-1, Raabe 1b 4-1-2-0, Miller c 3-1-1-3, Wood rf 4-0-0-0, Poe lf 2-0-0-0, Newman dh 4-1-1-0, Juarez p 0-0-0-0, Garbarino ss 3-0-0-0, Hunt 2b 3-1-3-1. Totals 30-5-9-5.
E – Davis, Riege, Hageman; Robinson, Garbarino. LOB – Chatfield 5, Green Mountain 11. SB – Shannon. Caught stealing – Coy, Shotwell. DP – Chatfield 2. SAC – Hebert. 2B – Davis, Coy, Geppert; Robinson 2, Newman. HR – Miller, two on in fifth; Masock, solo in seventh.
Batteries – Riege, Collins (6), Shannon (7) and Jirik; Juarez and Miller. W – Riege (4-0). L – Juarez (3-1). HBP – Poe (by Riege in second); Hunt (by Riege in third); Shotwell (by Juarez in fourth). PB – Miller. T – 2:12.
