Jefferson County – Columbine ace Dom Montoya finally found a way to end Saturday’s pitching duel with Arapahoe’s Cody Scott.
And he did it with his bat.
After seven innings on the mound, Montoya sneaked a slow grounder through the right side of the infield to score Kyler Brady from second base as the defending Class 5A champion Rebels won District 4 with a 2-1 victory over the Warriors.
“I knew I had to get a base hit because they had the momentum and I had to step up and make a play,” said Montoya, a senior lefty who allowed six hits, one walk, struck out two and raised his season mark to 7-1.
Montoya’s moxie was a fitting end to a day when the fifth-seeded Rebels (15-6) were pushed to the brink in two victories. Columbine rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat No. 28 ThunderRidge 9-7 in the morning game and then had to find a way around Scott, who threw four innings in a 10-0 win over East before shutting down the Rebels for nearly seven innings.
Scott struck out 10 Rebels and seemed to get stronger despite the innings and increasingly wet weather.
“On the field today, he was the most competitive guy out there,” Warriors coach Luke Miller said of his right-hander. “There’s no question about it. I feel bad for him and I feel bad for our seniors because I thought we deserved to win.”
No. 12 Arapahoe, which had its seven-game winning streak snapped, finishes 15-6.
Getting Scott out of his rhythm seemed to get the Rebels on the board in the bottom of the sixth. First baseman Curtis Cunningham called for time during his at-bat and then took the next pitch and drove it over the wall in center field.
“I noticed he was quick-pitching the first couple batters, so I decided to change it up, step out, and I hit it,” Cunningham said.
The Warriors responded in the top of the seventh with three hits, tying the game with two outs when Tyler Bartschi singled to score right fielder Peter Stanton.
Brady, who was a defensive vacuum at third base for the Rebels, led off the seventh with a single up the middle and moved to second on Steve Autenrieth’s sacrifice bunt.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Arapahoe 000 000 1 – 1 6 0
Columbine 000 001 1 – 2 5 1
Arapahoe – Guymon lf 3-0-0-0, Brewer ss 2-0-1-0, Runberg 1b 3-0-1-0, Scott p 3-0-0-0, Stanton rf 3-1-1-0, Soehngen cf 3-0-1-0, Mitchell 3b 3-0-1-0, Bartschi dh 3-0-1-1, Overton c 0-0-0-0, Hemphill 2b 3-0-0-0. Totals 26-1-6-1.
Columbine – Cicchinelli ss 3-0-0-0, Geoghegan lf 3-0-1-0, Gillman c 3-0-0-0, Cunningham 1b 3-1-1-1, Anundsen cf 2-0-0-0, Brady 3b 3-1-1-0, Autenrieth dh 2-0-0-0, Weibel 2b 0-0-0-0, Tanner rf 3-0-0-0, Montoya p 3-0-2-1, Roberts cr 0-0-0-0. Totals 25-2-5-2.
E – Cicchinelli. LOB – Arapahoe 5, Columbine 4. Caught stealing – Mitchell. SAC – Autenrieth. 2B – Brewer. HR – Cunningham, solo in sixth.
Batteries – Scott and Overton; Montoya and Gillman. W – Montoya (7-1). L – Scott (6-4). PB – Overton. T – 1:35.
FIRST ROUND
ThunderRidge 410 000 2 – 7 8 3
Columbine 004 212 x – 9 11 1
Koch, Gallo (4), Davis (5) and Sharshel; Anundsen, Brady (2) and Gillman. W – Brady. L – Gallo. Highlights – Cicchinelli, C, 3-for-4, HR, 3B, 2B; Gillman, C, 2-for-4, 2B, RBI; Cunningham, C, 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBIs; Sharshel, T, 3-for-4, 2B; Cozine, T, 2-for-2, HR.
East 000 00 – 0 1 3
Arapahoe 204 13 – 10 9 0
Hayden, Prevadel (5) and Wilkerson; Davis, Whitcraft (5) and Overton, Davis (5). W – Davis (6-3). L – Hayden. Highlights – Runberg, A, 2-for-2, 2B, 3 RBIs; Guymon, A, 1-for-2, 2B.
