AURORA — The mantra for the Erie Tigers was teamwork and Saturday’s Class 3A championship game was proof positive.
Senior catcher Axie Ortega walked to the mound for a seventh-inning conversation with no outs and the bases loaded to calm freshman Mariah Bledsoe. Midway through the season, Ortega and her teammates convinced coach Bob Bledsoe to insert his daughter as the team’s primary hurler.
It was a delicate situation for the coach, replacing senior pitcher Britney Baker with his daughter. The bottom line was the team’s success, and Erie leaned on Bledsoe’s power and poise for a 5-2 victory over defending champion Holy Family.
With her catcher’s help, the first-year hurler allowed only one run in the final inning, exiting the jam with a strikeout and a pair of easy pop-ups.
“Axie really pumped me up and kept me going,” Bledsoe said. “She really helped me through the last three innings of this game. There were a lot of nerves, being a state final and everything.”
Erie has won eight of the 10 Class 3A softball titles.
With four tournament victories, Erie (20-5) became the all-time win leader, regardless of classification, with 38, surpassing Arvada West’s 35.
Erie’s 46 runs moved the Tigers into second all-time in runs scored in the tournament, regardless of classification.
“It’s indescribable,” Bob Bledsoe said. “I was very worried. Holy Family is a great team and I lectured our players before the seventh inning. I said, ‘Don’t count this team out.’ You don’t celebrate until you have three outs.”
Mary Petersen and Alyssa Johnson singled to start the seventh. Caitlin Connelly followed with a deep hit to left field, but Holy Family (23-2) played conservatively, failing to send Peterson home and wound up with only one run in the final inning.
Erie gained a three-run lead in the third. Baker started the rally with a single, Jordan Ruiz reached on an error and Ashley Jordan’s single to left field scored Baker.
Janay Rahrich followed with another base hit to left, scoring Ruiz and Jordan.
The lead grew to 5-0 in the fifth on a double by Jordan that flew past left fielder Ciara Clyncke, a single by Ruiz, and a hit by Ortega that eluded the reach of Clyncke, scoring Jordan and Ruiz.
Holy Family batters swung at some poor pitches and sorely lacked clutch hitting. Pitcher Megan McGinnis and second baseman Lara Mathew- son each went 3-for-4. McGinnis drove in one run for Holy Family, which stranded 12 baserunners.
CLASS 3A MVP
Mariah Bledsoe, freshman, Erie: The daughter of head coach Bob Bledsoe held defending champion Holy Family to two late-inning runs. In the seventh inning, she got out of a bases-loaded jam with no outs by striking out one and inducing a pair of pop-ups. Overall, she stranded 12 baserunners, walked two and struck out four.
ERIE 5, HOLY FAMILY 2
Erie 003 020 0 – 5 13 2
Holy Family 000 001 1 – 2 11 1
Erie – Nichols lf 4-0-1-0, Ruiz 2b 3-2-1-0, Jordan cf 4-2-3-1, Rahrich 1b 3-0-2-1, Estrada c 4-0-1-0, Ortega ss 4-0-2-2, Parker 3b 4-0-0-0, David rf 3-0-2-0, Baker dp 3-1-1-0, Bledsoe p 0-0-0-0. Totals 32-5-13-4.
Holy Family – McGinnis p 4-0-3-1, Mathewson 2b 4-0-3-0, Petersen 3b 4-1-1-0, Johnson 1b 4-0-2-0, Connelly 2b 3-0-1-0, Petersen rf 4-0-1-0, Jarasius dp 3-0-0-0, Clyncke lf 0-0-0-0, Boothe cf 3-1-0-0, Wild ss 3-0-0-0. Totals 32-2-11-1.
E – Ruiz 2; Wild. LOB – Erie 8; Holy Family 12. 2B – Ruiz, Ortega. SB – Baker.
Batteries – Bledsoe and Estrada; McGinnis and Connelly. W – Bledsoe. L – McGinnis.
SEMIFINALS
HOLY FAMILY 9, FAITH CHRISTIAN 5
Faith Christian 001 400 0 – 5 10 2
Holy Family 002 030 4 – 9 16 0
Haight, Johnson (4) and Stephens; McGinnis and Connelly. W – McGinnis. L – Haight. Highlights – B. Benson, FC, 2-for-3, 3 RBI; Mathewson, HF, 3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI; Connelly, HF, 3-for-4; Wild HF, 3-run triple.
ERIE 7, LIMON 3
Limon 002 010 0 – 3 7 3
Erie 401 020 0 – 7 10 1
Dutton and Spencer; Bledsoe and Estrada. W – Bledsoe. L – Dutton. Highlights – Spencer, L, 3-for-4; Dutton, L, 2-for-4; Rahrich, E, 3-for-4; Ruiz E, 2-for-4, 2 doubles.
