LAKEWOOD — Ben Burmeister was called for taking his foot off first base too soon and only waved at a grounder to his right.
After two miscues, he got mad, then got even.
The Fairview slugger ripped a three-run home run to left field and took over on the mound to preserve Fairview’s 7-3 decision of Arvada West on Friday in another early season nonleague meeting involving traditional Class 5A powers.
Trailing 3-0, the Knights (2-1) scored seven runs in the fifth and sixth innings, the big hit being Burmeister’s first homer in 2009, a head-turner that settled it.
“I was mad about that grounder,” Burmeister said. “But it felt good to get that first homer out of the way.”
Fairview had 11 hits, with junior Tucker Tharp reaching base five times and going 2-for-2.
“We’re still trying to figure it out,” Fairview coach Rick Harig said.
A-West (3-2), which is playing three games in three days, lost it late and went through four pitchers.
“We had some things go wrong,” said coach Jim Capra, noting fielding miscues, missing signs and not finishing innings.
Fairview 000 034 0 — 7 11 2
Arvada West 001 200 0 — 3 4 2
Fairview — Tharp 3b 2-2-2-0, Singh cf 5-2-1-2, Anderson ss 3-1-1-0, Burmeister 1b-p 3-2-2-3, Ollanik rf 4-0-2-1, Thoning c 3-0-1-1, Gordon dh 2-0-1-0, Scavo 2b 3-0-0-0, Moore lf 4-0-1-0, Butler p 0-0-0-0, Sawers 1b 0-0-0-0. Totals 29-7-11-7.
Arvada West — McDouglas lf 2-0-0-0, M. Martinez 2b-p 4-0-2-1, Hill cf 3-0-0-0, Wagner dh 2-1-0-0, Mitchell 3b-1b 2-1-2-2, Bargas rf-2b 3-0-0-0, Soper 1b 1-0-0-0, B. Martinez 3b 2-0-0-0, Shine c 2-0-0-0, Santarelli ph-c 1-0-0-0, Roberts ss 2-1-0-0, Leary p 0-0-0-0, Lanaghan p 0-0-0-0, Chenowith rf 0-0-0-0. Totals 24-3-4-3.
E — Burmeister 2, Roberts, Leary. LOB — Fairview 9, Arvada West 5. SAC — McDougal. DP — Fairview, Arvada West. SB — Tharp. 2B — M. Martinez, Tharp, Singh. HR — Mitchell, one on in fourth; Burmeister, two on in sixth.
Batteries — Butler, Burmeister (6) and Thoning; Leary, Lanaghan (6), Dickson (6), M. Martinez (7) and Buchmann, Santarelli (7). W — Butler (1-0). L — Lanaghan (0-1). WP — Leary 2. PB — Thoning. SF — Thoning, T — 2:16.
