GREENWOOD VILLAGE — It was a meeting between the two Class 5A teams that undoubtedly will occupy the top two seeds when district playoff pairings are released today.
In capping yet another baseball regular season that was marred by Colorado’s fickle spring weather and modified by unusual and deep balance among big schools, host Cherry Creek knocked off two-time defending 5A champion Rocky Mountain 10-2 on Tuesday.
The outcome wasn’t as important as the matchup itself, a high-powered tuneup for two teams both 15-4 before the postseason. The game included a combined eight future NCAA Division I players — it would have been nine if Rocky Mountain’s Pierce Trumper hadn’t been held out as an injury precaution.
It included two double plays by Cherry Creek, one that was scored an unusual 8-4-6-2-5, and a strong sense that the two programs will meet at least once more during the next three weekends to complete the 2008-09 school year.
“We’ve got to get healthy,” Lobos coach Scott Bullock said, referring to Trumper battling a knee injury and Chris Roglen pulling a hamstring running the bases Tuesday. “It has been one of those years, but we seem to respond and get right after it.”
In truth, Bullock said, scheduling a game such as this “could hurt our seed a little bit, but that’s OK. . . . We’ll get ready for whoever it is.”
The Colorado High School Activities Association will set the pairings — 32 teams at eight sites Saturday, likewise for 4A and 3A — and two victories will be required to advance to the double-elimination fields. Bruins coach Marc Johnson said he’s like Bullock in that he doesn’t care if his team is first, second or whatever. It’s about being prepared and playing well.
“It was a meaningless game in so many ways, but you’re trying to see good pitching and good players,” he said. “It isn’t anything that’s going to affect (the Lobos) negatively or us positively. You still have to go to the tournament and play.”
Cherry Creek starter Tito Nava and reliever Alex Blackford were effective holding the powerful Lobos to just four hits. The Bruins banged out 14 safeties, three each by Grant McCabe and Duncan Satherlie, and two apiece by Alec Mielnicki, T.J. Shantz and Jon Shoutta.
Rocky Mountain 002 000 0 — 2 4 1
Cherry Creek 220 105 x — 10 14 3
Rocky Mountain — White 2b 4-1-2-0, Peters ss-3b-p 4-0-0-0, Stewart cf 3-1-0-0, Gonzales lf-p-rf 1-0-0-0, Rog- len rf 2-0-1-0, McLimans rf-lf 1-0-0-0, Lopez 1b 2-0-0-0, Matz c 3-0-1-0, Chuvala p-ss 3-0-0-0, Seidel 3b-lf 1-0-0-0. Totals 24-2-4-0.
Cherry Creek — G. McCabe cf 4-3-3-0, Satherlie 2b 4-3-3-2, Shantz 3b 4-1-2-1, Mielnicki 1b 3-1-2-2, Keller lf 2-1-0-1, C. McCabe rf 4-0-1-1, Shoutta dh 4-0-2-3, Leikam c 3-0-0-0, Phillips cr 0-0-0-0, Price ss 3-1-1-0, Nava p 0-0-0-0, Blackford p 0-0-0-0. Totals 31-10-14-10.
E — Price 2, Shantz, Gonzales. DP — Cherry Creek 2. LOB — Rocky Mountain 7, Cherry Creek 7. Caught stealing — Phillips. 2B — Mielnicki, G. McCabe, Matz, Satherlie, Shoutta. 3B — G. McCabe.
Batteries — Chuvala, Gonzales (3), Peters (5) and Matz; Nava, Blackford (5) and Leikam. W — Nava (8-1). L — Chuvala (2-1). WP — Gonzales, Blackford. HBP — Keller (Chuvala). PB — Leikam. T — 1:56.
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
