WHEAT RIDGE — Nothing really went according to plan for Eric Shannon on Saturday, but that didn’t prohibit him from having a monster day.
The Wheat Ridge junior homered twice and drove in five runs in the Farmers’ 15-4 shellacking of Longmont in the Class 4A District 7 final, a win that sends the Farmers to the eight-team, double-elimination state tournament.
The catch was that Shannon also planned on closing out the game on the mound, but that possibility became moot in Wheat Ridge’s first game, a 16-6 win against Glenwood Springs. The Farmers fell into a 5-0 crater in the top of the first inning, and Shannon was summoned to the mound with only one out.
So he pitched the final 4 2/3 innings to earn the win and added an inside- the-park homer to highlight a 2-for-3, four-RBI performance. Add it all up and Shannon went 4-for-7 with three homers, nine RBIs and a relief win in the twinbill.
“Sometimes we just don’t know what to do in the first inning, but once we get that groove going, there’s no stopping us,” Shannon said.
Longmont coach Tom Fobes seemed to concur after Adam Miller-coached Wheat Ridge blitzed his team for eight runs in the second inning and seven in the third.
“I told Adam that if this is the way you guys always play, you’ve got a really good shot at going all the way,” Fobes said.
As it turned out, Shannon wasn’t needed to close out the Longmont game because senior Jacob Nelson wasn’t in need of a reliever. Nelson struck out nine in a five-inning complete game and added a grand slam in the third inning.
“We’re rolling now, and if we keep playing like this we should be pretty good,” Nelson said.
Wheat Ridge (16-4) also received two-hit performances from Charlie Land, Eugene Tuller and Grant Evans. Shannon’s first home run started the onslaught, giving the Farmers a 2-0 lead in the second.
“It was good to get the rally going,” Shannon said. “We just needed something to start popping.”
Longmont 000 04 — 4 4 3
Wheat Ridge 087 0x — 15 12 1
Longmont — Hart p-ss 1-0-0-0, Parker c 3-0-0-0, Glover cf 1-1-1-0, Schenider 2b-p 2-0-0-0, Keller dh-p 3-1-0-0, Shaffer rf 3-0-1-0, Hargash 3b 1-1-0-0, Thompson 1b 2-1-2-3, Cinea lf 2-0-0-0, Taylor ss-p 0-0-0-0. Totals 19-4-4-3.
Wheat Ridge — Orms cf 3-2-0-1, Marvel ss 4-1-1-0, Nelson p 3-2-1-4, Land 3-2-2-1, Shannon rf 4-2-2-5, Evans lf 3-1-2-0, Bradley 1b 2-1-1-0, Walker dh 2-2-1-0, Tuller 2b 2-2-2-2, Duff c 0-0-0-0. Totals 26-15-12-13.
E — Taylor, Parker, Hart, Land. DP — Wheat Ridge 1. LOB — Longmont 8, Wheat Ridge 6. 3B — Tuller. HR — Shannon 2 (one on in second, one on in third), Nelson (grand slam in third). HBP — Glover 2, Schneider, Land, Walker.
Batteries — Hart, Taylor (2), Keller (3), Schneider (4) and Parker; Nelson and Duff. W — Nelson (6-1). L — Hart. WP — Hart 2, Taylor, Keller, Nelson. PB — Parker, Duff. Balk — Hart. T — 1:48.
WHEAT RIDGE 16, GLENWOOD SPRINGS 6
Glenwood Springs 510 00 — 6 6 4
Wheat Ridge 107 53 — 16 12 0
Haley, Jacob (4) and Hatch; Land, Shannon (1) and Duff. W — Shannon (3-1). L — Haley. HR — Orms, W, one on in fourth; Shannon, W, one on in fifth; Nelson, solo in fifth. Highlights — Gonzalez, G, 1-for-3, run scored, RBI; Jacob, G, 1-for-2, run scored, RBI; Orms, W, 2-for-4, 3B, 4 RBIs; Shannon, W, 2-for-3, 4 RBIs; Land, W, 3-for-4, 2B, RBIs.
LONGMONT 15, PUEBLO EAST 5
Longmont 015 90 — 15 8 2
Pueblo East 010 04 — 5 6 3
Shaffer and Parker; Wahl, Fabrizio (4) and Toler. W — Shaffer. L — Wahl. Highlights — Keller, L, 1-for-3, 2B, 3 runs scored, 3 RBIs; Glover, L, 2-for-4, RBI, Thompson, L, 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBIs; Wahl, PE, 1-for-3, 2B, RBI.
