LAKEWOOD — There is a short list of players who could morph into the state’s next big-time baseball recruit.
Cheyenne Mountain sophomore Austin Darby is near the top of that list, and he might have moved up a few rungs after Friday’s performance in the Class 4A Championship Series.
Darby used his bat, his glove, his speed and his arm to help the Indians sweep through the first two rounds at All-Star Park with an 11-2 blowout of Pueblo South followed by an unexpected 8-5 win against top-seeded Broomfield, which entered on a 21-game winning streak.
How did Darby help? In the two games, he went 6-for-9 with a home run, two triples and a double. He started on the mound against Broomfield and racked up 10 strikeouts before leaving in the sixth with the game tied 5-5.
Then, while playing center field, he ran down a ball in the gap to preserve the tie, and he capped the Indians’ three-run rally in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI double.
“I’ll take Austin Darby every day on that hill and at the plate,” Indians coach Bernie Moncallo said.
Oh, and Darby doesn’t lack confidence either.
“We came in confident and knew we were going to beat whoever they put in front of us,” Darby said. “As soon as we saw Broomfield was the No. 1 seed, we said, ‘That’s not right, we’re the No. 1 seed.’ ”
The fourth-seeded Indians will take on Mountain View today (3 p.m., All-Star Park) in a contest that determines who will enter the final weekend unbeaten.
Broomfield (21-2) is hoping to quickly retool after its first loss since a season-opening defeat to Skyline.
“We’re going to have a team dinner, get together and play some video games and get ’em tomorrow,” said Broomfield pitcher Noah Coleman, whose two-run homer in the sixth tied it 5-5 and chased Darby.
Broomfield won its early game 4-1 against Widefield behind 12 strikeouts from pitcher Erik Lockwood.
Cheyenne Mountain will play today without Moncallo, who is attending a funeral in Las Vegas. Assistant Mark Swope will take over.
Broomfield 100 013 0 — 5 8 6
Cheyenne Mountain 013 103 X — 8 10 1
Broomfield — Coleman p-rf 2-2-1-2, Pray c 4-0-0-0, Lockwood 1b 4-1-2-1, Archbold ss-p 4-0-2-0, McCormick cf 4-0-1-1, Geubelle lf 3-1-0-0, Underberg rf-ss 2-0-1-0, Griffin 3b 2-1-1-1, Willard dh 3-0-0-0, McClaskey 2b 0-0-0-0. Totals 28-5-8-5.Cheyenne Mountain — Barry 3b 2-0-0-0, Hobbs ph 1-1-1-1, Bates 2b 2-0-1-2, Darby p-cf 4-1-2-1, Magrini c 4-0-0-0, Schoon ss 4-2-1-0, Aguilar 1b-p 2-1-1-0, Jorgensen lf 3-0-1-1, Kimball dh-1b 2-1-1-1, Bowman cf-rf 3-2-2-0, Lashlee rf 0-0-0-0. Totals 27-8-10-6.E — McClaskey 2, Archbold 2, Underberg, Pray, Barry. LOB — Broomfield 7, Cheyenne Mountain 6. 2B — Lockwood, Bates, Darby. 3B — Darby. HR — Coleman, one on in sixth. SB — Pray, Lockwood, Schoon. SAC — Underberg, Barry, Aguilar. SF — Bates 2. HBP — Coleman, Geubelle.
Batteries — Coleman, Archbold (6) and Pray; Darby, Aguilar (6) and Magrini. W — Aguilar. L — Coleman. WP — Coleman 2, Darby. PB — Pray. T — 2:22.
