AURORA — Alyse Harris fully grasped the big picture, but there was something she was missing.
The Cherry Creek pitcher had just shut out Eaglecrest 1-0 in the second wave of Class 5A state softball tournament games Friday at Aurora Sports Complex, meaning the 12th-seeded Bruins will be among the final four teams when the tourney resumes today.
That much was abundantly clear to Harris. What she didn’t realize is that she had thrown a no-hitter against the fourth-seeded Raptors, a team forecasted to be deep in the title mix.
“To be honest, I didn’t even know,” Harris said. “I was just trying to close it out.”
Cherry Creek (18-7) began the day by upsetting No. 5 Green Mountain 2-1. Harris surrendered only two hits in that one, then parlayed Sami Springer’s RBI single in the fourth into a win against Eaglecrest (19-4). Harris walked the dangerous Aubrey Mable three times but was a perfect 21-up, 21-down against everyone else.
“They beat us twice during the season, so we wanted to show them we have changed as a team,” Harris said.
The Bruins’ reward is a semifinal matchup with two-time defending champion Legacy (22-0), which breezed to a 7-0 win against Grandview and a 7-1 decision versus Arvada West. Shelby Babcock struck out a combined 23 in the two games.
The other semifinal will pit second-seeded Central (Grand Junction) against No. 3 Ralston Valley. Each needed a late homer to win a game, with RV’s Kelley Reeves connecting for a three-run walkoff blast in a 3-0 win over Chatfield. Reeves added another homer and five RBIs in a 16-2 second-round pasting of Pomona.
Central breezed to a 12-4 victory against Lakewood in the first round, but got everything it could handle from Brighton in the second. Finally, in the top of the 12th, sophomore catcher Brittany Hoppe launched a two-run homer to left-center that turned out to be the difference in the Warriors’ 7-5 win.
“It hadn’t been a good day for me,” Hoppe said. “I couldn’t get a hit for nothing.”
The 4A bracket went more according to plan, with the only mild upset occurring when fifth-seeded Mullen edged No. 4 Niwot, 4-3. The Mustangs won when Brandi Hawkins beat the throw home on a fielder’s choice groundball by Gia Marquez in the bottom of the seventh.
“When I hit home, I had never been that excited in my entire life,” Hawkins said. “I’m so pumped that I could play all of tomorrow’s games right now.”
Mullen will take on top-seeded Wheat Ridge, the defending champ that walloped its way to 10-0 and 12-2 wins against Palisade and Mountain View.
Windsor and D’Evelyn will meet in the other 4A semifinal in a No. 2 vs. No. 3 matchup. D’Evelyn pitcher Holly Reinke blanked Lewis-Palmer 3-0 and Windsor pitcher Megan Wilkinson short-circuited a late Pueblo Central rally.
In 3A, Faith Christian knocked off rival Holy Family 1-0 when Myndee Thompson singled home Brinley Benson in the bottom of the seventh.
The Eagles will take on top-seeded Erie, which blasted Lamar and Platte Canyon and is aiming for its 12th straight championship appearance.
Fellow Patriot League teams Burlington and Valley (the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds) will collide in the other semifinal. Burlington defeated Platte Valley 14-4 in the second round while Valley needed nine innings to get past Brush 5-4.
