BASEBALL
Playoffs mean pressure
It’s playoff baseball at its finest.
Most coaches in Class 5A, 4A and 3A, which had their district pairings released Wednesday, will tell you this weekend is packed with more pressure than next weekend. The old NCAA basketball tournament adage of “survive and advance” is apropos.
Starting in Class 5A, three-time defending state champion Rocky Mountain, led by skipper Scott Bullock, once again earned the top seed and will host Brighton at 10 a.m. Saturday in Fort Collins. Arapahoe and Fountain-Fort Carson, which made appearances in The Denver Post’s top 10 during the regular season, will meet in the second game at Gabe Pando Field. Grandview, by virtue of its thrilling 17-16 win over Cherry Creek last week, is the No. 2 seed, and the Bruins are No. 3.
In Class 4A, the top seed is Loveland’s Mountain View Mountain Lions, who open with Jeffco’s Conifer. The winner will play defending 4A champion Cheyenne Mountain or Palisade in Game 2. Montrose won the Southwestern League and received the No. 2 seed and the ultimate home-field advantage. Falcon, Golden and Niwot will make the trek to the Western Slope.
In Class 3A, Eaton’s remarkable winning streak stands at 56 games. The two-time state champion Reds, under the direction of veteran coach Jim Danley, host Sheridan. Faith Christian is the No. 2 seed and will play an Aspen team that got all-state pitcher Anderson Cole back late this season. Cole helped the Skiers get within a game of the state tournament last season.
The Class 2A regional round is filled with great matchups, none better than Saturday in Sterling at Northeastern Junior College. Always-tough Resurrection Christian, which finished the season ranked No. 1 in The Post’s poll, will battle Rolando Celis and Wiggins, which finished No. 3 in the poll. Two-time defending champion Custer County opens against Paonia in Alamosa on Saturday morning.
The Class 1A regionals come to the metro area. Holly has had a magnificent run to this point, including wins over defending champion Granada and No. 1 Baca County, but the Wildcats will take a back seat to what is sure to be a great pitching duel at Thomas Jefferson between freshmen Bryan Hodge of Community Christian and Tanner Serrato of Fleming.
TRACK AND FIELD
Regional roundup
Small-school athletes have one last opportunity to make a big impression before the state meet. Class 2A and 3A teams have regional competition this week at 10 sites.
GIRLS SOCCER
Cougars on the prowl
The status quo remained through the opening round of the three state tournaments. If upsets are going to strike, and they will, they could happen Friday or Saturday.
The best story of the first round was produced by Class 5A’s Coronado. The 22nd-seeded Cougars moved past Ponderosa in a shootout, thanks to the stellar effort of Kelly Schroeder. The senior, who took over for Hannah Smith after an injury midway through the season, made 18 saves (including one in the shootout). Coronado will play Mountain Vista in the round of 16.
