ARVADA — The Wheat Ridge softball team doesn’t simply want to be known as the finest team in Class 4A. The Farmers want to be known as the finest team in the state, period.
Wheat Ridge ended the regular season with a 6-0 road victory Thursday against a tough 5A nonleague opponent in hard-hitting Arvada West.
Arvada West coach Tod Bunker said Wheat Ridge is among the “top three or four teams” regardless of classification. The Farmers’ (18-1) lone loss was a 2-1 decision to three-time 5A champion and undefeated Legacy.
“It feels good,” leadoff hitter Kayla Mathewson said. “We want to show that whether we’re playing a bad team or a good team, we’re going to come out and play our game.”
Wheat Ridge again was led by Elle Madsen, the state’s leader in home runs with 11. She kept it in the yard Thursday but went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and improved to 18-1 on the mound. The junior always has been among the state’s finest hitters, but few knew how dominant she would be in the pitching circle.
“I heard a lot about this being a rebuilding year for us, but no one knew our left fielder could pitch too,” Wheat Ridge catcher Brennan Wilkie said. “She just blows it past people.”
Felicia Barela added two hits and two RBIs for the Farmers, her two-run single in the third making it 4-0. With Madsen, who gave up five singles, inducing a bevy of comebackers, the cushion was more than enough.
“This is good, because we definitely wanted to go against a good team going into the playoffs,” said Wilkie, who went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Arvada West enters the postseason at 10-9, but the record is more solid than it appears, considering the Wildcats’ rigorous schedule.
“I feel good,” Bunker said. “We had one of the toughest schedules in 5A, and the girls aren’t afraid to play anybody.”
Wheat Ridge 103 101 0 — 6 10 0
Arvada West 000 000 0 — 0 5 3
Wheat Ridge (ab-r-h-rbi) — Mathewson ss 4-2-2-0, Madsen p 4-1-3-2, Duncan 2b 4-1-0-0, B. Wilkie c 4-1-2-1, Wall dh-lf 4-0-0-0, Barela cf-3b 3-0-2-2, M. Wilkie 3-0-0-0, Haiges 3b-ss 4-1-1-0, Trengove rf-cf 3-0-0-0, Sanchez lf-rf 0-0-0-0. Totals 33-6-10-5.
Arvada West — Carter 2b-rf 3-0-0-0, Oury ss-lf 3-0-1-0, Trujillo p-cf 3-0-0-0, Haugum c 3-0-1-0, Hendrickson 3b-1b-ss 3-0-1-0, Hood lf-3b 3-0-1-0, McGinn pr 0-0-0-0, Reeves cf-lf 3-0-0-0, Vigil dh-1b 2-0-1-0, Ebelsheiser rf 0-0-0-0, Holtz rf-2b 1-0-0-0, Bockhold 1b-p 0-0-0-0. Totals 24-0-5-0.
E — Reeves, Oury, Hood. LOB — Wheat Ridge 8, Arvada West 4. 2B — Mathewson. 3B — Mathewson, Haiges. SB — Madsen, Oury. SAC — Ebelsheiser.
Batteries — Madsen and B. Wilkie; Trujillo, Bockhold (4) and Haugum. W — Madsen (18-1). L — Trujillo (8-7). T — 1:36.
