BRIGHTON — Bob Gonzales used to deliver the news. He now makes it.
Brighton’s softball coach, a former district manager for distribution of the now-defunct Rocky Mountain News, points out that his school “hasn’t won a state championship with a ball” since 1954, when the Bulldogs won the Class A title in boys basketball.
The city about 20 miles northeast of Denver “would shut down and have a parade,” he said, if the Bulldogs win the Class 5A state championship, which will be decided Friday and Saturday at the Aurora Sports Complex. Brighton opens Friday against Columbine, which ousted the Bulldogs a year ago.
“We’ve got as good a chance as anybody,” Gonzales said of the 16-team bracket. “This year, I don’t believe it’s as tough as in years past. And when you have Melissa on the mound, who’s the best pitcher in the state, that helps.”
Gonzalez is referring to Melissa Rahrich, a senior bound for Stony Brook (N.Y.). Entering Friday, Rahrich has a 16-3 record with a 1.30 ERA and 154 strikeouts in 102 innings. She is hitting a state-leading .737 with 10 doubles, seven home runs and 41 RBIs.
“We definitely have things to look forward to,” Rahrich said. “Hopefully we haven’t hit our peak yet.”
Brighton, 18-3 and seeded second, breezed through the 10-team East Metro Athletic Conference, going 9-0 and outscoring opponents 137-3. It’s nothing new. The Bulldogs haven’t lost an EMAC game since Gonzales took over the program five years ago. Brighton has recorded 47 consecutive conference victories.
To win the state tournament, the Bulldogs will have to get past No. 15 Columbine, which handed them their only two losses a season ago, one in the first round at the state tournament.
“We have to treat every game with intensity,” said senior infielder Audrey Kobi.
Before last year’s first-round loss, the Bulldogs were second, fourth and eighth at state in Gonzales’ first three years.
The program, which plays rare night games that can attract several hundred fans, is hungry. Nine of the 24 girls in the program are freshmen, but, as Gonzales said, “they’ve all grown up together playing the game.”
Kobi, citing Brighton’s “small-town vibe,” said winning the big-school title as a senior would be a great cap to her career.
“It would be hard to put into words,” she said.
Rahrich will need to be at her best for that to happen.
“I’ve played against her in club ball and, yes, she’s pretty good,” said Fossil Ridge shortstop Haley Donaldson, who will play next season at Nebraska. “She’s a real competitive player, and I have a lot of respect for her. She can carry her team through state, for sure.”
Said Rahrich: “I feel like it is balanced. It’s out there for anyone.”
Neil H. Devlin: ndevlin@denverpost.com or @neildevlin
State softball
When: Friday-Saturday
Where: Aurora Sports Complex
Who: Classes 5A, 4A and 3A
Top seeds: Chaparral, 5A; Wheat Ridge, 4A; Strasburg, 3A
Schedule: Friday, 5A and 4A first-round games at 10 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.; second round at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, semifinals at 10 a.m.; 5A and 4A title games at 1:30 p.m., 3A at 1:15 p.m.
Full brackets:
