In an instant preps classic, Cherokee Trail beat Broomfield 1-0 in eight innings at Aurora Sports Park on Saturday to capture the program’s first 5A title.
Senior Chloe Knapp’s solo home run in the top of the eighth broke the tie, and senior Emily Bell threw a four-hit, complete-game shutout to give the Cougars (22-3) the win over the top-seeded Eagles (22-3).
“We just felt like we had nothing to lose, so we just went out there and played our game,” Cherokee Trail coach Caley Mitchell said. “All year long our motto’s been ‘trust the process,’ and we didn’t execute our bunts like we usually do, but we stayed focused in there, didn’t press and finally came up with a big hit.”
The Cougars’ adherence to the ‘trust the process’ mantra paid off in a big way, as Cherokee Trail had full faith its big moment would come and played lockdown defense against a Broomfield offense averaging nearly 10 runs per game.
“The dugout wasn’t as stressful as we thought it would be, because we all have faith in each other,” Emily Bell said. “Chloe has been so even though we were all a little nervous, we knew we’d be able to pull it out.”
Taylor Gilmore was outstanding in the circle for Broomfield, working through several early-inning jams and getting better as the game went on en route to tallying nine strikeouts.
And the Eagles nearly won the title on a two-run, two-out walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth, but star senior Lindsey Malkin’s fly ball to end Broomfield’s magical season.
“Our eight seniors are absolutely amazing ladies — they work hard on and off the field, and they’re going to do great things here soon,” Broomfield coach Paula Seifried said. “They’re not going to let this one moment define them. And, plus, Cherokee Trail is a great team so they don’t have any reason to hold their heads down.”
