The best of the best in Colorado high school softball descend upon Aurora this weekend for the CHSAA state tournaments.
The tournaments will decide champions from Class 5A, 4A and 3A through three 16-team brackets played out Friday and Saturday at Aurora Sports Park off East Colfax Avenue. All three of last year’s champions are back to defend their titles — Fossil Ridge (5A), Holy Family (4A) and Eaton (3A) — but only Holy Family, winner of two of the last three 4A titles, is a top seed.
In the Class 5A bracket, that distinction belongs to Horizon, which is 25-1 with wins over second-seeded Columbine, third-seeded Fossil Ridge and fifth-seeded Legacy. In 3A, unbeaten Lutheran (25-0) is the No. 1 seed. The Lions have beaten all but three opponents by seven runs or more: 5A Ralston Valley (4-1), 4A D’Evelyn (2-0) and 4A Golden (4-3).
The Round of 16 and quarterfinals are scheduled for Friday starting at 10 a.m., with the semifinals set for 10 a.m. Saturday followed by the championship games in the afternoon.
Admission is $9 for adults and $6 for students and senior citizens.
Here is the schedule:
Prep softball: CHSAA state tournament
Where: Aurora Sports Park | When: Friday and Saturday
Class 5A
Friday
First round
Horizon 5, Castle View 3
Chatfield 9, Grand Junction Central 4
Legend 10, Cherokee Trail 3
Broomfield 6, Legacy 0
Fossil Ridge 6, Arvada West 1
Mountain Vista 13, Smoky Hill 9
Columbine 4, Rock Canyon 2
Lakewood 5, Chaparral 4
Quarterfinals
Horizon 13, Chatfield 6
Legend 2, Broomfield 0
Fossil Ridge 3, Mountain Vista 2
Columbine 12, Lakewood 0
Saturday
Semifinals
Legend 7, Horizon 2
Columbine 1, Fossil Ridge 0
Championship
Legend 8, Columbine 0
Class 4A
Friday
First round
Holy Family 12, Palmer Ridge 1
Mead 7, Conifer 4
Riverdale Ridge 3, Pueblo Central 1
Ponderosa 12, Frederick 6
Erie 3, Wheat Ridge 1
Elizabeth 5, Windsor 1
Severance 10, Pueblo South 5
D’Evelyn 6, Roosevelt 5
Quarterfinals
Holy Family 9, Mead 5
Riverdale Ridge 6, Ponderosa 1
Elizabeth 4, Erie 1
D’Evelyn 2, Severance 0
Saturday
Semifinals
Holy Family 7 Riverdale Ridge 3
D’Evelyn 7, Elizabeth 4
Championship
Holy Family 10, D’Evelyn 4
Class 3A
Friday
First round
Lutheran 15, Rocky Ford 0
Limon 14, Brush 4
Sterling 12, Meeker 0
Montezuma-Cortez 18, La Junta 17
University 14, Weld Central 3
Lamar 14, The Academy 4
Eaton 12, Peak to Peak 0
Fort Lupton 7, Strasburg 4
Quarterfinals
Lutheran 9, Limon 1
Sterling 6, Montezuma-Cortez 5
University 6, Lamar 5
Eaton 6, Fort Lupton 2
Saturday
Semifinals
Lutheran 15, Sterling 0
University 8, Eaton 7
Championship
Lutheran 13, University 2
