AURORA — Each time the ball struck the catcher’s mitt for strike three, a collection of “whoas” could be heard from the Holy Family fan base.
As word spread about the strikeout rate across the concourse Saturday at the Aurora Sports Complex, neutral fans who had been watching the Class 5A or 3A title games slowly made their way over to Field B2 for the 4A final.
By the bottom of the fourth inning, everyone had to see what was up.
Lutheran High School junior pitcher Hailey Maestretti commanded the pitchers’ circle — and the crowd — with a stunning 17-strikeout, 4-hit performance in a 3-0 win. It was the Lions’ second state title in as many years and their first 4A crown after dominating 3A last year.
“Coming into this game (the mindset) was to trust my defense. Let them work for me, let them be behind me and to trust in all of the pitches that I have,” she said.
Lutheran (28-1) is in its third year of existence as a softball program and has already shown the state what one dominant pitcher and plenty of offensive help can do to climb the CHSAA ladder. The Lions outscored opponents 45-3 in the state tournament, and blanked the opposition 12 times this season, including the 4A finale.
On Saturday, Lutheran got off to a good start in the second inning when third-base sophomore Aleksia Severson delivered an RBI single. Facing a Holy Family lineup capable of igniting at a moment’s notice, the Lions knew they needed insurance. And in the bottom of the sixth, senior Faith Byler delivered with a line drive to left field that brought home two more runs.
With batters hanging in tough in the bottom of the seventh, Maestretti was able to get the last three outs to complete the shutout.
The junior left-hander verbally committed to play for Utah in the Pac-12 a few weeks ago. Her dad and head coach, Glen, said she’s been pitching since she was seven — perfecting a number of pitches along the way. Most lethal on Saturday was her changeup and off-speed screwball, which runs away from right-handers and fooled plenty of batters.
“She was a wild kid that threw hard in the basement and we found a pitching specialist in Castle Rock that put her in the right direction to where she is today. She works her tail off to perform,” the elder Maestretti said. “… Hailey is one of those pitchers that she doesn’t get fazed a lot on the mound and dials in, even with dad yelling at her sometimes. She’s very stoic and gets the job done.”
For all the work Maestretti did to get her team in this position, it was no wonder that the clutch hit of the afternoon came down to a veteran.
Byler started her high school career at Ponderosa but transferred into Lutheran in the program’s infancy. In her at-bat in the sixth, the senior infielder, who has offers from Weber State and Northern Colorado, had a senior-laden approach.
“I was just thinking find a way to get my runners home. I knew I had two outs so I couldn’t fly out to get them home. It had to be a line drive and thankfully I got a gap shot, which was awesome. I’m not really a good inside hitter, so I was happy I drove it and it got down.”
For Holy Family (24-5), the loss spoiled a three-peat bid in 4A. The Tigers were back-to-back champions entering the title game. Still, with a young group, head coach Moriah Nguyen said she is proud of the season they had.
“I think we had a great season, we didn’t start how we wanted to and they worked hard every single day at practice,” Nguyen said. “Today didn’t go our way, but we’ve got a tough set of girls. They’ve got the mindset and know what it takes to get here.”
But for how good Holy Family has been over the years, once Maestretti got in her rhythm Saturday, there was no letting go. Holy Family fans were perplexed at the 5-foot-9 pitcher who already has over 500-career strikeouts, while others flocked in to view the masterpiece.
“I’d say I knew (I was wheeling and dealing) after the first inning,” she said. “I felt the momentum, not for me personally, but I felt that come towards our side and we just took that and made it ours.”
3A Final: Eaton 9, University 1
Eaton (22-7) ended the season on a nine-game winning streak that culminated with a dominant win over University in the 3A title game.
Leading 5-0 after five innings, the Reds put four away in the top of the seventh to take home its second softball title and first since 2020. Julia Meagher pitched every inning over the state tournament and delivered a clutch two-run hit too.
