Golden Eagles, Lobos both 2-0
The weather-delayed Class 5A state high school baseball tournament finally got underway Sunday, and when the six games at two sites were completed, the Rocky Mountain Lobos of Fort Collins and Mountain Vista Golden Eagles of Highlands Ranch were the only remaining unbeaten teams in the double-elimination tournament.
Rocky Mountain beat Rock Canyon 3-2 and Cherry Creek 7-6 at All-City Field, while Mountain Vista defeated Dakota Ridge 6-2 and Broomfield 6-4 at Metro State.
The Lobos and Golden Eagles will meet Monday at 3 p.m. at All-City Field, and the winner will be in great shape as the tournament — and what then will be four survivors — goes on hiatus until Friday.
At All-City Field on Sunday, the showcase game matched the state’s two perennial powerhouses — Cherry Creek and Rocky Mountain. Left fielder Brady Morris’ two-run homer got the Lobos going in the bottom of the second. The Lobos eventually scored three times in the fifth and twice in the sixth to take a 7-4 lead before holding on after the Bruins got to within 7-6 in the top of the seventh.
Cherry Creek had two on with one out, but Kalen Hammer came on to pitch for the Lobos and struck out Tyler Schultz and got Gunnar Garcia to fly out. Rocky Mountain came away with two wins on the day, with the first coming against Rock Canyon’s standout pitcher, Matt Givin.
“It was a tough day, and we knew it was going to be, regardless of who we played in the second game,” said Rocky Mountain coach Scott Bullock. “Having to face the Givin kid in the first game, we knew it was going to have to be 14 innings of competing our tails off and being at our best. I don’t know if we were at our best, but our kids did a great job of competing.
“I told our kids, it’s great we made it into the final four, but it would be a big advantage being 3-0. So we have to be ready to go against Mountain Vista.”
The Lobos went with their own ace, John Sorensen, against Rock Canyon in the opener, and he came within one out of a complete game, having to come out when he hit the maximum 110-pitch count.
Hammer’s wild pitch enabled Rock Canyon to get within 3-2, but Hammer then picked Colton Hill off second base to end the game. Sorensen had a two-run homer to go with his five-hit pitching. He played shortstop in the second game, going 1-for-2 at the plate with an RBI.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Sorensen said. “These first two almost put you in almost the driver’s seat, so you have to go out and get one (Monday).”
He said of his homer against Rock Canyon: “They had a really good pitcher on the mound. He was throwing really hard and I was up 3-1 in the count and was looking fastball. I got a pretty good swing on it.”
The Lobos are looking for their sixth state title in 11 tournaments. They won the title four times in a row from 2007-10 and again in 2014.
The earlier games Sunday also included Broomfield beating Legend 5-2 and Cherry Creek knocking off Legacy 4-2.
Before the two remaining unbeaten teams play at 3 p.m. Monday, Legacy will face Rock Canyon at 10 a.m. at Metro State, with the winner facing Broomfield at 12:30 p.m. At All-City, Dakota Ridge will meet Legend at 10 a.m., with the winner moving to play Cherry Creek at 12:30 p.m. The losers of those games are eliminated, and the two still surviving will move on to Friday play at All-City, along with both Rocky Mountain and Mountain Vista.