Broomfield cannot get past Mountain Vista in 5A
Eagles’ tournament run ends with 8-3 defeat
After winning the Class 5A state championship in 2022, Broomfield baseball entered this year’s final tournament as the odds-on favorite to repeat that feat this spring.
Cherokee Trail and Mountain Vista had other plans.
Following Friday’s 5-4 loss to No. 25 Cherokee Trail in the first round of the 5A state tournament, No. 1 Broomfield’s season came to an end at Keli Mcgregor Field at Coca Cola All-star Park on Saturday afternoon.
No. 13 Mountain Vista sent the Eagles packing for the final time with an 8-3 decision after getting off to a hot start. While the Eagles, at times, found themselves hot on the trail to keep their playoff hopes alive, Mountain Vista always found a way to bury them.
The Eagles ended their season with a 24-3 record and a 5A Front Range League title, feats they achieved after saying goodbye to 15 seniors last year. They leaned on young talent in 2023, starting five sophomores to help guide them into the state tournament.
“It’s unheard of. There’s no one else in the state doing that, let alone at the 5A level,” head coach Kale Gilmore said. “To compete like they did and to have nine sophomores on the roster and start four or five every single day, they don’t play like sophomores. I’m really excited about the future. The future’s bright here. We got a good thing going and we’ll just pick up, we’ll reload next year.”
Mountain Vista began the game on a high after netting three runs in the top of the first, and the Eagles had to take a few deep breaths before they were able to respond. That answer came in the fourth inning with back-to-back RBI doubles from seniors Noah Scott and Luke Blackmon to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Broomfield tied the ballgame up in the bottom of the next frame thanks to an RBI base hit to center field from Tripp Bemis, but Mountain Vista quickly squashed that comeback with two more runs in the top of the sixth.
“It’s good that (the younger guys) have the experience because now they know what it’s like and they know what it takes when
they’re able to battle next year and, hopefully, give it another run,” Scott said.
Mountain Vista kept the Eagles scoreless in the bottom of the inning, leaving them with their backs up against the wall going into the seventh. From the moment the final frame began, Mountain Vista left nothing to chance. Sean Marlow and Spike Magill led off the inning with back-to-back base hits, then Broomfield opted for the bold approach.
The Eagles intentionally walked Mountain Vista’s next batter, which immediately backfired. Designated hitter Andrew Sorenson, in the following at-bat, cleared the bases with a line drive to center to increase his team’s lead to 8-3. Broomfield couldn’t recover.
“(The state tournament) is serious baseball. It’s good baseball,” Blackmon said. “You have to play clean all seven innings. There’s no mistakes. You can’t play sloppy and you got to hit.
You got to hit every single inning.”
Following the loss, Broomfield will say goodbye to senior leaders in Scott, Blackmon, Andrew Dalconzo, Dylan Oelker, Keigan Brady, Michael Cannata, Josh Mckee and Jacob Rice. Blackmon and Scott, in particular, always brought the fire in the batter’s box, recording batting averages of .462 and .453, respectively.
They had combined for 63 RBIS, 69 hits and 46 runs prior to Saturday’s finale, and Scott doubled up from the mound as Broomfield’s ace. He finished his year with a 1.16 ERA, a 12-1 record and 68 strikeouts.
The Eagles, still, will have plenty to look forward to after their seniors have moved on. Blackmon is excited to see how Brendan Fritch, Dane Most, Bailey Smith and Brady Todd, in particular, can lead this team into the future.
“I think any time you put a Broomfield jersey on, you