A VETERAN GROUP
Resurrection Christian aiming for another deep playoff run
For the Resurrection Christian baseball team, the way the 2022 season ended was a disappointment and left a bitter taste in the mouths of the returning players.
The Cougars went 14-10 overall last year and were one of the last six teams remaining in the Class 3A state tournament before being eliminated by Lutheran. RCS was leading the game 4-3 going into the bottom the seventh inning where Lutheran scored five runs and won 8-4.
A new year brings new hope for the Cougars, who were state champions in 2012 and 2014 and last played for the state title in 2019. With a bulk of last year’s team back, RCS appears loaded for another run.
But the team and its secondyear coach Mike Magaro knows it will be another battle to get to the state tournament, where a pair of their league rivals, University and Eaton, played for the title last year, with the Reds coming out on top for their state-record 13th championship.
“I tell these guys all the time, and it’s cliche, but if we go out and play hard for seven innings and we empty the tank every single game, for me that’s more than enough from these guys,” Magaro said. “Obviously, a huge goal is to make it back to the state tournament since we were there last year, but for me, it’s can we go out and play hard and hopefully that’s enough for us to end up back in the state tournament playing in that event.”
The Cougars return their top two offensive performers from last year. Senior third baseman/ pitcher Carter Evans and junior first baseman/pitcher Deegan Corrigan led the team in batting average and home runs last season. Evans batted .438 with four home runs and 28 RBIS while Corrigan batted .394 with three home runs and 29 RBIS.
Evans also led the team in onbase percentage (.484), stolen bases (15), runs (30), hits (35), slugging percentage (.737) and triples (four).
“We all kind of have a bad taste from last year,” Evans said. “We definitely have a chip on our shoulders. We want to come back and make a stronger run in the playoffs this year. I think we should be good. We had a good offseason, good preseason. We’ll see. We should be good.”
Also returning for the Cougars this season are sophomore pitcher Vaughn Green, junior outfielders Christian Siemer and Caden Bailey and sophomore catcher Bennett Ruby. Magaro said he has also been impressed with newcomer junior Ryan Lee, who returned to RCS this year after some time away.
While Corrigan was just behind Evans in the categories in which the senior led the team in last season, Bailey was third on the team in stolen bases (10) and runs scored (20) while Green was third in ERA (3.38).
“This year, I think we have a pretty dynamic and good squad overall,” Corrigan said. “I think the guys we have coming back are pretty good and I think the guys that we have brought up and who have been introduced to the baseball that we play here this year will uphold the standard and I think that overall, we will be pretty good.”
One advantage Magaro and the team thinks they have over last year is that their coach, who was hired just a few months before the season started a year ago, has a whole season and an offseason with the team under his belt.
Magaro feels like he is more familiar with his players, his staff and the program in general going into this season.
“I think a big difference going into year two for me is that
last year I came in kind of late,” Magaro said. “It took some time for the team to feel me out and for me to feel them out. This year as soon as we started our offseason work, the expectations were already there and it’s not just me holding players accountable, but it’s some of the guys that are returning, impact players that are holding some of the younger guys accountable to their standards too.”
As if the 3A Patriot League wasn’t tough enough already, Magaro loaded up the Cougars’ nonleague slate with a seasonopening tournament in Arizona along with games against Kent Denver, Poudre and Jefferson Academy just to name a few.
In league play, not only do the Cougars have to face Eaton and University, but also state tournament qualifier Sterling as well as Brush, which finished a game ahead of RCS in the league last year. The league also expanded this year, going from nine teams to 14 with the additions of Timnath, Wellington, Weld Central, Highland and Berthoud.
“Last year, there were four teams from the Patriot League in the final eight at the state tournament,” Magaro said. “We were three outs away from having four of the final four teams. It’s competitive and there’s not really any walkthrough games this year.
“We’re going to Arizona for a tournament. I thought it was a good idea from the standpoint of a good team bonding opportunity for us, just to go out there and be around each other in a tournament setting, get out of Colorado into a little bit warmer weather and also see some really good competition right away.”
At that tournament in Arizona, the Cougars opened the season with a 22-6 victory over Greenway on Monday. The team was eager to get the season started with their ultimate goal to be playing in Greeley again come early June.
“This year, I am hoping, as a team we become very close and like a brotherhood and I think the work and the time we spent off the field together will help us a lot on the field together,” Corrigan said. “I think the returning players and the leaders will have to step up and continue the culture that we were brought up in to help the younger guys. I think numbers-wise, we are hoping for wins and stuff, but I really just want to see the level of competition we have and go at it with no fear.”
“I think we can make another deep run in the playoffs,” Evans added. “We have a good culture here at Rez and I think that will continue into the postseason.”