Colorado Preps Weekly

The final week of the 2021-22 athletic calendar is here and a number of championships will be awarded to wrap things up. Locally, eyes will be focused on baseball and golf.

Girls golf will see 18 local athletes attacking the Broadlands Golf Course in Broomfield on Tuesday and Wednesday. Burlington and Holyoke each qualified three ladies for the Class 3A state championships, with Anna Marie Schaal, Lauren Hays and Tatumlynn Walkinshaw representing the Lady Cougars, and Holyoke sending Emma Thompson, Erin Anderson and Sabryn Burris.

Rye (Emma Garcia, Paige Hyatt) and Washington County (Kendall Velder, Mary Dracon) each had two golfers qualify for the tournament. Brush (Haley Ostwald), Fowler (Jacelyn Hagerman), La Junta (Morgan McReynolds), Limon (Katelyn Tacha), Rocky Ford (Jenna Kienitz), Swink (Kinzie Ensor), Trinidad (Rylie Pachelli) and Wray (Sydney Chartier) all have one representative in the field.

The area will also have a competitor in the 4A state tournament at Tiara Rado Golf Course in Grand Junction. Fort Morgan's Lexys Siebrands will be in the field after placing fourth in last week's regional tournament. Siebrands shot an 83 to qualify.

Limon has a shot at repeating as the 2A baseball state champion after the Badgers dispatched Wiggins 16-1 last Friday in the quarterfinals and Highland 8-4 on Saturday in the semis. The Badgers broke open the quarterfinal against Wiggins with a 13-run third inning. Ky Bandy went 3-3 with three RBI in that victory and also reached on a hit by pitch. Brady Rockwell earned the win by allowing one unearned run in three innings, with three strikeouts.

The Badgers took control of the semifinal contest against Highland with three spots in the fourth and fifth innings. Trey Hines worked 5.1 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on just three hits, with eight strikeouts and three walks. Limon was the beneficiary of six unearned runs in the victory.

They will face St. Mary's in the finals on Saturday. The Pirates had their fans white-knuckled all weekend, as they forced extra innings in both of their contests over the two days in Pueblo. Friday saw Rye leading 6-3 heading to the top of the sixth, before the Thunderbolts allowed the Pirates to tie the game with three runs. St. Mary's would scratch the winning run across the plate in the top of the eighth to win 7-6.

St. Mary's led Peyton 10-3 going into the bottom of the sixth in the semifinals but trailed 12-10 after that inning came to a close. They would again get the runs needed in the seventh to push the game into extras and their run in the top of the eighth gave them a 13-12 win and a spot in the finals. That kept Peyton from reaching the finals for a second straight season and the third time in the last four years.

The 2A final will be played at CSU-Pueblo on Saturday at 11am. The Badgers are 25-0 on the season and have not lost a game since May 18, 2019. They own a 10-8 victory over St. Mary's (19-8 on the season), during which they trailed 8-0 after two and a half innings.

Sterling had an extremely interesting weekend in the 3A tournament. The Tigers got home runs from Cast Combs and Noah Soper as they came back to beat Resurrection Christian 8-6 on Friday. Down 5-1 in the fourth, Sterling struck for six runs in the bottom of the frame and never looked back.

That win earned the Tigers a shot at league rival and defending champion Eaton later in the day. The Reds continued their domination in the series, beating Sterling 17-6 for their third win this season over the Tigers and the 18th in the last 20 meetings.

Friday's win over Resurrection Christian guaranteed Sterling a shot at redemption, as the Tigers got a chance to work their way back through the double-elimination side of the bracket. They won a drama filled 7-6 contest over Bayfield in eight innings. Once again, the Tigers found themselves trailing late. This time, they were down 6-3 going into their last at-bats. Sterling would tie the game with a three-spot, forcing an extra frame. After shutting the Wolverines down in the top of the eighth, the Tigers loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning and Jake Gordon delivered the game-winner.

The Tigers will face another Patriot League rival, University, on Friday at 2:30pm at Butch Butler Field in Greeley. The winner moves on to face Eaton on Saturday at 11 a.m. and would need to win that contest to force the “if needed” game at 1:30pm.

Lamar's girls soccer team lost its 2A semifinal contest against Crested Butte 4-0 last Monday, ending what had been a remarkable season for the program. Lamar posted a 15-2 mark on the year, with two of the wins coming in the postseason. They will have to replace a number of key players, including top scorer Jamilet Cruz (11 goals, 27 points) and top goaltender Julissa Adan. Dawson School defeated Crested Butte 3-0, claiming its third title in four years.