Fort Collins, Windsor baseball teams win regionals, while No. 1 Fossil Ridge is upset
The ups and downs of tricky regional play were on full display for local high school baseball teams this weekend.
The unforgiving regional tournaments began postseason play. Unlike the eight-team state tournament, regionals leave no room for error.
Four teams per region. One team wins two games to advance to state. Single elimination.
Two local schools felt the joy of winning a region. One felt the pain of a big upset. And two young programs tasted postseason play.
Fort Collins (Class 5A) and Windsor (4A) are now headed to state.
Here's how each region with a local team fared.
Class 5A Region 1
At Fossil Ridge High School
One of the stunners of the tournament. Fossil Ridge entered the postseason 21-1 and on a 13-game winning streak to earn the top seed.
The chase for a title ended quickly. No. 32 Eaglecrest scored two runs in the first inning and it was all uphill from there.
Fossil Ridge never got the bats going and the SaberCats were stunned 5-1 by the last team in the tournament. That ended Fossil Ridge's magical season at 22-2.
Class 5A Region 4
At Fruita Monument
No. 20 Rocky Mountain led early against No. 13 in the regional semifinal, but Chaparral owned the middle innings to push past the Lobos 5-3 and end Rocky Mountain's season.
Class 5A Region 7
At Fort Collins High School
Semifinal No. 1: No. 10 Legend 11, No. 23 Legacy 10
Semifinal No. 2: No. 7 Fort Collins 19, No. 26 Arapahoe 10
Regional title game: Fort Collins 13, Legend 3
Notable: Fort Collins finished off Legend 13-3 in a five-inning mercy-rule game to win the 5A regional title and advance to the state tournament.
The Lambkins (21-4) used monster first innings to run to a regional title. The Lambkins scored 10 in the first again Arapahoe and eight in the first against Legend.
Fort Collins missed the eight-team state tournament the last two seasons after making the final four in 2021.
State tournament: The Lambkins open the state tournament against No. 2 Regis Jesuit at noon Friday, May 24 at All-City Stadium in Denver. The winner plays again at 2:30 p.m. and the loser plays at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, May 25 in an elimination game.
Class 4A Region 1
At Windsor High School
Semifinal No. 1: No. 16 Discovery Canyon 6, No. 17 Grand Junction 5
Semifinal No. 2: No. 1 Windsor 14, No. 32 Aurora Central 0
Regional title game: Windsor 9, Discovery Canyon 1
Notable: Windsor plated 23 runs while allowing just one over two games as the top seed looked like a No. 1 to win a regional title and advance to the eight-team state tournament.
It's the first trip to state since 2018 for the Wizards.
State tournament: The Wizards open the state tournament at noon Friday, May 24 against No. 8 Thompson Valley in a game at the Air Force Academy. The winner plays again at 2:30 p.m. Friday and the loser plays at 9:30 a.m. Saturday in an elimination game.
Class 3A Region 1
At Eaton High School
Semifinal No. 1: No. 1 Eaton 10, No. 32 Kent Denver 0
Semifinal No. 2: No. 17 Timnath 7, No. 16 Jefferson Academy 6
Regional title game: Eaton 17, Timnath 1
Notable: Second-year Timnath got a real taste of the big time. The Cubs picked an impressive close win in the semifinal to reach the title game.
That meant a matchup with superpower Eaton, and the hosts showed why they're the 3A front-runners every year.
Class 3A Region 2
At Berthoud High School
No. 15 Wellington lost 10-3 to No. 18 Prospect Ridge Academy in the semifinal to end a solid second season for the program.
Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on X and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins, Windsor baseball teams win regionals
