Advertisement

Rocky Mountain baseball season ends with pair of 5A state tournament losses

chris abshire, fort collins coloradoan
·2 min read
Rocky Mountain head coach Scott Bullock looks on during a Class 5A state baseball tournament game against Valor Christian at All-City Park in Denver on Friday.
Rocky Mountain head coach Scott Bullock looks on during a Class 5A state baseball tournament game against Valor Christian at All-City Park in Denver on Friday.

The Rocky Mountain baseball team couldn't recapture its state tournament magic.

After a chaotic Friday that featured a rain-delayed, two-site loss to Valor Christian, Chaparral ended the Lobos' season Saturday with a 2-1 defeat in the Colorado Class 5A state baseball tournament at All-City Park in Denver.

Rocky (20-7) took a 1-0 lead after four scoreless frames, but the Wolverines (20-6-1) immediately responded with the decisive runs on a pair of RBI hits in the bottom half of the fifth.

The Lobos ultimately loaded the bases in the top of the seventh inning but couldn't push across the tying run or winning runs to match their walk-off regional wins.

The pitcher's duel was a marked change from the Friday opener, when Rocky and Valor Christian pitchers struggled to find the plate early.

Both teams had pulled road regional upsets, with No. 15 Valor (18-8) winning 2-seed Fruita Monument's region and No. 10 Rocky emerging from No. 7 Legacy's region last weekend.

A four-hour rain delay ultimately halted Friday's game with the Eagles leading 6-5 in the fourth.

Valor Christian players exit the dugout during a lightning delay of their 5A state baseball tournament game against Rocky Mountain at All-City Park in Denver on Friday.
Valor Christian players exit the dugout during a lightning delay of their 5A state baseball tournament game against Rocky Mountain at All-City Park in Denver on Friday.

Heavy rains during the afternoon storms made All-City Park's natural grass and dirt infield unplayable, moving Rocky-Valor over to All-Star Park's turf field in Lakewood.

The Eagles kept their foot on the gas once the game resumed Friday evening, ultimately winning 12-7 behind Keegan Waters' two-double, five-RBI day at the plate.

Phoenix West drove in a pair of runs, while Christian Wood went 3-4 with an RBI in the loss.

Three Rocky pitchers combined to walk 12 batters while allowing 10 hits.

Rocky Mountain's Phoenix West (17) runs toward first base after knocking a base hit during a Class 5A state baseball tournament game against Valor Christian at All-City Park in Denver on Friday.
Rocky Mountain's Phoenix West (17) runs toward first base after knocking a base hit during a Class 5A state baseball tournament game against Valor Christian at All-City Park in Denver on Friday.

That sent the Lobos to the losers' bracket against No. 6 Chaparral, who opened state play with a 9-1 loss Friday to No. 3 Regis Jesuit.

The Wolverines advanced to face No. 25 Cherokee Trail in another elimination game late Saturday.

The 2-1 loss ended Rocky's season after some May struggles. The Lobos held the No. 1 rating in CHSAA's seeding index as recently as May 5, but closed by losing five of their last nine games.

Since winning six state titles from 2007-17, this is also the third time in the past five seasons that Rocky Mountain has made the state tournament yet failed to reach the semifinals.

The season did highlight plenty of returning talent, like Kirin Lawing, Ross Frank, Cole Honick and Bradley Mallette.

But Rocky will also have to replace ten seniors next year, including standout starters in West, Wood, Brady Hall, Noah Mullen, Clay Alarid, Nate Eliason and more.

Rocky Mountain's Nate Eliason (47) turns away from a high pitch during a Class 5A state baseball tournament game against Valor Christian at All-City Park in Denver on Friday.
Rocky Mountain's Nate Eliason (47) turns away from a high pitch during a Class 5A state baseball tournament game against Valor Christian at All-City Park in Denver on Friday.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado 5A baseball: Rocky Mountain goes 0-2 in state tournament