Rocky Mountain, Windsor and Fossil Ridge softball teams all headed to state tournament
Three Fort Collins-area softball teams are headed to Aurora next weekend for the Colorado high school state softball championships.
Windsor won its Class 4A Region 7 bracket at home, while Fossil Ridge and Rocky Mountain grinded out runner-up finishes in road regionals to make the 5A tournament.
It's the most local qualifiers for state since 2015, when these same three programs plus Fort Collins all made it.
Here's a look at how each team advanced out of regionals:
Windsor survives close games
The No. 7 Wizards got the job done, going 2-0 in their home regional on Saturday.
But it was far from easy.
Windsor won a pair of one-run games, first coming from behind to beat No. 26 Grand Junction 5-4.
The Wizards scored exactly one run in five of their six innings at the plate, the last two flipping a one-run deficit into the decisive one-run edge.
Molli Magana had two hits, including a home run and 2 RBIs. Kylie Smith also cranked out three hits and a triple.
That set up a game against No. 10 Pueblo West.
It wasn't win or stay home (the top two teams in each regional qualify in 4A/5A), but positioning and seeding are valuable for the 16-team single-elimination tournament, which runs Oct. 20-21.
The Wizards fell behind again, and this comeback was even more impressive.
The Cyclones took a 5-0 lead in the first inning. Windsor chipped away with two in the second and two more in the fifth but still went to the seventh trailing 5-4.
The Wizards scored another pair of runs, capping a come-from-behind regional title.
Lilia Mancina cranked a two-run homer, Jenna McGinnis had two hits and Brooke McGinnis had a key 2-RBI double.
This is Windsor's third straight trip to the 4A state tournament.
Fossil Ridge goes to state in walk-off style
Speaking of regulars at state, Fossil Ridge is as consistent as it gets.
The No. 11 SaberCats are headed to Aurora for a whopping 13th straight year, and this one took some dramatics.
Fossil Ridge walked off No. 22 Ponderosa in the eighth inning of an elimination game for both teams Friday evening at Erie High School.
Fossil walloped the Mustangs, 9-1, in the 5A Region 6 opener but fell 7-2 to No. 6 Erie, the host and region champ.
That set up a rematch with Ponderosa and it went down to the wire.
The Mustangs tied it at 1-1 in the seventh on Jasmin Martinez's solo shot.
But Fossil got a leadoff double in the eighth inning. With two outs, Jayden McBride hit a shallow fly ball that found the "Bermuda Triangle" in shallow center between Ponderosa fielders, allowing the ball to drop and the winning run to score.
It also took a clutch pitching performance from Fossil's Brooklynn Cardenas, who tossed eight innings of one-run ball against Ponderosa and 18 total in three games.
After a 2-5 start to the season, the SaberCats swept their way to a 14-0 Front Range League record and title.
They've now won 17 of their last 18 games. No one wants to see them in the state tournament, where the SaberCats have made at least the semifinals in eight of their 12 trips, including the 2020 5A state championship.
Rocky returns to state
For the first time since 2019, Rocky Mountain is headed to the 5A state softball tournament.
The No. 19 Lobos made it by finishing runner-up in Region 3, beating No. 19 Castle View twice in as many days.
Rocky opened the regional by blanking the SaberCats (not Fossil) 5-0 on Friday before falling 15-0 to No. 3 Chatfield, the region's host and champion.
The Lobos bounced back on Saturday, though. They jumped out to a 2-0 edge on Castle View. And after a two-run fifth frame tied it up, Rocky rebounded with two more in the sixth to clinch a 4-2 win and a state berth.
Sam Ealum had two hits and a homer on Saturday, while Emma Meyer cranked out two homers and all five RBIs in Rocky's Friday win.
Haisley Leskinen also combined for 14 innings of two-run ball with 25 strikeouts in two complete-game wins over Castle View.
The Lobos now await their seeding and matchup for state, which will be announced Monday by CHSAA.
Wellington comes close to state berth
If 3A had the same format as 4A and 5A, there's a good chance Wellington would have made the state tournament.
Instead, the single-elimination format in 3A regionals bit the No. 14 Eagles, as they fell in their regional opener to No. 19 Alamosa 7-6 in eight innings on Saturday morning in Greeley.
Kensley Story had three hits, while Jasmine Tafoya added two hits with a triple and 2 RBIs.
More: Wellington softball's Kensley Story named Blue Federal Credit Union's Athlete of the Week
No. 3 University, the host team, beat Alamosa to win 3A Region 3, though the Mean Moose ultimately still advanced to the 3A state tournament.
The Eagles wrapped up the program's sophomore season with a 13-11 (7-7 league) record, a five-game improvement from last year to go with a second consecutive postseason berth.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado softball: Rocky Mountain, Windsor, Fossil Ridge make state tournament
