The 5A and 4A state baseball tournaments will crown new champions

There won’t be a repeat champion in either of the big-school classifications in baseball after 2023 winners Valor Christian and Severance were eliminated in the Class 5A and 4A regional tournaments last weekend.

It’ll be someone new as the two-weekend, eight-team, double-elimination state tournaments start Friday.

In 5A, a field featuring four double-digit seeds, is split between All-Star Park in Lakewood and All-City Stadium in Denver on the first weekend.

The 4A tournament, with all top eight teams in the mix, is in Colorado Springs. Games are at the Air Force Academy and the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.

Class 5A

Teams: No. 2 Regis Jesuit, No. 5 Cherry Creek, No. 7 Fort Collins, No. 8 Prairie View, No. 11 Cherokee Trail, No. 13 Chaparral, No. 16 Grandview and No. 19 Horizon.

No. 1 Fossil Ridge was eliminated by No. 32 Eaglecrest in the regional tournament last weekend. A snapshot of the chaos that ensued throughout the 32-team field.

Four teams in 5A’s Final 8 won on the road in regionals — No. 11 Cherokee Trail, No. 13 Chaparral, No. 16 Grandview and No. 19 Horizon.

Grandview (16-9) led the way, coming out of a madcap Region 1. The Wolves beat No. 17 Ralston Valley on Collin May’s walkoff single in the 14th inning in their first game, then punched their ticket with a win over Eaglecrest, the last team to make the regional field.

Elsewhere, Cherokee Trail (18-7) beat two other double-digit seeds to win the region hosted by No. 6 Rock Canyon. Jack Boyko’s walk-off single sent the Cougars over No. 27 Brighton in the final.

Chaparral (18-7) rallied to beat No. 4 Fruita Monument in the title game at Region 4, and Horizon (16-9) beat No. 14 Arvada West and No. 30 Monarch at No. 3 Castle View’s regional.

Among the four top seeds, Cherry Creek (20-4-1) is aiming for program title No. 9 in coach Marc Johnson’s 52nd and final season. Regis Jesuit (19-6) is looking for its fourth. Fort Collins (21-4) and Prairie View (21-4) are aiming for their first.

Regis Jesuit is led by 5A’s regular season batting champ, Trevor Nordstrom. He is hitting .552 and has a hit in all but two games he’s played in this season. Behind him, Fort Collins’ Sean Togher is second in 5A batting (.516) and first in on-base percentage (.660).

Prairie View’s Favi Gaeta has the most 5A wins on the mound (10) and third-most strikeouts (101). Cherry Creek’s Ryan Falke has the best ERA among pitchers left in the tournament, touting a mark of 1.05 in 40 IP.

Class 4A

Teams (No. 1-8): Windsor, Golden, Pueblo County, Palisade, Holy Family, Falcon, Lewis-Palmer and Thompson Valley.

Windsor star Ethan Fillinger drove in six runs and threw five hitless innings as the Wizards (23-2) blew out both of their regional opponents.

Arguably the best player in the field, Fillinger is hitting .412 with seven home runs and 40 RBIs this spring. The junior has driven in nine runs over his last four games. On the mound, he has a 0.59 ERA in 35 2/3 IP. Over his last 14 1/3 frames, he’s allowed one hit, no runs, while striking out 28.

Elsewhere, Golden (23-2), last year’s 4A runner-up, held on to beat No. 15 Lutheran, 10-9, in its region.

The Demons had a 10-1 lead before the Lions rallied within one in the sixth inning. Ace Sawyer Brinkman (1.14 ERA in 49 1/3 IP) came in to shut things down, getting the final out with the bases loaded in the sixth before stranding two in the seventh. Brinkman is 7-0 on the season.

Friday, the top-ranked Wizards start with Thompson Valley (19-6). The Eagles got two home runs and six RBIs from senior Riley Suarez in their regional title win over No. 9 Mullen, 10-9. Evan Raabe, though, is the top hitter for them, and in the field, batting .540 this spring with a state-best nine home runs and class-best 39 runs scored.

The Demons begin with Lewis-Palmer (17-8). The Rangers’ lineup is led by Danny Cook, who is hitting .529 with 33 runs scored. He is third in 4A with 24 stolen bases.

Meanwhile, the opening-round games between Pueblo County (20-5) and Falcon (19-5), and Palisade (19-5-1) Holy Family (18-5-1), are rematches from the regular season.

The Falcons beat the Hornets, 10-6, behind five RBIs from Josh Nemeth on March 23. This spring, Falcon has gotten two five-inning no-hitters from Isaiah Sadorus (1.40 ERA in 50 IP). For the Hornets, Roy Higinbotham has a 1.67 ERA in 46 IP. He’s allowed just one hit in his last two appearances on the mound, striking out 18 in 11 innings.

The Tigers beat and tied the Bulldogs in a March 22 doubleheader. In the 9-3 win that day for Holy Family, ace Brady Hudson struck out eight in seven strong innings. He has a 2.83 ERA in 52 IP, with 76 strikeouts. This spring, Palisade is led by Kian Kinslow’s 17 extra-base hits and 39 RBIs. The sophomore had five RBIs in eight plate appearances during the regional tournament.