High school baseball races in Class 3A-1A are getting plenty interesting as teams try and position themselves to get into the postseason. This week the drama will surely increase and with that in mind we will pass out a Player Prop and dive into some key games on the slate.

Player Props

Dalton Yaste, sr., University: The veteran catcher leads the team with a .585 batting average with 24 hits. He has helped University become a 3A state championship contender as the Bulldogs are posting an 11-2 record this season. University has won four games in a row – beating Manitou Springs (16-4), Strasburg (15-0), Delta (10-0) and Montrose (8-7).

Yaste, a 6-foot-3, 180-pounder, has had at least two hits in four of the last five games and three hits in the other game. He also has a .622 on-base percentage.

This is Yaste’s third year on the varsity and he has been solid his entire career as he hit .405 and .427 as a sophomore and junior, respectively.

Yaste and the Bulldogs will try and keep things rolling when they play three games in three days – Wednesday through Friday against Wellington, the Far Northeast Warriors, and Brush.

Class 3A

Sterling (11-3) at Berthoud (14-1), 4 p.m., Tuesday

Sterling has showed it is a team to keep an eye on in the 3A ranks, winning three games in a row against the Academy (14-2), Wellington (11-4) and Yuma (13-0). The Tigers have upcoming games with Platte Valley and Valley, Wednesday and Friday. Assuming the Tigers take care of business in their next two games it sets up a huge battle with Berthoud.

Sterling is paced offensively by Ethan Felzien (.450). and Dayton DiOrio (.400). DiOrio also has 14 stolen bases. Berthound is going to be a tough out for Sterling, especially since Berthoud is coming off its first loss of the season – a 9-3 decision to top-ranked Eaton on Monday. Berthoud only had five hits in that defeat – two by Adam Hayes.

Class 2A

Holly (9-5) at Burlington (10-6), 11 a.m., Saturday

This game is a non-conference battle between 1A Holly and 2A Burlington. A win against Burlington would be a huge boost for Holly. The Wildcats are in the 1A mix and this would push them up in the rankings. Holly’s top performers this season at the plate are Truman King (.638) and Devin Eaton (.531). King has five homers. Holly will have to get past La Veta (8-5) at 3 p.m., Thursday and a doubleheader against McClave Friday to set up the battle with Burlington.

Burlington is coming off a tough loss 8-3 to talented Peyton (11-3) squad on Tuesday. For Burlington to bounce back it is going to need strong outings from Lenny Ramirez (.458) and Rowdy Humrich (.341).

Class 1A

Haxtun (12-4) at Caliche (7-10), 1 p.m., Thursday, doubleheader

Haxtun is riding a ton of momentum after upending highly-ranked Akron in a doubleheader Tuesday, claiming 2-0 and 13-12 wins, respectively. Grant Statz had one hit and one RBI in the 2-0 win and in the slugfest victory Kaiden Schell had three hits and three RBIs and freshman Madden Larsen added three hits as well. Ryland Wolff is leading Haxtun at the plate, hitting .511 with 28 hits and 15 RBIs. Caliche saw its three-game winning streak snapped when it dropped an 18-6 decision to Holyoke on Monday.

Caliche’s top batters are Chance Mitchell (.444), Zach Yost (.429) and Orran Adolf (.420).