Alameda International captures first league baseball title since 2002

LAKEWOOD — It’s been a long time coming.

Alameda International hadn’t won a baseball league title since the Pirates captured back-to-back Jeffco 6 League championships in 2001 and 2002. The drought officially ended Wednesday with a 13-3 home victory against Fort Lupton.

“It absolutely feels great,” Alameda coach Nick Arguello said of winning a conference title for the first time in over 20 years. “It was one of our goals we set at the beginning of the season. We have the talent. We have the guys in place to take on that challenge. It has been a long time.”

Alameda left the Class 4A/3A Jeffco League for the current 2-year CHSAA cycle. The Pirates joined the 3A/2A Frontier League and the move has definitely worked out so far.

Not only did Alameda (15-2, 8-0 in league) clinch a conference title by completing a sweep through the Frontier League on Wednesday, it also extended its winning streak to 13 games.

“It means everything. That is what the goal is at the end of the day,” Alameda senior Ivan Baca said of the league championship. “Coach Nick has the motto we live by, ‘It’s we before me.’”

There were definite signs last year that Alameda was on the brink of having a break-out season. The Pirates had an 11-11 overall record last year and finished 4-5 in 4A Jeffco League play, including a victory at Evergreen.

“Being in (4A Jeffco League) for the past three years we were battling. We had the squad, but our circumstances didn’t allow us to shine,” Baca said. “This year we are excited and hungry. Those three years really feed into our drive for this year.”

Fort Lupton (6-9, 4-3) did provide a bit of a speed bump on Alameda’s drive to the league title. Senior Jesse Ceretto belted a long 2-run home run to dead centerfield off Alameda starting pitcher Hudson Judy in the top of the first inning to give the Bluedevils a quick 2-0 lead.

“In past years we would have just broke down,” Judy said of Fort Lupton’s early lead. “Now, I feel like we are wanting to win. We want more. There are expectations now.”

Judy settled in on the mound and finished getting the complete-game victory. He gave up a solo home run to Ceretto in the third inning, but shut down the rest of the Bluedevils. The junior had 11 strikeouts and allowed just five hits over five innings.

“He (Judy) challenged himself to be a little bit better,” Arguello said of his junior pitcher. “He got the opportunity to grow today.”

Alameda’s offense backed up Judy in a big way. Fort Lupton’s lead was short lived. Junior Alan Chairez crushed a 2-run home run in the bottom of the second inning to begin a 5-run inning. Senior Robert Romero scored on a wild pitch, while juniors Dominic Huerta and Edwin Arroyo knocked in a run each to give Alameda a 5-2 lead.

Chairez went opposite field for another 2-run home run in the bottom of the third inning to open up a 7-3 lead.

“He (Chairez) has taken on a big role as a leader for us,” Arguello said. “He has maintained his composure and is calm regardless of the circumstances. Is always ready to hit the baseball as hard as he can.”

Alameda put the game out of reach with a 6-run bottom of the fourth inning to push the lead to 13-3. Chairez drove in his fifth run of the game.

“That is our spark plug right there,” Baca said of Chairez’s big day at the plate. “Teams don’t what to see us get hot. Once we get hot it’s very hard to stop us.”

Baca completed his 3-for-3 day from the plate with an RBI double in the fourth.

“Alameda has been rebuilding its athletic program for the past five to 10 years. We are seeing a lot of culture change here and success,” Arguello said. “The boys are buying into the system and program that we are trying to build here. It doesn’t happen overnight.”

Judy said the team was aware that Alameda’s baseball program hadn’t captured a league title since 2002.

“Winning this title is so amazing,” Judy said. “It lights a spark for the future. It helps us out a lot.”

The job isn’t done yet. The Pirates have six non-league games before heading into the 3A postseason. Alameda is scheduled to hit the road to face Rangeview (7-8) at 4 p.m. Friday, April 25, in Aurora.

Despite the 15-win season already, Alameda was only 18th in the CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index for 3A baseball.

“That is out of our control,” Arguello said of where the Pirates will be seeded for the 3A playoffs. “We control what we can control and that’s all we do. We are following our plan 100 percent. It is really a privilege to be here and being a part of this.”

The 3A 32-regional playoffs are scheduled to be played May 16 and 17.

“This team is a once in a decade type of team,” Baca said. “We aren’t done. We are coming for it all.”