The regular season came to an end Tuesday in Class 2A and 3A for baseball teams and up next is the single-elimination regional tournaments Friday and Saturday. Meanwhile in 1A, the state champion will be crowned Thursday evening at All-Star Park in Lakewood. Before taking a glance at games this week, we take time for a Player Prop.

Player Props: Kaden Mellott, Jr., Monte Vista: Monte Vista will head into 3A regional tournament action this weekend with visions of winning state in a couple of weeks. The Pirates are 17-3 overall and finished 11-0 in Southern League Peaks play. A key reason for the success of Monte Vista has been the play of Mellott. Mellott has a team-best .397 batting average, and he also leads the team with a stout 1.68 ERA. Mellott has a 7-1 record on the mound. Monte is coming off a 6-3 win over Buena Vista on Tuesday.

Class 3A

In the Class 3A ranks, the top 32 teams qualify for the regional tournament based on RPI/Maxpreps chart. League Champions not in the top 32 receive an automatic qualifying position (minimum 5 teams in a league for automatic berth).

The top eight teams in the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index host regionals, the remaining 24 teams will then be seeded by RPI/MaxPreps and then any first round league match-ups will be adjusted.

Late Tuesday night, the top eight seeds were unveiled and the list in order consists of Eaton (22-0), Berthoud (22-1), University (19-4), Resurrection Christian (19-4), Coal Ridge (21-2), Colorado Academy (16-4), Delta (18-5) and Forge Christian (18-5). The No. 32 team is Mesa Ridge (13-10).

Eaton is the reigning state champ – defeating University 13-3 in the finals a year ago

The Class 3A double-elimination games will be played May 24-25. The 3A state championship will be played the following weekend.

Class 2A

The 2A regional tournament will be the same format as in 3A with 32 teams qualifying for the regional tournament, followed by the same brackets in the next two weekends.

The top eight teams in Class 2A are Limon (22-0), Denver Christian (18-4), Las Animas (21-2), Peyton (15-5), Holyoke (14-7), Burlington (14-7), Monte Vista (17-3), and Buena Vista (15-6). The No. 32 team was Sanford (12-7). The No. 32 team was Kent Denver (6-14).

Denver Christian turned heads last year by upsetting powerhouse Limon, which was aiming to win its third state title in a row.

Limon hasn’t loss since dropping a 5-3 decision to Denver Christian last May in the state finals at Rawlings Field at the Colorado State University-Pueblo campus.

Class 1A

No. 5 Dove Creek (9-11) vs. No. 1 Merino (17-6), 10 a.m., Thursday, All-Star Park, Lakewood

Merino upended No 16 seed Nucla (10-2), and No. 9 seed Stratton (15-6) to advance the Final Four. The Rams are aiming to win state for the second time in three years. Merino is led by Tyler Miller (.478) and Coen Schmidt (.412). Dove Creek will try and keep its upset train rolling down the tracks. Last week, Dove Creek muscled past Elbert (12-1) and then stunned Simla (5-4). Dove Creek is led by Jonathan Purkat (.400) and Gage Buffington (.382). The Bulldogs are looking to capture their second baseball championship in school history and their first since 2015. If the Rams win the state championship, it will be just the second baseball title in school history, with the other coming in 2022.

The winners of the 1A semifinal games Thursday will meet at 3 p.m., Thursday at Keli McGregor Park at All-Star Park in Lakewood for the state championship.

No. 6 Akron (16-5) vs. No. 2 Flatirons Academy (13-4), 12:30 p.m., Thursday, All-Star Park, Lakewood

Akron heads into the Final Four after defeating No. 11 seed Evangel Christian Academy (11-1) and No. 3 seed Eads (11-0) last weekend. Akron is trying to win its first state baseball title in school history. Akron is paced offensively by Anderson Filla (.486), Brandon Hellyer (.353) and Clay Axtell (.350). Akron’s foe, Flatirons moved on to the state semis by ousting No. 15 seed Sierra Grande (17-1), and No. 10 seed Holly (15-11). The Bison are pursuing their first baseball state championship in school history, though they have finished as runner up in two of the last three seasons. Flatirons has a powerful offense spearheaded by Jude Meyer (.623), Caleb Doughty (.600) and Carson Gabbert (.488).