GREELEY – Peak to Peak did something no other baseball team in the state has been able to do in 2023. The Pumas threw a haymaker at Eaton, the two-time defending Class 3A state champion.
And they connected.
Peak to Peak put up four runs in the first inning – the most any team has scored against Eaton in a single inning this season – and felt confident when it escaped the inning with a 4-2 lead over the Reds. The first three batters of the game reached base then Eddie Castilleja drove them all home with a double in the gap. Early momentum definitely went the way of Peak to Peak.
But boy-o-boy, can those Eaton hitters mash the ball. Ryder True blasted a grand slam in the bottom of the second to give Eaton a 6-4 lead. The defending champs, and consensus favorite to win this year’s 3A title, never looked back as they rolled to a 20-5 five on the first day of the 3A state baseball tournament at Butch Butler Field.
True ended the game with a team-high five RBIs while Zack Maske was another big contributor on the offensive end as he went 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
Lucas Stone threw all four innings for the Reds and gave up four earned runs, but struck out eight Peak to Peak hitters.
Eaton will now play Montezuma-Cortez at 9 a.m. at University High School. Only three teams (Eaton, Montezuma-Cortez and Colorado Academy) won their games before the lightning delay halted play for the day.
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(5) Montezuma-Cortez 11, (4) Coal Ridge 2.
Jake Blacker went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and he scored three runs to lead the Panthers to a big win over the Titans. Cortez put up one run in each of the first three innings of the game before breaking out with five runs in the top of the fourth.
Miles Frost threw a complete game, giving up just five hits and one earned run. He struck out 12 Coal Ridge hitters on the day.
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(11) Colorado Academy 7, (3) Bayfield 6.
Trailing 6-4 in the top of the fifth, Colorado Academy combined to score three runs in the fifth and sixth innings to edge out Bayfield and score the big upset of the day in 3A.
Jordan Reiter went 3-for-4 and drove in a run while Eli Rudy went 1-for-2, scoring two runs and driving in another. The Mustangs made the trip to Butch Butler Field to await the winner of University and Delta.
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(2) University 13, (7) Delta 9 (Top 7, 1 Out)
(Dan Mohrmann/ColoradoPreps.com)
University couldn’t quite finish off Delta before the thunderstorms rolled in and pushed all play back to Saturday. The Panthers were on the verge of getting 10-runned before mounting a serious comeback.
When play resumes, there will be one out with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh inning.
