Cherry Creek and Golden went undefeated through the first weekend of the Class 5A and 4A state baseball tournaments, and now each is just a win away from raising the final banner of the 2024-25 school year.

For the Bruins, they’re aiming for their second straight championship and 10th in program history. Only smaller programs from North Fork (18), Eaton (15) and Revere (11) have more in state history.

The Demons are going for their second and first since 2003.

The final weekend starts Friday with the 5A tournament at All-Star Park in Lakewood and 4A at Erdle Field on the Air Force Academy base. Champions will be decided on Saturday.

No. 1 Grandview, No. 5 Broomfield and No. 6 Regis Jesuit are all facing elimination on Friday. Whoever from that group that advances will need to beat No. 2 Cherry Creek twice on Saturday to win the 5A crown.

The scenario is the same in 4A, where one of No. 4 Windsor, No. 5 Palisade and No. 6 Cheyenne Mountain will need two wins over No. 3 Golden.

Class 5A

Win or Go Home Friday

No. 5 Broomfield vs. No. 6 Regis Jesuit, 10 a.m.

Broomfield catcher Brendan Fritch had five hits over the first weekend of the tournament, extending his hitting streak to nine games.

The Eagles faced elimination against No. 3 Arvada West last Saturday but Fritch helped keep his team alive with his fifth homer of the season in a 9-6 win.

Regis Jesuit lost in the second round against Cherry Creek on Friday despite Luke Reasbeck’s quality start (three runs in six innings) and 10 strikeouts. But he helped the Raiders bounce back and stave off elimination the next day, driving in three in a 9-7 win over No. 8 Castle View.

The winner will face No. 1 Grandview at 12:30 p.m. with a chance to move onto Saturday.

Grandview’s Justin Dean combined for three hits and three RBIs by himself in wins over Castle View and Broomfield on Day 1 of the tournament.

But the Wolves sputtered last Saturday against Cherry Creek, where it had only two hits — both by sophomore Matthew Schimberg — in a 7-1 loss.

Saturday’s championship

No. 2 Cherry Creek has two chances to win one game

Cherry Creek’s Wyatt Rudden tossed a two-hit shutout over Rocky Mountain in the first round, where he struck out 15. Cael Knobbe then allowed just one hit in 5 2/3 innings in a win over Grandview on Saturday.

In its three games of the tournament, Cherry Creek has more runs (14) than allowed hits (nine).

Among the three other remaining teams, it beat Regis Jesuit once during the regular season and then again in last weekend’s second round. It split its two regular-season games against Grandview earlier in the month, then beat the Wolves on Saturday. And it has yet to face Broomfield.

Win or Go Home Friday

No. 5 Palisade vs. No. 6 Cheyenne Mountain, 10 a.m.

Both Palisade and Cheyenne Mountain rebounded from opening-round losses, winning twice in the face of elimination last Saturday.

Palisade’s Hunter Howard and Cheyenne Mountain’s Noah Reickert each have seven hits and five RBIs through his first three games of the tournament. Red-Tailed Hawks third baseman Jansen Roberts has also put together a solid state tournament, going 5-for-12 (.416) with seven runs scored and a home run.

The winner will face No. 4 Windsor at 12:30 with a chance to move onto Saturday

The Wizards let a four-run lead slip away in a back-and-forth, 12-11 loss to No. 3 Golden last Saturday. Now they need three straight wins to win it all.

They’ll look in part to senior standout Ethan Fillinger, who has six RBIs and five doubles in his past two games of the tourney.

Saturday’s championship

No. 3 Golden has two chances to win one game

The Demons scored 32 runs across its first three games of the tournament, beating Cheyenne Mountain, No. 3 Falcon and Windsor. Senior Luca Casali and junior Gunnar Hetrick each drove in five runs during it.

Going into Saturday, Golden has won 20 straight dating back to a 3-2 loss to Denver North on April 1. The last time the Demons lost consecutive games was in March of 2023.