Golden baseball polishes up its 5th straight Class 4A Jeffco League title

GOLDEN — Golden baseball proved it again … the Demons are the champions of the Class 4A Jeffco League and everyone else were just contenders.

Golden (20-3, 9-0 in 4A Jeffco) officially clinched its 5th consecutive conference title with a 9-8 road victory over Green Mountain on Friday. Less than 24 hours later, the Demons finished the complete sweep in league play with a 9-0 shutout victory against Dakota Ridge.

“I think we did a good job of keeping the momentum rolling into today,” Golden senior Jaydon Stroup said of the two league wins over Green Mountain and Dakota Ridge to close out the regular season.

On Senior Day at Golden High School, the Demon seniors led the way. Stroup had a 5-RBI game that included a 3-run home run in Golden’s 6-run fourth inning. Senior Luca Casali went 3-for-4 from the plate with a pair of RBIs. Senior pitcher Sawyer Brinkman went six strong shutout innings on the hill, giving up just two hits.

“I’m sure you can image it feels pretty good. Doing it with this group of guys is really special,” Brinkman said. “We (seniors) have been working hard for four years now. To see it pay off and keep the legacy going winning five in a row feels pretty good.”

Golden has a 48-3 conference record during its run to five straight league titles. The only other Jeffco team to achieve the feat of the 5-peat was Arvada West from 1992 to 1996.

“Going back three to four years those teams started setting it back then,” Golden coach Jackie McBroom said of the 5-peat. “Now the expectation is the same every single season … Don’t lose a game in league. It feels good to go undefeated again.”

The Demons will take a 15-game winning streak into the postseason. Golden is currently No. 4 in the 4A baseball CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index. The top-8 seeds host regional tournament next weekend.

“I’m feeling really good,” Brinkman said after his 2-hit shutout performance. “I have my hopes up for the playoffs. I think we can make an impact.”

Brinkman has an 8-0 record on the mound with a 1.02 ERA. He has given up just one earned run in his last four starts.

Golden’s offense has picked it up after its last loss back on April 1 against Denver North. The Demons only mustard up two runs in that 3-2 loss. Since then, Golden has scored at least five runs in its last 15 games.

“We’ve had flashes of it here and there of being really good,” Stroup said of the Demons’ offense. “I think we can still be better, but I think the offense is going pretty good. I like what I see from all the guys.”

Golden will attempt to qualify for the 4A state tournament for the fourth straight year. The Demons have come close, but haven’t been able to capture a state title since McBroom took over the baseball program a decade ago.

“I think the thing about this group this is good is that we don’t have one, two or three superstars that are carrying us to where we are,” McBroom said. “We have a good group of guys who play baseball the right way and we win as a team. We have some really good baseball players and everyone contributes.”

CHSAA is scheduled to release the regional brackets on Wednesday, May 14. Regional tournaments will be played Friday and Saturday, May 16 and 17.

Dakota Ridge (11-12, 6-3) is on the bubble to make regionals.

The Eagles are currently sitting at No. 32 with the 32 teams making the postseason. Longtime coach Jeff Legault, who is stepping down as Dakota Ridge’s baseball coach to take over the role of athletic director at Dakota Ridge next year, might have one last postseason run of the Eagles can sneak into the playoffs.