Green Mountain baseball takes fifth straight victory in dramatic fashion

LAKEWOOD — Green Mountain senior Demetreus Padilla was the right batter at the right time Tuesday afternoon.

With the game-winning run at second base in senior Levi Behm, Padilla ripped his fourth hit of the game with a walk-off RBI double to give the Rams a dramatic 4-3 win over Evergreen.

“That is what you live for as a baseball player,” Padilla said of his walk-off hit. “You live for that moment where you can end it right here. Levi did his job and I just had to do mine.”

Evergreen starting pitcher Cole Laursen pitched a strong six innings giving up three runs on seven hits. Senior Jackson Graham took over on the hill for the Cougars in the bottom of the seventh inning with the game tied, but couldn’t get an out.

The Rams (8-3-1 record) ended it quickly after the 4-pitch walk to Behm and Padilla swinging on the second pitch he saw.

“Those guys came out and made plays,” Green Mountain coach Cory Miller said of Behm stealing second base after his lead-off walk and Padilla delivering the line-drive double to centerfield. “At the end of the day, players make plays and coaches try to put players in the position to make those plays.”

It was the fifth straight victory for Green Mountain. It was also the fourth win over a Class 4A Jeffco League foe. League play doesn’t begin until April 22, but getting the win over conference opponents are big with the Rams sitting 16th in the latest CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index.

“You just have to go in and win,” Padilla said of facing league rivals in games that won’t count toward the conference standings. “We’ve won five in a row now. We just need to keep this streak going and build on it.”

Evergreen (7-4-1) came in with a 5-game win streak itself. The Cougars jumped out to a 2-0 lead with RBIs from senior Jackson Hastings and junior Colby Levesque in the second inning off Green Mountain starting pitcher Caden Kelly.

Kelly ended up getting a no-decision while pitching into the sixth inning. The senior gave up three runs on five hits while walking two batters.

“Defensively we played well behind Caden. That hasn’t been the case a lot of the year,” Miller said. “Caden came out and was efficient from the get-go. He was at 45 pitches in the fifth inning. That is all we can ask for him, to be efficient.”

Senior Sam Desalvo knocked in the Rams’ first run in the bottom of the fourth inning on a ground-out to first base. Senior Hudson Burke tied the game at 2-2 when he scored all the way from second base later in the inning on a pop fly to first base that was dropped.

Padilla scored gave the Rams a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning on an RBI ground-out by Burke, but the Cougars responded with an RBI single by Hastings in the top of the sixth inning to knot things back up.

Miller went to Desalvo on the hill with one out in the sixth inning. The senior got a strikeout and fly out to end Evergreen’s scoring threat and keep the game tied.

“Sam is a dog. I’ve got to get him more innings,” Miller said of Desalvo. “He has a 0.00 ERA on the year. I’ve got to get him more innings.”

Desalvo worked around a double by junior Brody March in the top of the seventh inning. Desalvo struck out sophomore James Mauro to end the inning with March stranded at third base.

“Seeing that is nice,” Padilla said of the pitching performances of Kelly and Desalvo. “Now we don’t have to rely on Simon (Lunsford) and me. We’ve got three or four more guys who can step up. That is what we needed and we haven’t had the past couple of years.”

Lunsford has a 1.42 ERA in his over 24 innings pitched so far. Padilla also has a sub-2.00 ERA through his over 14 innings thrown this season.

Green Mountain hosts Wheat Ridge at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 17, in another non-league game. The Rams open conference play at home against D’Evelyn on Tuesday, April 22.

“We aren’t playing up to our potential yet,” said Miller, despite a 5-game winning streak. “That is actually probably a good sign. If we can get rolling into league and get our confidence up, that is half the battle.”

The Cougars are scheduled to host mountain rival Conifer on Thursday, April 17.