On the back of an offense scoring more than eight runs per game, the baseball program at Centaurus is having a strong start to 2024 as it eyes a regional berth for the first time in five years.

Zak White is part of a Zak, Zack and Zach trio (along with Zack Young and Zach Holshey), who have helped lead the Warriors to five wins through their first seven games this spring. They led the Mavericks 2-0 in the second inning Monday before the game was postponed due to weather.

White, at the front of it, is on pace to put up career numbers. He homered in three straight games during the team’s spring break trip to Arizona last week. And he comes into April with a .538 batting average and the class lead in both home runs (four) and RBIs (14).

In this week’s look-in on Class 5A and 4A baseball, we dive into a few hot starts from the plate.

Class 5A

Zak White, Centaurus: The senior is hitting at another level this spring: this, after his junior season, when he hit .396 with three home runs and 28 RBIs.

Coming into the week, he had multiple hits in six straight games, including his two-hit day on Saturday when the Warriors fell to Mead, 13-2.

Before that, he went 8 for 12 and drove in 10 runs in three games during the team’s spring break trip to Arizona. In the last one out of the state — an 8-1 win over Hillsboro (Oregon) — he had three hits, a homer and a double.

The Warriors (5-2) are home against Longmont Saturday.

Varek Van Aelstyn, Erie: After hitting .263 in 14 games as a sophomore, the junior is 8 for 10 (.800) with three RBIs and two triples early this spring.

His 1.400 slugging percentage leads 5A.

Last month, during a spring break trip to Arizona, Van Aelstyn had the first four-hit game of his high school career, going 4-for-4 in a 15-5 win over Cole Valley Christian (Idaho) on March 21.

The Tigers (3-1) are home against Fossil Ridge Tuesday.

Aiden Wilson, Pine Creek: The junior outfielder is hitting .583 with the third-best slugging percentage (1.291) in the classification. Only Van Aelstyn (1.400) and Poudre’s Jack Prenni (1.333) have better slugging percentages in 5A.

After hitting .296 as a sophomore, Wilson is 14 of 24 from the plate with 11 RBIs. Last week, he went deep in consecutive games and hit all three of his homers during his team’s spring break trip to Arizona.

The Eagles (5-2) are at Cheyenne Mountain Tuesday.

Class 4A

Ethan Fillinger, Windsor: The junior is tied for the state lead in home runs, belting his fourth of the season in a win over Greeley Central last Tuesday.

Through Windsor’s perfect 9-0 start to the year, Fillinger has a hit in every game, driving in multiple runs in five of them, including his 3-RBI effort Monday in a 16-0 win over Greeley West.

Currently, he’s hitting .464 with 14 RBIs.

Windsor is home against Falcon Wednesday.

Jack Englund, Durango: The junior has driven in 17 runs, tied for the most in the state, in eight games for the Demons (5-3).

Englund started the season red-hot, totaling eight hits and 13 RBIs over his first three games.

He’s slowed down a bit since then but did add an RBI in a win over Bayfield and a loss to Delta last week.

Durango is at Pueblo Central for a doubleheader Friday.

Kian Kinslow, Palisade: The sophomore is tied for the state RBI lead (17) while hitting .645 through nine games for the Bulldogs (5-3-1).

Kinslow has at least one RBI in all nine games this season. Meanwhile, he has hits in eight of those, including three apiece in a doubleheader on Saturday, where he went 6 for 7 with six RBIs.

The Bulldogs are at Rifle Tuesday.