The softball program at Lakewood High School hasn’t had a winning season in four years. And though rankings this time of year should be taken with a grain of salt, the Tigers’ brief spot atop CHSAA’s 5A rankings this week has been among the best stories in the sport.

Lakewood is currently 7-0 this fall, touting wins over four 2024 postseason teams — two from 5A, two from 4A.

The Tigers moved up to the No. 1 spot in CHSAA’s Selection and Seeding Index earlier this week after wins over 5A 2024 semifinalist Legend and 4A quarterfinalist Golden.

Broomfield then retook it after beating 4A No. 5 Holy Family on Thursday afternoon, sending the Tigers to No. 2.

On Friday, Lakewood begins play in the Dave Sanders tournament at Aurora Sports Park. The Tigers are looking to extend their longest winning streak since they won eight straight in what turned into a quarterfinals appearance in 2020.

In Game 1 of the tournament, the Tigers will face 5A No. 5 Fruita Monument, which is 4-0, outscoring teams 36-1.

The game will feature two of the hotter hitters in the state, Lakewood’s Addison Gallegos and Fruita’s Addison Cutshall. Gallegos’ 1.429 slugging percentage is 16th-best among the seven states that play softball in the fall. Cutshall’s .714 on-base percentage is good for 14th in 5A.

Below we’ll highlight another must-see game over the next week from each classification.

Class 5A

No. 5 Erie at No. 10 Pine Creek; Saturday at 10 a.m.

The Tigers (7-2) bounced back from losses against 5A No. 1 Broomfield and No. 3 Columbine with 14-2 win over Silver Creek on Tuesday. Freshman Molly Young had three RBIs in the win and has driven in seven over her last two games.

Pine Creek (7-0), meanwhile, remained undefeated after out-slugging Castle View in an 18-11 win on Wednesday. Kai Shideler had three hits and three RBIs in the win. Freshman Brayden Dailey homered.

Class 4A

No. 1 Palmer Ridge vs. No. 2 Elizabeth at the Northern Colorado Showcase; Friday at 5:30 p.m.

Corinna Arellano has a hit in six of her seven games this fall, including three homers, as she’s helped the Bears (7-0) move into 4A’s top seed.

Last year, Palmer Ridge reached the quarterfinals before bowing out to eventual runner-up Windsor.

Elizabeth (5-2), which had a first-round exit in 2024, notched its second win of the season over a 5A top-10 team, beating No. 8 Cherokee Trail (5A’s 2024 runner-up) last week, 7-5. Allie Dey homered twice in the win.

Six days before that, the Cardinals beat 5A No. 3 Columbine, 4-3.

Class 3A

No. 2 Eaton at No. 4 Forge Christian; Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

The top of the Class 3A standings will face 4A’s best on Saturday at the Northern Colorado Showcase. Both 3A No. 1 University and No. 2 Eaton will face 4A No. 1 Palmer Ridge and No. 2 Elizabeth.

That’ll be something to watch.

But Eaton’s game against Forge Christian on Thursday could mean more in terms of the bigger 3A picture.

The Reds (7-1) are aiming for their fourth straight state title this fall and look every bit capable behind a pitching staff that has accumulated a miniscule 0.66 ERA through eight games. Bria Foster has allowed three runs — two earned — in 17 innings to help lead the rotation.

Forge Christian will try to snap a nine-game losing streak to Eaton that dates back all the way to 2012.

The Fury (11-1) have outscored their last six opponents this season, 73-1. Junior ace Julianna Alfaro has allowed one run across her last 32 frames, striking out 40 in that span.