LAKEWOOD – By the second inning Saturday, things had already gotten heated between Regis Jesuit and Cherry Creek at All-Star Park. A verbal altercation between opposing players stopped play as the first-base umpire had to peel them apart. Both teams were warned by umpires several times throughout the game as jawing continued. There was even a hard slide into second base that drew both head coaches from their respective dugouts.

That fiery, competitive environment only sharpened Raiders starting pitcher Luke Reasbeck, who threw a complete game shutout to lift Regis Jesuit past their rivals 3-0 and earn a spot in the Class 5A state championship game next weekend.

The desire for on-field revenge dates back to a 3-0 loss the Bruins served the Raiders on April 3.

“We’ve been thinking about it a lot since that game,” Reasbeck said. “We know if we want to win state, we have to go through them because they’re a good team. But the job’s not finished. We have to finish them next week.”

Reasbeck faced minimal turbulence outside of the top of the sixth inning, where Cherry Creek left two runners stranded in scoring position. But like he had all game, the junior righty worked through the opposing lineup by knowing when to attack and when to trust his defense. The result was the only shutout of the Bruins this season and a hit total that matches their previous season low.

Reasbeck struck out nine batters and issued only three walks with 107 pitches thrown.

“(The Bruins are) a very good offense with hitters up and down the lineup,” Regis coach Matt Darr said. “But Luke wasn’t afraid to attack. You can’t back down. You can’t pitch careful. He was just good all around.”

The first impactful offensive highlight came on Brody Chyr’s one-run triple. It was a laser of a line drive that glanced off the first baseman’s glove with an audible thwack and still had enough juice to carry to the fence. Chyr scored on a fielder’s choice one batter later, making it 2-0.

Regis Jesuit tacked on another run in the fifth following a throwing error, but they were held to just five hits.

Still, the Raiders control their own destiny. They’ll play in the first championship game scheduled for 10 a.m. June 1. They’ll await to see who emerges between Cherry Creek, Prarie View and Grandview and they’ll be ready. But Darr knows there’s a chance they’ll see their rivals again and coach Marc Johnson said.

“Coach J and I are very close, so there’s a lot of respect,” Darr said. “But there’s also a lot of dislike between the programs. Part of it is that both have been very good, especially in key situations and this is a big situation. Not as big as you can get —that’s next week.

“I warned our guys that when they walk off the field, today’s over and we have to focus on next week. That means watching what you say on Instagram because everybody likes to talk noise when you win. But we need to let it go and just get ready for next week. We didn’t come here to play in the state championship. We came here to win a state championship.”

No. 8 Prairie View and No. 16 Grandview survived for another week and will lead the 5A consolation games at 10 a.m. Friday. It’s a rematch of the first-round championship game where the underdog Wolves dispatched the Thunderhawks 13-5.

Prairie View won back-to-back games Saturday morning, beating both Chaparral and Cherokee Trail 5-2. In the first game, the Thunderhawks plated five runs between the third and fifth innings, then held off a late push from the Wolverines. Favi Gaeta finished 3 for 4 with a double and one RBI.

The second game saw the Prairie View come from behind, erasing a 2-0 deficit with two runs in the fifth. It wasn’t until extra frames that the Thunderhawks put it away, plating three runs in the top of the ninth. Romani Perez made the biggest impact in extras with his two-run single.

Grandview beat Fort Collins 6-3 to advance in the consolation bracket, using a three-run rally in the bottom of the sixth to pull away.

The winner between those two teams will face Cherry Creek at 12:30 p.m. Friday.