AURORA – At an Airbnb in Georgia, the seeds of Riverdale Ridge’s Class 5A state championship were planted.
The Ravens certainly had talent back from a team that ended the 2023 season as the 4A runner-up to Lutheran, but an out-of-state trip was a catalyst for what would turn out to be an unbeaten rest of the season that ended with a state crown.
Putting the memory of a 5-4 start to the season well behind it, Riverdale Ridge won its 20th consecutive game with an 8-4 victory over top-seeded Cherokee Trail Saturday afternoon in the 5A state title game at the Aurora Sports Park.
“We definitely started off the season rough in the first five games, but our trip to Georgia really helped us bond as a team and we really come to a common goal,” senior Mady Ortiz said. “We all wanted to get this and it really brought us together to finally get it.”
That was the whole goal of the trip for head coach Ray Garza, who saw it as a chance to put aside some early adversity and build forward.
The Ravens went to Georgia and though they finished just 1-2 — with losses to Gordon Lee and Dacula high schools — they came back ready for what was ahead. It showed with 20 straight victories and a season that ended 25-4 overall.
“I think our trip to Georgia was really the big difference in our season,” Garza said. “We went down to there and stayed at an Airbnb with 16 girls and they all came together. It was amazing and we haven’t lost since. We’ve played some really good teams, but the girls were able to bond. They were eating together, rooming together and playing games together.
“I think we came back and thought ‘we’re not as good as we think we are right now, but we’re going to get there.’”
Indeed, Riverdale Ridge was a juggernaut the rest of the season.
The Ravens scored in double figures in seven straight games since they returned to play in Colorado and put together an offense that few teams could slow.
Riverdale Ridge piled up 41 runs in four 5A state tournament games and scored eight or more runs against the top three seeds in the tournament (plating 18 against No. 3 Columbine in the quarterfinals, nine against No. 2 Broomfield in the semifinals and eight against No. 1 Cherokee Trail in the final).
“That’s the way we’ve been all season; I would say we have the best offense in the state,” said Ortiz, who homered and doubled and drove in three runs. “When we get our minds set to it and get our bats going, we can beat any team.”
Junior Zoie Linville drove in junior Jaeanna Sandoval (who scored three times in the game) in the opening inning to put the Ravens in front and they added two more runs off Cherokee Trail starter Emma Rice with Ortiz’s home run and Linville’s sacrifice fly in the third.
Linville might have had a bigger blow, but her drive to center field was caught by the Cougars’ Izzy Becker as she dove over the breakaway fence.
“Obviously I would have loved for it to be a home run, but I’m glad a run scored to contribute to the team,” Linville said.
A five-run fifth inning rally for Riverdale Ridge included a two-run double from Ortiz in addition to RBI from Linville, junior pinch hitter Sage Englert and senior Jazymn Sandoval as the Ravens broke it open a little and gave starting pitcher Bryn Trujillo more cushion.
Even a three-run rally from Cherokee Trail — which had come back for a walk-off win over Legend in the semifinals — couldn’t keep the Ravens from their goal.
“We were on a redemption tour this whole entire season,” Ortiz said. “We were trying to show everybody that we should have won that game (last season against Lutheran). We came up short, so we ended up winning this game.”
Garza credited the leadership of an experienced senior group along with the dedication of a large coaching staff he had assembled that allowed for significant improvement in the entire roster throughout the entire season.
