UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY – Charlie Scofield set the tone for Cheyenne Mountain in a 5-2 win against Windsor.
The senior lefty pitcher secured the Red-Tailed Hawk a spot in the Class 4A championship game as he tossed six innings, scattered three hits and struck out two on Friday at Erdle Field on the campus of the United States Air Force Academy.
“I was just thinking about the next batter trying to get through each inning with a low pitch count so I could keep going,” Scofield said. “I wasn’t focused on who was hitting but on where my pitches needed to go.”
It wasn’t just on the mound where Scofield left his mark, as Cheyenne Mountain’s No. 3 hitter, his sacrifice fly scored Jansen Roberts in the first inning for a 1-0 lead. After the Red-Tailed Hawk (20-8-1 overall) took a 2-0 lead on Colin Downs’ RBI single in the first inning, Scofield did it again, this time with a screamer between first and second base in the second brought in Chase Hoendervoogt to push the Red-Tailed Hawk lead to 3-0 in the top of the second inning.
At the plate, Scofield was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. On the mound, he didn’t yield a hit until the fourth inning when Mason Jordan and Tripp Thomas singles created a first and third situation, but Scofield induced a ground ball.
In a fitting twist, he recorded the final out of the game unassisted as he cleanly fielded a hot shot, two hopper at first base.
“He’s dependable, we know we are going to get strikes from him, he gets ahead and doesn’t walk many,” said Cheyenne Mountain coach Mark Swope about Scofield. “He’s not max effort on every pitch. You’ve got to earn what you get off him because he will pound the zone. At the plate he’s level through the zone and is so good. He’s just a really good ball player that stepped up as a senior. We needed that from him today to move on.”
The Wizards were happy to see Scofield reach his pitch count limit, as they opened up the bottom of the seventh with four straight singles off Andrew Campbell. Tripp Thomas’ RBI single cut the Cheyenne Mountain lead to 5-1. Charlie Doyle allowed an inherited runner to score on a sacrifice fly, but traded the run for an out as he picked up the save.
With two out in the top of the third, pinch hitter Hudson Chou stroked a line drive into left field that scored Colton Johnson and pushed the Cheyenne Mountain lead to 4-0.
In the top of the fifth Colin Downs was hit by a pitch and ran wild. The senior right fielder stole second and third base and broke for home as Ryan O’Hearn squared around for a squeeze bunt and a 5-0 lead for Cheyenne Mountain. Downs was 2-for-3, with two stolen bases and a run scored.
“That was huge for Ryan with two strikes and a guy on third base,” Swope said. “The ball was inside and coming at him and he willed it down. That ended up being a huge run for us.”
The Red-Tailed Hawk chase their seventh state title when they play Golden, at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Air Force Academy. The Red-Tailed Hawk have to win two games against the Demons if they hope to bring their first state title since 2011 back to Colorado Springs.
Golden (25-3) beat Cheyenne Mountain 7-4 in the first game of the tournament for both teams.
“It’s late in the tournament but we have a lot of energy and momentum right now,” Swope said. “We played them and they gave us our first loss. As long as we throw strikes we will have a chance, still a long shot, but I believe in our boys that we can get something done.”
No. 6 Cheyenne Mountain 5, No. 5 Palisade 3
In the opener at Air Force Academy, the Red-Tailed Hawk plated two in the top of the 7th to advance to the fourth round of the consolation bracket. Johnson’s single to left field scored Scofield and Andrew Campbell for the tying and go-ahead runs.
(Andrew Rydland/AndrewRydlandPhotography.com)
