If the start of the spring is indicative of what’s to come, the Class 5A Front Range League could be in store for a wild final month to the baseball season.
Coming into Thursday, FRL’s Broomfield (9-0) and Rocky Mountain (9-0) remained as two of the three undefeated teams left in the classification. Heritage (11-0), out of the Continental League, being the other as it will visit Rocky Mountain Saturday.
The Lobos, who ranked first in the class, have done it behind ace Ross Frank. He has allowed four earned runs in 21 2/3 frames and leads a staff that owns a collective 1.84 ERA.
The No. 2 Eagles, who are down from the top spot this week, have been paced by ace Noah Scott and his 0.55 ERA through 25 1/3 frames.
Heritage’s start is thanks to its staff’s 0.85 ERA.
In this week’s look at baseball, we’ll focus on two teams on the rise across each classification and the standouts who have them pointed up.
Class 5A
No. 1 Rocky Mountain: The Lobos jumped in front of defending champ Broomfield in this week’s CHSAANow.com Coaches Poll following six straight wins to open the month of April.
Clay Alarid has four homers and has driven in 11 runs this spring. His last bomb came Tuesday in a 10-0 five-inning win over Monarch.
The Lobos already have wins over No. 6 Mountain Vista and No. 9 Legacy this year.
They’re at No. 5 Heritage Saturday.
No. 5 Heritage: Hank Orr has 12 hits in 24 at-bats and has four homers and 15 RBIs, leading the Eagles to an 11-0 start.
Cade Kunz leads a fantastic pitching staff, allowing two runs in 28 innings pitched. He surrendered his second run of the season in an 8-1 win over Valor Christian, going six innings while striking out 11.
Trevor Landen is behind him in the rotation, allowing three earned runs in 17 2/3 innings so far.
Class 4A
No. 1 Windsor: The Wizards (11-2) climbed three spots in this week’s rankings. Though, they had their five-game winning streak come to an end Monday.
Rylen Renton, Tyson Shade and Ethan Fillinger have each driven in 17 runs. Renton has two homers, Fillinger three and Shade has 20 hits and is batting .541.
On the mound, Dylan Ferraro has allowed only four earned runs in 24 2/3 innings.
Windsor, after splitting its two-game series with Silver Creek, is at Mead Saturday for the first of a two-game series.
No. 3 Longmont: The Trojans (12-0) finally got into the rankings this week, immediately jumping into third.
Jacob Moats is an early 4A player of the year candidate with a .513 batting average and a 1.62 ERA on the mound. He has homered and driven in 19 runs.
On the mound, he’s allowed just eight earned runs in 34 2/3 innings, striking out 27.
Longmont is at Greeley West Saturday for the first of a two-game series.
Class 3A
No. 3 Colorado Academy: The Mustangs (9-1) are currently on a five-game winning streak in which they’ve outscored teams 77-8.
Colin Love is batting .520 this spring with 13 RBIs. Jordan Reiter has allowed just three earned runs and struck out 35 in just 18.1 innings. Owen McCandless has given up three earned runs in 18 frames, punching out 38.
They’ll look to complete a two-game sweep at Jefferson Academy later Thursday.
No. 9 Coal Ridge: Ben Simons has been strong from the plate and mound, leading the Titans to an 8-0 start in which they’ve outscored teams by 103 runs.
Simons has 15 hits with two homers and 17 RBIs this spring. He’s also 3-0 on the mound with a 1.24 ERA in 17 innings.
In a 13-2 win over Meeker last week, he had five RBIs and threw three scoreless innings with seven Ks.
Coal Ridge is at home against Basalt Saturday for the first of two.
Class 2A
No. 6 Del Norte: Ben Parra has 13 RBIs in 19 at-bats and the Tigers are a perfect 7-0 to start the spring.
In a 20-17 slugfest over Centauri Tuesday, Parra had four hits, two doubles and drove in five.
Nickolas Atencio has allowed three earned runs in 19 innings this season, fanning 31.
Del Norte has a doubleheader at home against Center Saturday.
No. 4 Denver Christian: Brayden Epperhart hasn’t allowed an earned run across his 17 2/3 frames this spring and the Thunder, up one spot in the rankings this week, are 8-2.
Asher Hawes is hitting .500 with 23 RBIs. He homered last week in an 18-0 win against Front Range Christian.
He then extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a hit and four RBIs in Tuesday’s 20-3 win over Bishop Machebeuf.
Denver Christian is home against SkyView Academy later Thursday.
Class 1A
No. 3 Holly: The Wildcats (9-2) moved up a spot into third in the rankings this week, then swept No. 10 Wiley in a doubleheader Tuesday.
Nick Vazquez is 22-for-36 batting this season with a homer run and 18 RBIs. Julian Terrazas has given up just one earned run in 18 innings, punching out 38.
Holly has a doubleheader at No. 4 Cheyenne Wells Friday.
No. 10 Wiley: The Panthers (7-4) entered the top 10 this week on a six-game winning streak. Two one-run losses to Holly in Tuesday’s doubleheader, though, have set them back a bit.
Evan Larrick has homered, driven in 14 and is batting .714 on the season. Case Nelson has allowed two earned runs in 16 frames, fanning 21.
Wiley is home against Mazanola Friday.