Rock Canyon’s Sydney Boulaphinh is doing her best impression of New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge these days. Frankly, she’s been queen of the home run chase in Colorado from Day 1.

The junior’s current 11 home run total this season is just one shy of the most hit by a player all of last year. She is also only three behind the 14 her former teammate Katie Dack led the state with in 2020.

Boulaphinh went deep in seven of her first nine games and last hit one at the beginning of the month against Wheat Ridge.

She’ll go for No. 12 Friday at Grandview.

Below are some of the other most interesting tidbits from the softball scene this week. Rising programs like Douglas County, Windsor and Montezuma-Cortez top our list.

Class 5A

Douglas County senior Marina Tinari is having a career season at the plate. And especially on the mound.

It’s a big reason why the Huskies continue to climb up the state rankings.

Monday, Tinari had two triples and drove in three in a 20-1 win over Highlands Ranch, helping the Castle Rock school push its win streak to seven games.

Tinari has now hit safely in all but one of the 12 games for the CHSAA 5A third-ranked Huskies (11-1). She leads the team in batting average (.595), slugging (.891) and RBIs (17).

But on the mound is where she’s really shined. A 5.80 ERA coming into the season, she has a line of just 1.88 this fall. She’s 5-1 with 66 Ks in 37 1/3 frames.

Douglas County had been expected to play Legend Wednesday, though that game was apparently interrupted with inclement weather.

As for the defending champs (11-3), they’ve won five of their last six games. A breakout season from sophomore Charlotte Morgan has helped spur things.

Morgan pitched four innings and hit her sixth home run of the year in an 8-5 win over Ponderosa Monday.

The sophomore is now third in 5A for homers and continues to be one of the strongest No. 2s in the state behind all-state ace Cameron Ponich, posting a 1.48 ERA through 33 innings.

Upcoming 5A games to watch include No. 8 Valor Christian at No. 7 Arvada West Monday.

The Eagles follow it up with a home game against No. 2 Chatfield Wednesday.

Class 4A

No. 2 Windsor finally lost this month, falling to 5A No. 1 Columbine at the Dave Sanders Tournament last weekend.

That sinking feeling didn’t last long.

The Wizards (12-3) followed it up with a 5-4 comeback win over 4A No. 7 Mead and its ace pitcher Joslynn Veltien Tuesday. They scored three runs in the seventh to win their seventh game in eight tries.

Lindsey Hinson had three hits in the win, while Kinza Sagel threw three spotless innings of relief to improve to 6-0 on the mound this season.

What kind of momentum that carries into Thursday’s game at No. 1 Lutheran is to be seen.

The Lions, who last lost a game in 2020, moved to 13-0 on the season with a 13-3 win over Lewis-Palmer Wednesday.

Runaway player of the year favorite Hailey Maestretti struck out 17 and Taylor Cramer hit her second home run in the victory. Maestretti is now 11-0 on the mound with a class-leading 128 Ks and an ERA of 0.40.

Elsewhere in 4A, No. 9 Conifer (9-2) has won nine of its last 10 games on the strength of senior Regan Pell’s bat. Pell is slugging .962 and has an on-base percentage of .645 this season.

Holy Family (11-4) has won seven of eight. Isabella Arroyo leads the defending champs in nearly every batting and pitching statistic. She’s allowed only two earned runs over her last 20 innings.

Class 3A

Montezuma-Cortez reached 3A’s top 10 after winning its first eight games of the season. Then it lost to Durango in a 14-10 affair Tuesday.

Win or loss the Panthers have crushed competition at the plate this season, scoring 140 runs in nine games.

Digging deeper, they’ve scored in the double digits in seven of those games. They have also scored in the 20s and in the 30s.

Lizzie Likes has led the way, hitting .750 with two home runs and 17 RBIs. The senior has an extra-base hit in all but one game this season.

Atop the classification, Strasburg took the top spot over Eaton this week. The Indians are 11-0 this year and beat No. 6 Brush 12-6 in their only game over the past week.

Heidi Price has a 1.48 ERA and is hitting .486 with 19 runs driven in.

Strasburg will face No. 3 Sterling next Tuesday.

Among other games to monitor, No. 2 Eaton is home against Sterling Saturday.

The Reds (6-4) snapped a four-game losing streak with a 17-1 win over Weld Central Tuesday. Kiauna Smith homered and drove in three.

The Tigers (12-2) beat Resurrection Christian in 10 innings Tuesday. Audrey Reeves had a two-run double in the 10th and Reagan Fehringer pitched all the way through, striking out 16.