US AIR FORCE ACADEMY – Only one game separates Pueblo County from that elusive golden plaque. And a strong defense on Saturday propelled the Hornets to the final contest of the season.

The Hornets defeated No. 3-seeded Falcon 11-6 behind an astute day from pitcher Jeremiah Hernandez, who finished the afternoon at Erdle Field with seven strikeouts.

“I was confident and I knew my team had my back,” Hernandez said. “I knew all I had to do was throw strikes. This is a big field and I had a lot of room to work with.”

Pueblo County returns to the Class 4A baseball title game for the second time since 2024 and looks for the school’s first championship.

The Hornets required a stellar day hitting and pitching against Falcon, which scores nearly 11 runs per game and allows just over three per contest.

The Falcons hadn’t allowed more than eight runs in a game all season. By the end of the third, the No.5-seeded Hornets built an 8-1 lead.

A five-run second inning gave the Hornets a seven-run lead and Hernandez’s brilliance on the mound — backed by a solid afternoon of fielding — shuttered the Falcons’ usual high-octane offense.

“Give credit to the kid on the mound,” Falcon coach Brandon Stegman said. “He pitched one heck of a game. Anybody who can do that to our offense for that long, tip your hat to him.”

After the Falcons cut the lead 2-1 in the first inning, Hernandez and the Hornets went on a defensive spree that held Falcon scoreless until the bottom of the seventh inning.

Any gap Falcon hitters found was immediately plugged by Hornet fielders or Hernandez stymied Falcon batters in the box.

“I was in a zone and I was able to trust my catcher,” Hernandez said. “I trusted my coach’s calls and executed my pitches. I managed to hit my spots.”

Pueblo County’s win means the Hornets won’t play again until next Saturday’s championship game at Erdle Field at 10 a.m.

Pueblo County has two shots to win the title. If the Hornets win the first game against the winner from Friday’s fourth round elimination game, they’re champions.

However, if Pueblo County drops the first contest, the Hornets and their opponent have a do-or-die finale that will follow game one.

The Hornets lost 13-6 to Holy Family in 2024 and hope to rectify that defeat with a victory next weekend to give the school its first title since 2017 when the Hornets’ wrestling team won the 4A state trophy.

“We just have to stick together to make this a reality,” Hernandez said. “We just have to play as a team and we have to play our hearts out.”