Sentinel Colorado’s preps Blast from the Past image for Aug. 8, 2023, depicts the celebration of the Cherokee Trail softball team after it won the Class 5A state championship on Oct. 22, 2016, at the Aurora Sports Park. Twelve seasons after the program started at the school — which opened its doors in 2003 — coach Caley Mitchell’s Cougars earned their first state title with a dramatic 1-0, eight-inning victory over Broomfield. Outfielder Chloe Knapp hit a walk-off grand slam in the quarterfinals a day earlier against Rock Canyon and she again had the deciding blow in the title game. The Cougars (who won their last nine games of the season and finished 22-3) had just four hits in the game, but Knapp’s line drive over the center field fence for a solo home run in the top of the eighth inning held up as the winner (see story, here). Starting pitcher Emily Bell completed a four-inning shutout with help from a strong defense. (File photo by Courtney Oakes/Sentinel Colorado)
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