The Grandview baseball team nearly played spoiler in legendary coach Marc Johnson’s storybook exit, as the Wolves threatened to overcome Cherry Creek in the final inning of a Class 5A Championship Series semifinal May 31.
Coach Scott Henry’s 16th-seeded Grandview team fell behind the Centennial League rival Bruins by as many as eight runs, but scored six times in the seventh inning and had the tying run on base before the final out was recorded in an 11-9 loss at All-Star Park.
Despite the late charge, the Wolves fell short in the quest to get the program into the state championship game for the first time.
“The guys just didn’t want to make that last out and kept competing, competing, competing,” Henry said. “I’m super proud of that.”
Down 11-3, Grandview’s final rally was sparked by junior Kyler Vaughn, who had missed most of the season due to injury. Vaughn came on as a pinch hitter after a single by senior Collin May and cranked a home run to left field.
Senior Tony Crow — who joined May with three hits on the day — followed with a single, senior Easton Flores drew a walk and junior Chase Chapman greeted a Cherry Creek reliever with a base hit to load the bases. Senior Brock Johnston drew a walk to force in a run to make it 11-7, which was followed by a walk to senior Tucker Smock and May’s two-run single.
With Vaughn at the plate again as the potential go-ahead run and with the lineup turned over, Smock got caught off second base by an alert Cherry Creek defense, and he was tagged for the final out.
It was disappointing end, but fittingly competitive.
“I really thought we had a chance there at the end,” Crow said. “I think the biggest thing about this group is they’re going to battle all the way to the end.”
Added Johnston: “We went down by eight, and we almost came back. Even the guys who were in the dugout, nobody was ready to give up. We were going to fight until that last pitch.”
Resolve typified the season for Grandview which had a 4-6 record at one point early in the season but then put together a 9-1 stretch and rode it all the way to the postseason.
Grandview won the Region 1, which included a 14-inning marathon against Ralston Valley to get the program back into the Championship Series for the first time since 2019.
Once there, the Wolves finished 3-2 — with both losses coming to Cherry Creek, which was responsible for four of their 11 defeats on the season — in the Championship Series with two wins over Prairie View and another against Fort Collins. It was the first time Grandview made the Final Four since 2015.
“I’ve never been more grateful to play with a group of people,” said Crow, a three-year starter. “It’s been so much fun, and I can’t even explain how much this group has grown. From halfway through the season when we were sitting around .500 with our record and everyone in the clubhouse just wanted to work and get here. We did.”
Henry believes the losses of seniors such as Crow and May in key positions in the middle of the field will be tough to replace, as will speedy Smock in center, Flores (who made pitchers uncomfortable and drew 26 bases on balls, second-most for a Grandview player in a single season behind former major leaguer Greg Bird), Johnston (who was outstanding in the Championship Series) and senior pitcher Ben Crandall (whose relief contributions were vital).
But the performance of starting pitchers Jax Pfister (4-2), left-hander Nick Martensen (who pitched complete games in both of his Championship Series starts and finished 4-3) and Justin Dean (6-2, 2.61 ERA) — all of whom were juniors — is definitely encouraging.
Chapman, rising sophomore AJ Maroni (the team’s leading hitter with a .368 batting average), a healthy Vaughn and most importantly getting the chance to play in high-level postseason contests will help despite the losses.
“I’m going to miss those guys. They’ve been my brothers for so long, and it was a lot of fun to play with them,” Pfister said. “We have good playoff experience now, so we’re going to get them next year.”
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
