Bad weather made for a wild 2013 prep baseball season, but it couldn’t put a damper on the talent on display around Aurora.
Six city teams qualified for the Class 5A districts and one — Grandview — represented Aurora in the Class 5A baseball championship series.
Five players from the Wolves team that made the semifinals for the first time in school history earned spots on the 2013 Aurora Sentinel All-City Baseball Team, which is selected by the Sentinel in conjunction with balloting of city coaches.
Regis Jesuit fell short of the championship series this time, but senior infielder Brody Weiss and a trio of juniors: pitcher David Peterson, infielder Max George and utility man Reagan Todd keyed the Raiders. Upstart Smoky Hill is represented by pitcher Hank Hyde and outfielder Trey Reineke, while Overland left Dario Villagomez, Gateway designed hitter Chris Cronsell and Cherokee Trail outfielder Jordan Smith round out the group.
Coach Dean Adams’ Grandview group might not have been as star-studded as in years past, but they made it as far as any team in the program ever had using a combination of team chemistry, timely hitting, strong pitcher and solid defense.
Senior Reece Weber was the linchpin for the Wolves as he provided the biggest bat in the middle of the order, momentum changing plays in the outfield and added depth to the pitching staff.
The University of New Mexico signee, slugged six home runs to tie for fifth-most in 5A, led the team in runs (32), RBI (26), and stolen bases (11) and hit .405. His bid for a tying home run in the bottom of the seventh inning of the Wolves’ 8-6 loss to Rocky Mountain in the 5A championship series came up just short.
Senior Jake Thurston shifted from second base to shortstop this season and dazzled with his glove as well as his bat. The Metro State signee led the team with a .425 average and 36 hits to go with 24 RBI. Senior Rory Stewart — a Washburn University recruit — also had a phenomenal season at first base and protected Weber in the order with a .409 average and 25 RBI.
The battery of senior catcher Josh Huntley and senior right-hander Spencer Johnson was also very effective for Grandview. Huntley finished one behind Weber for the team lead in homers and drove in 24 runs, while Johnson logged 46 innings and posted a 5-1 record with a 1.82 ERA.
With a strong returning core, Regis Jesuit transitioned well to new coach Mike Anderson, who took when Walt Weiss was hired as Colorado Rockies’ manager.
Brody Weiss and George resumed where they left off last season as the city’s best middle infield duo. George hit at a .468 clip and led the team in runs (30), hits (29) and stolen bases (13), plus tied Weiss for the team lead in homers with four. Weiss — who was drafted by the Colorado Rockies — had a team-high 23 RBI.
Peterson posted a 4-2 record with a 1.60 ERA and struck out 56 in 39 1/3 innings in his junior season following his verbal commitment to Oregon. The 6-foot-6 left-hander’s summer includes extensive travel for games, including a trip to Chicago to play in the 2013 Under Armour All-American Game on Aug. 24.
Todd, an Arizona State pledge, won three games on the mound and hit .345 with three homers and 18 RBI while playing a steady first base.
Smoky Hill had a very strong season and nearly derailed Grandview in the district tournament, leading 1-0 most of the way against its Centennial League rival — which had beaten the Buffaloes by 10 runs twice previously — until suffering a 2-1 walk-off loss.
Hyde won an Aurora-best six games and tossed four complete games — including a shutout over Monarch in the district tournament opener — with a sparkling 2.26 ERA for the Buffs, who tripled their 2012 win total to finish 12-9. He logged 43 1/3 innings and struck out 27, including 11 against Overland, against 16 walks and hit .345 to help his own cause at the plate.
Reineke threw a lot of innings for Smoky Hill last season, but an arm injury made him a late-inning reliever this season. He was most effective as an everyday center fielder, where he hit .448 to lead the Buffs by a large margin, had 10 extra-base hits among his 26 total, drove in 17 and scored 18. Reineke, who is headed to play at Utah Valley University, was charged with just one error in the field and also recorded three wins and two saves with a 1.35 ERA in 20 innings.
Villagomez, a promising left-hander, used a tough two-seam fastball to keep Centennial League hitters off-balance for Overland, posting a 1-1 record with a save and 3.24 ERA and led Aurora pitchers in strikeouts with 65 in 49 1/2 innings. He finished with six complete games.
The all-league first teamer nearly spoiled conference champion Cherry Creek’s 14-0 league season, taking a 1-0 lead into the sixth inning before allowing back-to-back solo home runs to Bruins’ Griffin Jax and Derik Beauprez in a 2-1 loss.
Villagomez also made huge strides as a hitter, as he posted a .368 average — a major jump from his .200 mark in 2012 — and led the Trailblazers with 13 RBI despite spending a portion of the year batting at the top of the order.
Cronsell — Gateway’s standout catcher — led Aurora hitters with a .525 average, which tied him for seventh in 5A. He notched 31 hits (including two homers) and 24 RBI to help the Olys (9-12) make the playoffs for the first time in 15 years before they lost to top-seeded Rocky Mountain in district qualifying.
In a game rival Rangeview had to win against Gateway to stay alive for a postseason berth, Raiders coach Mike Hamilton gave a healthy respect to Cronsell by walking him three of the four times he came to the plate as they held on for a 5-3 victory. Behind the plate, he was charged with just two errors and threw out eight baserunners attempting to steal.
By its own standards, Cherokee Trail’s record was down — a rare sub-.500 season at 7-13 — but Smith made a sizeable impact. Though he pitched a lot for the Cougars, 38 innings, he used his speed to run down a lot of balls in Cherokee Trail’s challenging outfield.
Smith was charged with just two errors in the field and hit .329 with his 23 hits tying for tops on the team.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
2013 AURORA SENTINEL ALL-CITY BASEBALL TEAM
FIRST TEAM
PITCHER: Hank Hyde, Smoky Hill, jr.; Spencer Johnson, Grandview, sr.; David Peterson, Regis Jesuit, jr.; Dario Villagomez, Overland, jr.; CATCHER: Josh Huntley, Grandview, sr.; FIRST BASE: Rory Stewart, Grandview, sr.; INFIELD: Max George, Regis Jesuit, jr.; Jake Thurston, Grandview, sr.; Brody Weiss, Regis Jesuit, sr.; OUTFIELD: Jordan Smith, Cherokee Trail, sr.; Trey Reineke, Smoky Hill, sr.; Reece Weber, Grandview, sr.; UTILITY: Reagan Todd, Regis Jesuit, jr.; DESIGNATED HITTER: Chris Cronsell, Gateway, sr.
SECOND TEAM
PITCHER: Alex Achtermann, Cherokee Trail, jr.; Ryan Christian, Rangeview, sr.; J.R. McDermott, Smoky Hill, soph.; Eric Olguin, Grandview, sr.; CATCHER: Ben John, Cherokee Trail, sr.; FIRST BASE: Hank Hyde, Smoky Hill, jr.; INFIELD: Miguel Gonzalez, Gateway, sr.; Jacob Lorenzini, Eaglecrest, soph.; Eric Mingus, Grandview, soph.; OUTFIELD: Tyler Fitzgerald, Gateway, sr.; Clayton Johnson, Eaglecrest, sr.; Andrew Schmidt, Regis Jesuit, sr.; UTILITY: Joe Slocum, Overland, jr.; DESIGNATED HITTER: Dylan Bellis, Cherokee Trail, sr.
HONORABLE MENTION
Alex Accord, Eaglecrest, jr.; Angelo Baca, Gateway, sr.; Colton Bennett, Rangeview, jr.; Chris Browne, Grandview, sr.; Jeffrey Cordova, Rangeview, jr.; Michael Dziurgot, Cherokee Trail, jr.; Manny Fernandez, Aurora Central, sr.; Tristan Harper, Hinkley, jr.; Zach Heath, Regis Jesuit, jr.; Zach Hegge, Hinkley, sr.; Devin Huschka, Smoky Hill, jr.; Dillon Joye, Rangeview, jr.; Aidan Laurini, Eaglecrest, sr.; Brandon Lopez, Gateway, jr.; Braxton Lorenzini, Eaglecrest, sr.; Madison McIntosh, Cherokee Trail, sr.; T.J. Perez, Rangeview, sr.; Eduardo Ramirez, Gateway, sr.; Ricky Rodriguez, Hinkley, fr.; Brent Schwartz, Regis Jesuit, soph.; Jacob Scott, Smoky Hill, sr.; Cameron Stupansky, Smoky Hill, sr.; Justin Thaxton, Regis Jesuit, jr.; Colten Thomsen, Vista PEAK, soph.; Hunter Valdo, Gateway, sr.; Paul White, Vista PEAK, fr.; Andrew Willard, Eaglecrest, sr.