AURORA | The Cherokee Trail baseball team hears it from its coaches all the time, win the week.
The Cougars most definitely did win the past week, as they capped a week unlike any other due to weather and rescheduled games with an impressive 11-1 Centennial League win over visiting Mullen.
Playing for the sixth time in six days, coach Allan Dyer’s Cherokee Trail moved to 4-1 in that stretch as junior left-hander Jerome Bohannon scattered two hits in five innings and junior Ryan Sullivan cranked a pair of three-run homers.
“We won the week; our coaches always tell us to win the week, so we had to have this one,” said Bohannon, who allowed just one unearned run and struck out 19 batters in 12 innings on the week.
The week-capping win over Mullen (10-6 overall, 8-3 in Centennial League) moved the Cougars to 11-4 overall and 8-2 in the league, which puts them alone in second place, a game behind the pace set by Cherry Creek. Cherokee Trail dropped its opener to Cherry Creek, but the Cougars play at the Bruins on May 4 in a potentially high-stakes game.
Dyer was pleased with how his team finished off a week that saw it sweep Overland with a 5-0 win Monday and a 13-3 victory Friday (the resumption of a game postponed after 2 innings due to weather Wednesday), sandwiched around a split with rival Grandview — with a 4-2 win Tuesday and 10-1 loss Thursday.
“It’s been a grind, so for our guys to come out and play their best game on the sixth day was a pretty good piece,” said Dyer, whose team has won 10 of its last 11 games since a 1-3 start.
“We talked to our guys about winning the week and we did,” he added. “This is the kind of group that can handle the pressure and stress, so they did a phenomenal job.”
Cherokee Trail didn’t waste much time getting started against Mullen, as Bohannon quickly retired the Mustangs in order in the top of the first inning. The Cougars plated runs on an RBI double by sophomore Conner Nantkes and a run-scoring single by senior Nick Leisge.
Bohannon sailed through the second inning and appeared to be out of the third as well, but a controversial catcher’s interference call allowed Justice Lobo-Lucio to reach base. Leadoff man Marcus Salvato and No. 2 Maverick Handley then came up with what turned out to be Mullen’s only hits of the day, with Handley’s single driving in Lobo-Lucio.
Junior catcher Travis Lynch threw out Salvato trying to move up to third on a pitch in the dirt to end the Mustangs’ rally and Bohannon didn’t allow a runner past first base the rest of the way.
“I was able to locate my fastball and change speeds with my change-up,” said Bohannon, who blanked Overland and struck out 12 five days earlier. “I have all the confidence in the world in the guys behind me, so I just try to throw strikes.”
The Cougars got the run back and more in the bottom of the third, which included the first three-run homer by Sullivan and a solo shot from Lynch.
Mustangs starter Jim Dobrash hit Eric Cox with a pitch and allowed a single to sophomore Nick Perez to open the inning. With one out, Sullivan came up and nearly drew a walk, but the umpire rang up a strike on a call that the Cougars took umbrage to. Sullivan made one of the extra pitches he saw pay off as he launched a three-run bomb to left field on a full count pitch.
In his next at-bat in the fifth inning, Sullivan squared to bunt with runners on first and second. He took the pitch for a ball and then launched the next one deep over the fence in left center field for his second three-run shot of the game.
“I’m glad I could come through for my team like that,” Sullivan said. “He threw me a 3-2 curveball the first time and he got me fooled a little bit, but I was able to stay through the zone and just connected with it. I had a feeling it was going to go.
“The second one, I was just sitting fastball inside and got the pitch. You have to do the job with guys on.”
The two-homer game tied Sullivan for the team lead with sophomore Michael Morris, who was in the hospital and missed the game, though he was on his teammates’ minds.
Senior Ryan Grasser’s RBI single brought the Cougars within one run of the 10-run mercy rule and with two runners on, Mullen chose to walk junior Matt Meraz to set up the chance for a double play.
Cox got down the bunt on a suicide squeeze, as senior Lucas Piatchek raced home with the winning run.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
CHEROKEE TRAIL 11, MULLEN 1 (5 inn.)
Score by innings (r-h-e):
Mullen 001 00 — 1 2 0
Cher. Trail 204 05 — 11 10 1
MULLEN (ab-r-h-rbi)
Marcus Salvato 2b 3-0-1-0, Maverick Handley c 2-0-1-1, Landon Urban cf 2-0-0-0, Dominic Duran 1b 2-0-0-0, Joey Salvato ss 2-0-0-0, Jonathan Miranda dh 2-0-0-0, Jim Dobrash p 0-0-0-0, Rocco Porreco 3b-p 2-0-0-0, Anastacio Salas lf 2-0-0-0, Justice Lobo-Lucio rf 0-1-0-0, Jake Barr 3b 0-0-0-0. Totals 17-1-2-1. Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-s0): Jim Dobrash (L, 4 1/3-7-9-7-2-6), Rocco Porreco (0-3-2-2-2-0).
CHEROKEE TRAIL (ab-r-h-rbi)
Matt Meraz rf 3-1-1-0, Eric Cox cf 1-1-0-1, Nick Perez 3b 3-2-2-0, Conner Nantkes lf 3-2-1-1, Ryan Sullivan dh 2-2-2-6, Jerome Bohannon p 0-0-0-0, Nick Leisge 1b 3-0-1-1, Travis Lynch c 2-1-1-1, Trey Smith cr 0-1-0-0, Lucas Piatchek 2b 3-1-1-0, Ryan Grasser ss 3-0-1-1. Totals 23-11-10-11. Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): Jerome Bohannon (W, 5-2-1-0-1-7)
2B — Cherokee Trail: Conner Nantkes; HR — Cherokee Trail: Ryan Sullivan 2 (2 on in 3rd in, 2 on in 5th inning), Travis Lynch (solo in 3rd inning).