LAKEWOOD | Jax Pfister threw 102 pitches over six innings in a strong start for the Grandview baseball team Friday afternoon, so his arm was plenty loose.
The senior gave way to reliever Josiah Giron for the seventh inning of a key Class 5A Baseball Championship Series contest for the top-seeded Wolves against No. 5 Broomfield and returned to his usual position at first base with his team holding a lead.
With one out and two runners on, Pfister fielded a groundball, stepped on first base and threw a strike home to sophomore catcher Kayden Bohmeyer, who applied the tag to complete a double play that secured Grandview’s thrilling 5-4 victory at All-Star Park.
“I had to throw around the runner a little bit, but I figured I made a good throw,” Pfister said with a smile. “I was throwing all day, so I was warmed up for sure.”
Pfister’s strong effort on the mound and defensive play put the finishing touches on a 2-0 day for the Wolves, who defeated No. 8 Castle View in the opener of the day. That puts Grandview into a 2 p.m. contest Saturday at All-Star Park against No. 2 Cherry Creek in a game that will determine which Centennial League team advances all the way to the final of the double-elimination tournament.
Coach Scott Henry’s Wolves (23-4) fell in a three-run hole after one inning against the Eagles — who downed No. 4 Fossil Ridge in their opening game — but Pfister settled in and kept them at bay for the next five innings as the offense got to work.
An RBI single by senior Justin Dean followed by a perfectly executed squeeze bunt by junior AJ Maroni made up a two-run rally in the third inning as the Wolves tied the game at 3-3, while senior Chase Chapman doubled off the third baseman’s glove to drive in the go-ahead run and subsequently scored when Maroni got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in a two-run fifth for Grandview.
In the seventh inning with a 5-3 lead, Giron — seeking his third save of the season — gave up a walk and two singles to Broomfield’s first three hitters to load the bases. A sacrifice fly brought home and a run and moved Jake Orvis to third with one out and senior Caden Williamson at the plate.
Giron got Williamson to hit a grounder toward Pfister, who snared it, stepped on the base and threw home to Bohmeyer, who swiped the tag on Orvis as he slid home.
“I’ve never seen a 3-2 double play to end a game,” Henry said. “When Jax went and touched first, I knew at least we got the out, but then he turned and fired a strike to the plate. That was a great throw.”
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2025 CLASS 5A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
(1) GRANDVIEW 5, (5) BROOMFIELD 4
Score by innings (r-h-e):
Broomfield 300 000 1 — 4 4 1
Grandview 102 200 0 — 5 8 2
BROOMFIELD (ab-r-h-e)
Brendan Fritch 3-1-1-0, Jackson Shepherd 3-1-1-1, Caden Williamson 3-1-0-0, Talan Hutchings 2-0-0-0, Nate Wochner 2-0-0-1, JC Smith 3-0-1-2, Sam Hostetter 1-0-0-0, Tripp Bemis 1-0-0-0, Maverick Scarpella 2-0-0-0, Jake Orvis 3-0-1-0, Blake Barnett cr 0-1-0-0. Totals 23-4-4-4. Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): Ethan Zufall (L, 3 2/3-7-5-3-1-6), Carter Uran (1-1-0-0-1-2), James Varela (1 1/3-0-0-0-1-2).
GRANDVIEW (ab-r-h-e)
Kayden Bohmeyer c 3-1-2-0, Chase Chapman ss 2-2-1-1, Jax Pfister p-1b 3-0-0-1, Justin Dean 2b 3-0-2-1, AJ Maroni 3b 1-0-0-2, Ethan Wachsmann rf 4-0-0-0, Kyle Cacciavillani rf 3-0-1-0, Matthew Schimberg dh 2-0-2-0, Kyler Vaughn cf 2-0-0-0, Gavyn Bauer cr 0-1-0-0, Ryan Miley 0-1-0-0. Totals 23-5-8-5. Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): Jax Pfister (W, 6-3-3-3-2-8), Josiah Giron (Save, 1-2-1-1-1-0).
2B — Grandview: Matthew Schimberg 2, Kayden Bohmeyer, Chase Chapman
