LAKEWOOD | A six-run rally in the top of the seventh inning came up just short for Grandview Friday afternoon in an 11-9 loss to Cherry Creek that brought its time in the Class 5A Baseball Championship Series to a close.
The 16th-seeded Wolves took an early lead, slipped behind by eight runs in the middle of the contest and then scored eight times in their final two at-bats before the fifth-seeded Bruins got the final out needed to advance to Saturday’s state championship game.
Cherry Creek will face second-seeded Regis Jesuit in a 10 a.m. contest at All-Star Park and would have to defeat the Raiders — who went 3-0 in the opening weekend of the double-elimination tournament — twice to win the title.
Coach Scott Henry’s Grandview team, which opened the day with a 6-1 win over eighth-seeded Prairie View, finished the season 19-11. The Wolves remain looking for the program’s first trip to the state championship game.
“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 over the fence in left field. 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 loaded 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 and they’re going to battle all the way to the end. I’ve never been more grateful to play with a group of people.”
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2024 CLASS 5A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
(5) CHERRY CREEK 11, (16) GRANDVIEW 9
Score by innings (r-h-e):
Grandview 000 102 6 — 9 11 3
Cherry Creek 000 542 x — 11 10 0
GRANDVIEW (ab-r-h-rbi)
AJ Maroni 3b 4-2-2-0, Tony Crow ss 4-2-3-0, Jax Pfister p-1b 2-0-0-0, Easton Flores dh 3-1-0-0, Chase Chapman 2b 3-1-1-0, Brock Johnston lf 3-1-1-2, Tucker Smock cf 3-0-1-1, Collin May c 4-1-3-2, Justin Dean 1b 2-0-0-0, Kyler Vaughn ph 1-1-1-2, Cameron Kennedy pr 0-1-0-0. Totals 29-9-12-7. Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): Jax Pfister (L, 4 1/3-7-7-7-2-2), Ethan Wachsmann (0-0-2-2-2-0), Ben Crandall (1 2/3-3-2-0-1-0)
CHERRY CREEK (ab-r-h-rbi)
Brayden Yasuzawa 2b 3-0-1-0, Connor Larkin 1b 4-0-2-1, Eddie Esquivel cf 4-0-1-0, Will Taylor dh 3-1-2-0, Mason Scott 3b 3-2-1-0, Sean Goldy ss 2-2-0-0, Tyce Smith rf 2-2-1-1, Eli Rose c 3-0-1-2, Luke Rose lf 2-0-1-2, Connor Frank pr 0-2-0-0, Alex Maynard pr 0-1-0-0. Totals 26-11-10-6. Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): Tyler Weston (W, 6 2/3-9-7-4-2-7), Paul Hughes (0-1-2-2-1-0), Cameron Larson (1-1-0-0-1-0)
2B — Cherry Creek: Eddie Esquivel, Will Taylor. HR — Grandview: Kyler Vaughn (1 on in 7th inning)
