LAKEWOOD | A year later, the Regis Jesuit baseball team will be in the same situation it faced last season when it played Cherry Creek for the Class 5A state championship.
The Raiders lost twice to the Bruins on the final day of the 2024 season and the same programs will take the field Saturday at All-Star Park for one or possibly two games to decide this season’s crown.
Regis Jesuit will have to beat Cherry Creek in a 10 a.m. contest and again at 12:30 p.m., which is what it did Friday with back-to-back victories over No. 5 Broomfield in the opener (story, here) and coach Matt Darr’s team followed that with a 2-1 ousting of top-seeded Grandview in the subsequent semifinals.
“I’ve been here 11 years and this maybe the most competitive effort we’ve had,” Darr said. “We just kept taking punches, but we just kept getting up. That’s been a motto of this team.”
Pitching strength — even with junior ace Hudson Alpert on the shelf due to injury — helped the Raiders (22-8) absorb any blows they received.
Following up on the outstanding complete game performance of senior Luke Reasbeck in the opener, sophomore Mikey Kroll replicated the feat against coach Scott Henry’s Wolves (23-6), as the right-hander scattered just three hits and allowed a single run, while he helped preserve the remainder of the Raiders’ arms for the final day.
Kroll got some good fortunate during his effort, as he got out of a jam in the second inning when senior Justin Dean got hit by a pitch, moved to second on a single by junior AJ Maroni and to third on a wild pitch. A check swing off the bat of Grandview sophomore Matthew Schimberg came right back to Kroll, who caught it and doubled Dean off third base. He left Maroni stranded at third with a strikeout.
Grandview did manufacture a run in the third when senior Kyler Vaughn singled, moved up and stole third before he came home on a wild pitch, but senior Chase Chapman was thrown out trying to come home after senior Jax Pfister walked and took off for second base. From there, Schimberg’s two-out single in the bottom of the fourth inning would be the last time the Wolves had anybody on base.
“The first three innings were rough, I don’t think I threw a first-pitch strike until the fourth inning,” said Kroll, who made just 82 pitches. “It definitely was a little uncomfortable, but once I found a groove, it got a lot smoother from there.”
With Kroll in the zone — and pitching economically — Regis Jesuit’s offense eventually outlasted Grandview junior ace Ethan Wachsmann, who pitched five strong innings and struck out 11 hitters. The right-hander had to exit due to pitch count after he hit senior Nick Wiley with a pitch as the first batter of the sixth inning.
The Raiders loaded the bases against senior reliever Josiah Giron as junior Jacob Olson drew a walk and senior Jace Filleman was hit by a pitch. Senior Gavin Cronin laid down a bunt with the bases loaded and Giron was unable to corral it as he tried to flip it to catcher Kayden Bohmeyer for a force out.
Giron came within an out of escaping the jam, but he walked sophomore Diesel Bernosky on a 3-2 pitch to force in the go-ahead run.
Kroll didn’t allow the Wolves a single baserunner in the final two innings and the game ended when Bernosky threw out senior Kyle Cacciavillani trying to slide into first base.
“I think it’s great that I could help my team get back to the championship, where we lost last year,” Kroll said. “Especially for the people on varsity last year, they have a bad taste in their mouths.”
Darr is hoping his team can turn the tables on Cherry Creek from last season.
“I think you play relaxed at this point, you have nothing to lose,” he said. “They’re lined up like we were last year, but who knows. Weirder things have happened.”
Notes: Darr coached the day with his arm in a sling after rupturing his biceps tendon earlier in the week while doing maintenance on the Regis Jesuit field. He is scheduled to have surgery Monday. …Olson did not play in the first three games of the Championship Series, but made an impact in two games. He finished a combined 3-for-5, drove in two runs and scored twice.
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
SEMIFINALS: (6) REGIS JESUIT 2, (1) GRANDVIEW 1
Score by innings (r-h-e):
Regis Jesuit 000 002 0 — 2 5 0
Grandview 001 000 0 — 1 3 0
REGIS JESUIT (ab-r-h-rbi)
Christian Lopez cf 4-0-0-0, Chase Massey 2b 3-0-0-0, Nick Wiley c 3-0-1-0, Jacob Olson lf-1b 2-1-1-0, Jace Filleman 1b 2-0-0-0, Carter Rathbun ph 1-0-0-0, Deion Cesario-Scott dh 3-0-0-0, Gavin Cronin rf 3-0-1-1, Brady Wright ss 2-0-1-0, Luke Reasbeck ph 1-0-0-0, Diesel Bernosky 3b 2-0-1-1. Totals 26-2-5-2. Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): Mikey Kroll (W, 7-3-1-1-1-2)
GRANDVIEW (ab-r-h-rbi)
Kayden Bohmeyer c 3-0-0-0, Chase Chapman ss 2-0-0-0, Jax Pfister 1b 2-0-0-0, Justin Dean 2b 2-0-0-0, AJ Maroni 3b 3-0-1-0, Matthew Schimberg dh 3-0-1-0, Kyle Cacciavillani rf 3-0-0-0, Ethan Wachsmann p 2-0-0-0, Kyler Vaughn cf 2-1-1-0. Totals 22-1-3-0. Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): Ethan Wachsmann (5-3-1-1-2-11), Josiah Giron (L, 2-2-1-1-2-1).
2B — Regis Jesuit: Diesel Bernosky, Brady Wright
