AURORA | District play wasn’t quite as nervewracking for the Grandview baseball team this year, with pitching to thank.
Madison Spencer and Jordan Schlehuber each tossed complete games for the homestanding Wolves in Saturday’s Class 5A District 5 tournament — allowing a combined one run in 13 innings of work — to push Grandview into the double-elimination 5A championship series, which begins May 18.
Schlehuber set the tone for the day with a 6-inning no-hitter, the first in team postseason history, in a 10-0 win over Rangeview in the opener, then Spencer scattered seven hits against Chaparral and had a shutout going until the Wolverines plated a run with two outs in the seventh inning in Grandview’s 5-1 victory in the district championship game.
Josh Huntley gave Spencer all the offensive support he needed with a two-run single in the second inning and a flyball that Chaparral’s right fielder overan that fell in for a two-run double. Huntley finished the day with five hits in six trips to the plate in the two games combined.
Shortstop TJ Lemke — whose glovework was key in the win against Chaparral — ended the Rangeview game with a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to invoke the 10-run mercy rule.
Grandview (19-2) opens the championship series at 12:30 p.m. May 18 against Highlands Ranch at Machebeuf.
Notes: Grandview is joined in the championship series by No. 1 Cherry Creek, No. 3 Regis Jesuit, No. 5 Legend, No. 6 Dakota Ridge, No. 7 Highlands Ranch and No. 13 Ralston Valley.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
(2) GRANDVIEW 5, (15) CHAPARRAL 1
Score by innings (r-h-e):
Chaparral 000 000 1 — 1 7
Grandview 020 030 x — 5
CHAPARRAL (ab-r-h-rbi)
Logan Serena ss 4-0-2-0, John Burton dh 4-0-1-0, Brett Wallace 2b 4-0-0-0, Max Kuhns 3b-p 2-0-2-0, Josh Nicol c 3-0-1-0, Keenan Eaton cf 2-0-0-0, Curtis Scholtes ph 1-0-0-0, Scott Kaley 1b 3-0-0-0, Brooks Benson rf 3-0-0-0, Zac Guy lf 3-0-1-0. Totals 29-1-7-1. Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): Josh Thomas (L, 4 2/3-7-5-3-4-3), Max Kuhns (1 1/3-1-0-0-0-1).
GRANDVIEW (ab-r-h-rbi)
Payton Soicher cf 4-0-0-0, Jake Thurston 2b 4-1-2-0, Jordan Schlehuber 3b 3-1-1-0, Reece Weber rf 4-1-0-0, TJ Lemke ss 3-2-1-0, Jackson Peitzmeier c 3-0-1-0, Eli Williams pr 0-1-0-0, Josh Huntley 1b 3-0-3-4, Michael Hufnagel dh 1-0-0-0, Jordan Rousselle lf 2-0-0-0. Totals 27-5-8-4. Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): Madison Spencer (W, 7-7-1-1-1-5).
2B — Chaparral: Max Kuhns 2; Grandview: Josh Huntley, Jake Thurston.