LAKEWOOD | Luke Reasbeck put the exclamation mark on a near-flawless two-day pitching performance for Regis Jesuit at the Class 5A Baseball Championship Series Saturday afternoon at All-Star Park.
The junior right-hander pushed up against his pitch count limit, but recorded a strikeout for the final out to finish off a dominant complete game effort in a 3-0 win for the Raiders that put them in the catbird’s spot going into the final weekend of the the double-elimination tournament.
Reasbeck allowed just two hits and held down the powerful Bruins, while Regis Jesuit generated just enough offense to assure itself a chance to play in the 5A state championship game June 1.
“I feel great, honestly, but truly we as a team came out and we wanted it way more than anybody else,” said Reasbeck, who earned his first win since April 22 and threw his first complete game since March 26.
“I just kept my composure and trusted my teammates behind me,” he added. “They made every play. It was just great.”
Coach Matt Darr’s Raiders will play at 10 a.m. against either Cherry Creek, Grandview or Prairie — which will battle it out May 31 — with the knowledge they will get another chance should they lose that game.
Following outstanding efforts by sophomore Hudson Alpert (who allowed one run in a complete game 3-1 win over Fort Collins) and senior Liam Mosley (who pitched five shutout innings in a 3-0 victory over Cherokee Trail), Reasbeck allowed just one Cherry Creek baserunner to reach third base in the whole game.
He surrendered an infield single and another on a groundball up the middle, but got a strikeout (he had nine for the game) or a key groundout at critical junctures.
“Luke has struggled a bit lately, but knew he would attack and throw strikes, which against a team like this is important,” Darr said. “They are a momentum team, so make them put it in play. They are good hitters, but even good hitters get out if you throw strikes.”
Meanwhile, Regis Jesuit got the runs it needed with two rallies.
The Raiders were turned away in the first inning when senior Brody Chyr walked and senior Trevor Nordstrom ripped a ball down the right field line that bounced on the All-Star Park turf and hopped over the fence for a ground rule double, which kept any runs from scoring.
In the third inning against Cherry Creek starter Tyler Weston, senior Andrew Bell singled and was chased home on a triple ripped down into the right field corner by Chyr, who would then score on Nordstrom’s infield grounder.
Senior Jace Filleman had a nine-pitch at-bat to begin the fifth inning and he won his matchup with Weston with a single to left field. Junior Christian Lopez sacrificed pinch runner John May to second base and he scored on an error on a ball put into play by Chyr.
Regis Jesuit’s win avenged a regular season home loss to Cherry Creek and put it in position win its first state championship since 2019.
Darr was pleased with the overall performance of his team, which outscored Fort Collins, Cherokee Trail and Cherry Creek by a combined total of 9-1. The Raiders will run through a week of practice and then wait to see who they will play for the state title.
The advantage is a full stable of pitchers that will be set up and ready to go for one game or two if necessary.
The format of the Championship Series changed with the team that went 3-0 on the opening weekend going straight to the title game changed last season and Valor Christian took advantage of that position to win the state championship in one game.
“We really have to think about how to approach the week,” Darr said. “It’s a long wait and you really have to figure out how to peak at the right time. …At the end of the day, we worry about ourselves. We’re playing really well, pitching well, hitting enough and playing good defense. It doesn’t matter who we play at this point.”
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
Championship bracket: (2) REGIS JESUIT 3, (5) CHERRY CREEK 0
Score by innings (r-h-e):
Cherry Creek 000 000 0 — 0 2 2
Regis Jesuit 002 001 x — 3 5 1
CHERRY CREEK (ab-r-h-rbi)
Brayden Yasuzawa 2b 1-0-0-0, Connor Larkin 1b 3-0-1-0, Eddie Esquivel cf 2-0-0-0, Will Taylor dh 3-0-1-0, Mason Scott 3b 3-0-0-0, Sean Goldy ss 2-0-0-0, Tyce Smith rf 3-0-0-0, Eli Rose c 3-0-0-0, Luke Rose lf 2-0-0-0, Joel Gibas lf 1-0-0-0. Totals 23-0-2-0. Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): Tyler Weston (L, 4 1/3-4-3-3-1-2), Cameron Larson (1 2/3-1-0-0-0-1)
REGIS JESUIT (ab-r-h-rbi)
Christian Lopez cf 2-0-0-0, Andrew Bell ss 2-1-1-0, Brody Chyr rf 2-1-1-1, Trevor Nordstrom 3b 3-0-1-1, Hudson Alpert 2b 3-0-0-0, Gavin Cronin lf 3-0-0-0, Nick Wiley c 3-0-1-0, Justin Steinbeck dh 3-0-0-0, Jace Filleman 1b 2-0-1-0, John May pr 0-1-0-0. Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): Luke Reasbeck (W, 7-2-0-0-2-9)
2B — Regis Jesuit: Trevor Nordstrom, Nick Wiley. 3B — Regis Jesuit: Brody Chyr