DENVER | Defending Class 5A state baseball champion Regis Jesuit remained in the hunt for another title with a win Sunday, taking a place among the final four remaining through the first weekend of play.
The Raiders took out Pine Creek 6-4 in an elimination game at Bishop Machebeuf High School, earning their way into the group that includes two fellow Continental League teams — 3-0 Legend and 2-1 Highlands Ranch — along with Centennial League entry Cherry Creek, which eliminated Grandview with a walk-off 6-5 victory at All-City Field.
Brody Weiss homered and drove in a pair of runs, Patrick Dinges also homered and Eric Brunts and Andrew Schmidt also plated runs for Regis Jesuit (19-4) in support of starting pitcher Daniel Sutherland, who held Pine Creek to four runs over six innings. David Peterson earned the save for the Raiders, a day after gutting out six innings in a walk-off loss to Highlands Ranch.
Regis Jesuit is set to take on Legend — which it beat in Continental League play — at noon May 25 at All-City Field.
Grandview’s dreams of moving on were dashed when Centennial League nemesis Cherry Creek scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to end the Wolves’ season at 20-4. Grandview went 1-2 against the Bruins this season and 18-2 against everyone else in Colorado and on a spring break trip to Arizona.
Grandview put itself in position to advance by outlasting Dakota Ridge 3-1 in 10 innings in its first game of the day, as starting pitcher Madison Spencer tossed all 10 innings, allowing six hits and striking out seven batters against just one walk.
Jake Thurston delivered a tie-breaking single with the bases loaded in the top of the 10th inning and Jordan Schlehuber gave the Wolves a two-run cushion with a sacrifice fly that held up. Reece Weber had the other RBI for Grandview.
Against Cherry Creek — which they’d beaten 10-3 in the regular season finale — the Wolves scored five runs in the second inning, giving Schlehuber a nice cushion on the mound. Grandview’s offense couldn’t scratch any runs across in the last five innings, however, getting turned away in the seventh with two runners getting thrown out on the basepaths, including one at home plate.
The Bruins chipped away with two runs in the fifth inning to pull within three, then launched the winning rally in the bottom of the seventh with help from two hit batsmen to start the frame. Cherry Creek got the bases loaded, prompting coach Dean Adams to bring Michael Hufnagel on in relief of Schlehuber. A wild pitch brought a run home for the Bruins to make it 5-3, then Dyllin Mucha tripled to right field to tie the game and scored on Lane Mulligan’s sacrifice fly to give Cherry Creek the victory.
Payton Soicher drove in a pair of runs with a double, Thurston and Jordan Rousselle also drove in runs and Josh Huntley had a pair of hits for Grandview.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
AURORA 5A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES RESULTS, MAY 20
REGIS JESUIT 6, PINE CREEK 4
Score by innings (r-h-e):
Pine Creek 010 012 0 — 4 8 5
Regis Jesuit 200 121 0 — 6 5 1
CHERRY CREEK 6, GRANDVIEW 5
Score by innings (r-h-e):
Grandview 050 000 0 — 5 6 0
Cherry Creek 000 020 4 — 5 8 1
GRANDVIEW 3, DAKOTA RIDGE 1 (10)
Score by innings (r-h-e):
Grandview 010 000 000 2 — 3 9 0
Dakota Ridge 000 000 100 0 — 1 6 0
