BROOMFIELD | Rain kept the fate of two Aurora softball teams up in the air, but Cherokee Trail can sit back with a spot in the Class 5A state tournament secure.
Only two of Saturday’s eight regional tournaments completed play before they were stopped by weather, with the Cougars and Region 1 representing one of the exceptions.
With a 5-2 victory over ThunderRidge, Cherokee Trail earned one of the two slots in the Oct. 19-20 5A state tournament at the Aurora Sports Park along with Legacy, the five-time state champion which took down ThunderRidge 11-5 to win the regional championship.
Coach Dick Hormann’s Cougars (16-6) lost to ThunderRidge in the opening game at the Broomfield Industrial Park, then beat Westminster to earn another shot at the Grizzlies. They finished off the second game behind a strong performance from junior pitcher Christian Bobian to earn a second straight trip to the state tournament after a two-year drought.
Aurora’s other two regional qualifiers — Eaglecrest and Grandview — saw their tournaments held over to Sunday.
The Region 8 tournament at Columbine High School involving the Wolves got the most play in, with four games completed. Second-seeded Dakota Ridge won both of its games to earn the top regional spot, beating No. 15 Grandview 8-1 in the second game after the Wolves had topped No. 18 Horizon 3-2 in the opener.
Sophomore Emily Supercynski drove in two runs and Ande Troutman the other in Grandview’s win over Horizon, which saw freshman pitcher Courtney Browne throw a four-hitter. Senior Shy Calicchia had the only two hits — including a home run — and drove in the lone run for coach Dave Thies’ Wolves in their loss to Dakota Ridge.
Horizon beat No. 31 Northglenn to earn a rematch with Grandview (15-6) for the state berth in a game scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Columbine. The Wolves are in search of their fourth trip to the state tournament in five seasons.
Twelfth-seeded Eaglecrest (17-3) won its opener in Region 3 at the Youth Memorial Complex in Arvada, taking down No. 21 Fort Collins by a 9-0 count to advance against No. 5 Arvada West, which took down No. 28 Brighton in its opener.
The Raptors and Wildcats played into the fourth inning, with Arvada West leading 3-2 when play was suspended. It is scheduled to resume at 12:15 p.m. Sunday according to Eaglecrest coach Yvette Hendrian.
The winner moves on to the state tournament, while the loser will have to play the winner of the Brighton and Fort Collins game to follow for a trip to state.
The other state qualifiers so far are No. 8 Mountain Vista (Region 2), No. 6 Rock Canyon (Region 6), No. 10 Douglas County and No. 7 Fossil Ridge (Region 7).
Seeding for the state tournament will be postponed until Monday according to CHSAA assistant commissioner Bert Borgmann.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
