AURORA | The Eaglecrest softball team has moved its way to the semifinals of the Class 5A state tournament for the first time in nearly a decade and did so with two impressive wins Friday.
The fifth-seeded Raptors capped a strong opening day at the Aurora Sports Park with a 4-1 victory over fourth-seeded Erie, which sent them into Saturday’s Final Four along with No. 1 Broomfield, No. 2 Cherokee Trail and No. 6 Legend.
Freshman shortstop Haisley Elliott’s diving stab of a dying liner accounted for the final out and capped a second straight outstanding effort on the mound from older sister, Zaya, as Eaglecrest got through the quarterfinals for the first time since 2016.
Coach Yvette Hendrian’s 22-5 Raptors have a 10 a.m. matchup with Broomfield (24-2) with the winner headed to the 1:15 p.m. state championship game.
Haisley Elliott had a three-hit day and drove in the first run, while freshman Tiani Lobitos and junior Abby Files also picked up RBI for coach Yvette Hendrian’s team, which improved to 22-5.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
Class 5A state tournament (at Aurora Sports Park)
Quarterfinals: (5) Eaglecrest 4, (4) Erie 1
Score by innings (r-h-e):
Erie 001 000 0 — 1 12 1
Eaglecrest 002 200 0 — 4 10 0
WP — Eaglecrest: Zaya Elliott (7 IP, 12 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K). Eaglecrest hitting: Haisley Elliott 3-4, 2B, RBI, run, SB; Ryleigh Stufft 2-3, 2 runs; Lexi Bargar 2-3, 2 2B, run; Tiani Lobitos 1-2, RBI; Abby Files 1-3, RBI; Sybella Trevino 1-4
