Coal Ridge baseball secures regional title, looks ahead to state tournament
Basalt baseball lost in regional play on Saturday
For the Glenwood Springs Post Independent
Theresa Hamilton/Courtesy photo
The Coal Ridge High School baseball team stormed into the Class 3A Western Slope regional final thanks to a resounding 13-3 home victory over the Pagosa Springs Pirates on Saturday morning.
The Titans’ trust in their teammates and ability to keep the line moving proved to be the difference in the first round of the 3A playoffs. Coal Ridge slapped 14 hits through six innings in front of their home crowd.
“When we play Coal Ridge baseball, we can’t be beaten,” Titans senior pitcher Alexis Serna said.
The Titans faced a challenge in the top of the first but limited the damage to just one run. Serna, whose pitch count had risen to 24 through the top of the first inning, led off the bottom of the first and helped himself by working a walk. The Titans’ first four hitters reached safely and skillfully worked their way around the bases to score.
The score after one was 4-1, a lead Coal Ridge wouldn’t even consider letting slip from its grasp.
The game was not yet out of reach in the top of the fourth. Coal Ridge had pushed one more across the board before Serna took the mound for his fourth and final inning of work. Two walks and a single through the infield quickly loaded the bases, and a passed ball on the first pitch lessened the lead and took even more momentum from the home team.
Still with no outs in the inning and runners on second and third, the crowd collectively held their breath as the bases were reloaded on a hit-by-pitch.
The Coal Ridge coaching staff deserves credit for keeping the trust in their senior pitcher through the seemingly endless stream of baserunners. After a well-timed mound visit, Serna pounded the zone with strikes with his fastball and offspeed. He was rejuvenated and struck out the following three batters without allowing another run.
The considerable crowd erupted as Serna exited the field.
“The adrenaline was pumping,” Serna said. “I just had to focus in and throw strikes. I need to know my ball. I was trying to overthrow it, so once coach came out, I started using my legs more, which helped me throw more strikes.”
Escaping the jam while maintaining the three-run lead boosted the Coal Ridge dugout while stealing every ounce of motivation Pagosa Springs still had. The Pirates’ defense got sloppy in the back half of the game, allowing the Titans to take advantage and push two across in the bottom of the fourth.
Freshman second baseman Maddox Olivas, who led the team in home runs during the regular season, left his mark on the game. He walloped a two-run shot over the left-center wall in the bottom of the fifth to extend the lead even further, but Olivas seemingly missed the barrel on his home run swing. The ball cleared the wall by at least 15 feet, but how far it would have gone if he had squared it up is unfortunately unknown.
Coal Ridge’s last ups in the bottom of the sixth were kicked off by a rocket off the wall by George Roberts. Roberts was into third standing up but seemed surprised to see his coach waving him home. Lazy Pagosa Springs fielding allowed the speedy Roberts to round the bases and Coal Ridge to reach double digits.
Titans junior Jackson Slade represented the winning run and was standing on third as Olivas took a walk with one out. Coal Ridge sent Olivas on a delayed steal, which made the Pirates catcher bite. Once Slade saw the ball pass the pitching rubber, he took off for home. The ball bounced away from the second baseman as Slade trotted over the plate with the winning run on his spike.
“Once the adrenaline starts rolling, look out,” Serna said after the game. “The whole team can feel it in the dugout, and everything starts rolling for us.”
Also securing a 13-3 victory over Montezuma-Cortez in the regional tournament on Saturday, the Titans are the No. 5 seed in the state tournament and will face No. 4 Resurrection Christian at 9 a.m. Friday at University High School.
Basalt’s baseball season ended Saturday in the regional tournament after losing 6-0 at No. 2 Berthoud. BHS finished the year 7-17 overall. Berthoud beat No. 18 Prospect Ridge Academy to win the region.
Aspen baseball did not make the postseason after going 12-10-1.
Persson, Skiers again peaking as AHS girls golf heads to state championship
After a midseason “rough patch” — her words, not ones the rest of us would associate with her steady play — Lenna Persson has her swing dialed in with the 3A state golf championships coming up Monday and Tuesday in Loveland.
