Copyright Boulder Daily Camera
Now that the regional softball tournaments have come to a close for 10 teams from the Boulder, Broomfield and Longmont areas, five squads will move on to play in the Class 3A, 4A and 5A state tournaments this weekend. The final competition will take place at Aurora Sports Park starting Friday. In 5A, Broomfield and Erie crowned themselves regional champions after taking on hosting responsibilities, while in 4A, Holy Family accomplished the same feat. Ninth-seeded Frederick, in 4A Region 8, upset the site host in Air Academy to take home its own regional crown. Lyons (3A) reached its title game against Lamar, and that was good enough to earn a trip to state. Five other teams from the area saw their postseason hopes cut short. Let’s break it all down. Moving on 5A No. 1 Broomfield The Eagles made quick work of their two opponents on Saturday, first beating No. 32 Grand Junction Central 12-0 before taking No. 16 Grandview down 15-3 in the title game. Senior catcher Lauren Martinez wowed with a grand slam in the second contest, ending her day with four hits and six RBIs. Broomfield now holds a 22-2 record, with both losses belonging to teams out of Nebraska. 5A No. 4 Erie The Tigers faced much more pushback in their first-round matchup against No. 29 Brighton, escaping only with a 6-5 win over the Bulldogs. Their championship game against No. 13 Pueblo West left much less to the imagination, as they won 16-0 in just three innings while scoring 13 in the second frame alone. They’ll enter the state tournament with a 20-5 record. 4A No. 3 Holy Family Much like Broomfield, the Tigers wasted no time asserting their dominance, first beating No. 30 Westminster 10-0 before handing a 12-0 loss to No. 19 Ponderosa. Senior pitcher Emmaline Humphreys struck out 15 batters in a second game that only needed six innings to complete. The Tigers improved to 21-4. 4A No. 9 Frederick The Golden Eagles stunned at the Region 8 tournament, first dispatching No. 24 Durango with a 17-4 display, then upsetting No. 8 Air Academy on its home field, 6-3. Brealea Stendel and Elayna Fisher each had three RBIs in the effort as the team moved to 18-7 overall. 3A No. 7 Lyons In playing host, the Lions managed to easily take down No. 26 Wray/Yuma in the first round with a 13-0 beating. In 3A, the teams need only make the regional championship game to advance to state, so when the Lions lost 4-2 to No. 10 Lamar after that, it didn’t matter. They already secured their spot at Aurora Sports Park. The team, now 18-6, owed three RBIs to Taylor Dickes. For whom the bell tolled 5A No. 24 Legacy The Lightning tasted their first defeat of the Region 8 tournament with a 2-0 setback against No. 9 Riverdale Ridge, then bounced back to win their first-round consolation matchup against No. 25 Vista Ridge by a 7-3 score. No. 8 Grand Junction ended their run after that, as it defeated the Lightning 1-0. Legacy finished its season with a 14-12 record. 4A No. 20 Centaurus The Warriors’ trip to Region 4 was short-lived, as both No. 13 D’Evelyn and No. 29 Mesa Ridge blanked them in consecutive contests with scores of 12-0 and 15-0. Centaurus, which at one point won 10 straight, ended its run with a 21-4 record. 4A No. 21 Mead The Mavericks put up their best effort in a 7-5 opening-round loss to No. 21 Severance, but fell short of making their case to move on to state. They won their first-round consolation game 11-9 over No. 28 Discovery Canyon, then fell once again, 10-0, to No. 5 Pueblo Central. Halie Gippe raked in three RBIs as the Mavericks ended their season at 13-13. 4A No. 25 Silver Creek The Raptors managed to find some success at Region 8, but it wasn’t enough to earn themselves a bid to state. They lost handily to No. 8 Air Academy in the first round, 14-4, before eking out a 10-9 victory over No. 24 Durango in the consolation round. Air Academy defeated them once and for all, 15-5, after that. Silver Creek wrapped up at 14-12. 3A No. 20 Peak to Peak The Pumas faced a tall task in No. 13 Delta in Region 4, and subsequently dropped their only postseason matchup with a 13-3 finish. Peyton Eckert, Haley Haskins and Karina Lefort each contributed an RBI as the Pumas completed their season at 10-14.
