Fairview shortstop Cameron Frazier (3) keeps his focus on the ball as Arvada West sophomore Luke Lastoczy slides back to second base during the fourth inning Friday at Arvada West High School. The Knights took a 9-1 road victory in the non-league game. (Dennis Pleuss)
ARVADA — Fairview’s bats wasted no time in getting an early lead and the efficient work of Knights’ junior Ryan Madden on the mound was too much for Arvada West on Friday.
Fairview, No. 10 in the latest CHSAANow.com Class 5A baseball poll, touched up A-West senior pitcher Brody Hagel-Pitt for seven runs on eight hits in the first two innings on the Wildcats’ home field. The Knights (6-1) cruised to an eventual 9-1 victory.
Fairview senior Cannon Casey, right, slides into home during the sixth inning as Arvada West catcher Jesse Klene waits for a throw. (Dennis Pleuss)
“We put 30 pitches or so on his (Hagel-Pitt) arm early. He is a good arm,” Fairview coach Rick Harig said of forcing the Wildcats’ starter to throw more than 30 pitches to get out of the top of the first inning. “Getting four runs set the tone for us. Madden set the tone the other way coming at batters, throwing early strikes and getting ahead. That’s a good combination.”
Senior Jeff Clarke was a main cog for the Knights’ fast offensive start. Clarke began the scoring with an RBI single in the top of the first. He added a two-run double in Fairview’s three-run second inning. Clarke finished the game 3-for-4 with four RBIs.
Madden also had a three-hit game going 3-for-4 with two runs batted in. However, the junior was even more impressive on the mound, allowing just one run and four hits in six innings pitched to pick up his second win this season. Senior Mike Vlasity retired all three batters he faced in the bottom of the seventh inning to close out the victory.
Fairview junior Ryan Madden picked up the win on the mound for the Knights on Friday. Madden allowed one run on four hits while striking out seven in six innings of work against Arvada West. (Dennis Pleuss)
“Jumping on (A-West) with four runs in the first was really big momentum for us,” Madden said. “We kept it rolling through the game.”
After giving up a leadoff double to A-West senior Allen Martin in the bottom of the first inning, Madden retired the next 10 Wildcat batters. Madden had a few innings where he threw single digit pitches and worked extremely fast.
“That’s kind of what I’ve always done,” Madden said of not wasting time between pitches. “It usually works well.”
A-West (5-4) broke up the shutout with an RBI single by junior Shane Hoyer in the sixth inning that drove home Martin. Hoyer and Martin combined to produce the four hits off Madden.
Hoyer was 2-for-2 from the dish. Martin was 2-for-3 from the plate in the loss that ended a three-game winning streak for A-West.
“I think we just have to take this as a learning game,” Martin said. “We started off slow. We need to jump on it from the beginning. We can’t let their pitcher (Madden) do what he did. He just mowed us down.”
Hoyer took over on the mound for the Wildcats in the fourth inning. He allowed two runs on three hits. Clarke and Madden knocked in a run each in the sixth inning to extend the Knights’ lead to 9-0.
A-West coach Matt McDougal was pleased with the work Hoyer did on the mound, but was realistic on where his team sits midway through the season.
Fairview senior Jeff Clarke eyes a foul ball Friday afternoon. Clarke had a big game at the plate going 3-for-4 with four RBIs in the Knights’ 9-1 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
“We are the type of team right now if we don’t play well we aren’t good enough to win,” McDougal said. “We have to play well. We’ll compete in every game we play well in.”
A-West has two non-league games remaining before diving into its eight-game 5A Jeffco League schedule on April 15 at home against Standley Lake. The Wildcats’ next home game is scheduled for at 4 p.m. Monday against Fredrick.
“League is obviously important, but we don’t want to be playing poorly going into league,” McDougal said.
Fairview will get another taste of a 5A Jeffco team next week. The Knights travel to Bear Creek High School to face the Bears at 4 p.m. Monday before starting their 5A Front Range League schedule.
Fairview hosts Fossil Ridge at 4 p.m. Tuesday to start its conference play. The Knights close next week with league games against Rocky Mountain (Thursday) and Monarch (Saturday).
“Next week is a big week with four games,” Madden said. “It will be a good test.”
Arvada West senior Nick Priola fouls off a pitch Friday against Fairview. The Wildcats’ bats didn’t have much success against the Knights. A-West could only muster up four hits in the 9-1 loss that ended a three-game winning streak for the Wildcats. (Dennis Pleuss)