(Brock Laue/CHSAANow.com)
NORTHGLENN — The Community Christian baseball team had breezed to a 12-1 record with a run differential of 144-24 and the best earned run average (1.55) in Class 1A entering Monday.
They featured a powerful lineup led by Jake Hodge, the all-classification leader in batting average (.737). The Crusaders were also sitting pretty at No. 2 in the latest 1A rankings released Monday morning, receiving five first-place votes and only looking up at Eads in the poll.
Of course, when it comes to rivalry games, stats can be thrown out and chaos can ensue.
Community Christian experienced a little of both during a wacky 7-6 home win in eight innings on Monday over No. 9 Cornerstone Christian at Jaycee Park. The victory kept a lengthy winning streak against 1A District 2 competition alive, a streak that spans 41 games and six seasons.
But that wasn’t on the minds of the players or coaches in a heated battle.
“I’m just happy to get a win honestly,” Hodge said. “This is the first extra inning game I remember playing in a long time.”
“We always enjoy playing that team,” Community Christian coach Dennis Cooper added. “It seems like we always play our best games against each other. That game is a lot of fun. We were fortunate enough to come out on top.”
In a game brimming with timely hits and great defensively plays, but also a number of errors, sloppy plays, and close calls, the contest ended much as it had started: in unusual fashion.
The Crusaders’ Justin Werzinski, stepping into the batter’s box in the eighth with the bases loaded, hit a grounder. The Cornerstone fielder threw home in plenty of time before pinch runner Devin Obland crossed the plate. But the ump called the runner safe.
“First of all, the umpire took about three days there to make a call and I’m going, ‘Why didn’t he call him out?’ The catcher certainly had the ball in his glove and then he said the kid didn’t have his foot on the plate,” Cooper said excitedly.
“To play that game and think of all the little things in all those innings, any one of those plays that could’ve gone either way, it’s weird to end it like that.”
The call sealed a rivalry win for Community Christian, one that was both frustrating with miscues and exciting with tremendous efforts by a number of players.
Jake Hodge of Community Christian. (Brock Laue/CHSAANow.com)
One of those standouts, of course, was Hodge, who came through with the game hanging in the balance.
First, the 6-foot-3 senior cracked a single to drive in a run in the bottom of the fifth, tying the game at six. Then, he stepped onto the mound in relief and proceeded to shut out the Bulldogs in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth innings.
Cornerstone Christian left several runners stranded on base as Hodge himself made a few miscues atypical for the veteran, but his stuff was still good enough to keep the Crusaders firmly in the game.
“Jake’s stats speak for themselves,” Cooper raved. “He’s the best hitter in 1A in the state. He’s definitely one of the top five players in 1A. Any team Jake would be on, he would mean a lot.”
Cornerstone, which fell to 5-6 and 3-2 in 1A District 2, scored all six of its runs in the 2nd inning.
Their own star player, Carlos Ruiz, helped keep them in the game with some good pitching of his own and a couple critical hits. Ruiz, a senior, was named second team all-state in 2014.
Community Christian has gained a little breathing room in district play with a 5-0 record, 13-1 overall, and a nice multiple game lead in the standings while owning the tiebreaker over Cornerstone.
The program has grown accustomed to district championships and state playoff appearances in recent years. Hodge is quick to praise the coaching staff for their success.
“I would certainly have to give that credit to our coaching staff, because we have a lot of inexperienced guys, guys who are athletes, but not necessarily baseball players,” Hodge said, describing a commonality in small-school sports.
“Our coaching staff, every season their job is to take these athletes, take their athletic ability and kind of mold that into a baseball player. For them to be able to do that, it’s really great to see.”