(Brock Laue/CHSAANow.com)
BOULDER — Rocky Mountain, the No. 1 ranked team in this week’s Class 5A baseball poll, is the type of baseball program that others use as a measuring stick to see where they stack up among 5A’s best.
If Saturday was any indication, No. 6 Fairview is on par with the Lobos again this season after defeating the defending state champions 7-4 at home.
The win presents the Knights (15-3, 10-1) with an opportunity to clinch their second straight outright Front Range League championship after finishing undefeated in the FRL in 2014. They will have to get past third place Fort Collins (12-5, 8-2) on Monday in the regular season finale for that to come to fruition.
Of course, beating Rocky Mountain (13-5, 10-2) was the first step in earning league bragging rights once again and, maybe just as importantly, in staying hot before the playoffs.
“It’s always your measuring stick, because they are so good,” Fairview coach Rick Harig said. “Last year we went into the playoffs and were feeling really good, but we ran into some buzz saw pitching.
“The best thing about this week for us is that we are playing really good teams coming out of the end of our league play,” Harig added.
The Knights can take confidence in taking down the No. 1 Lobos thanks to a complete effort. Ryan Madden, the senior ace of the staff and a University of Oklahoma recruit, threw a 10-strikeout complete game to improve his season record to 7-1.
Fairview’s Ryan Madden. (Brock Laue/CHSAANow.com)
At one point, Madden retired nine consecutive batters and had shutout innings in the second, third, fourth, and fifth innings.
“He’s been super consistent and gets tougher when guys get on base,” Harig said. “He gets a little fired up when you perform against him and he gets a little harder.”
Just as critical Saturday was the senior’s ability at the plate.
After a thirty minute rain and lightning delay with four innings in the books, Fairview held a 3-1 lead. In the bottom of the fifth, the Knights broke the game open as Johnny Feauto cranked a leadoff double, Tim Ryan had an RBI double, Walker Harris had an RBI single, and Madden hit a towering two-run homer over the centerfield fence to make it 7-1.
Madden is tied for second in 5A in home runs with six. He is also first on his team, one that is ranked third in 5A in batting average, with a .482 clip. He went two for three at the plate against Rocky Mountain and had three runs batted in.
Harris went two for three and Ryan went two for four for a Fairview lineup that piled up 12 hits and knocked out Lobo starter John Sorenson (4-1) in the fifth, giving him his first loss of 2015.
“We hit the ball,” Harig said. “When we had the delay, we didn’t let that affect us. We came out and scored four runs and that was really a difference maker.”
But, a team with the tradition and star power of a Rocky Mountain did make one final push.
“They have a great coach in (Scott) Bullock and they are a perennial power,” Madden said. “It’s always a tough fight.”
In the top of the sixth, Cole Anderson, a University of New Mexico signee, hit an even deeper bomb than Madden as it was blasted over the left field wall, cutting the deficit to 7-3.
Then, in the top of the seventh, the Lobos loaded the bases with only one out. Kadin Breeze hit an RBI groundout, trimming the score to 7-4, but with a second out.
Madden then wisely chose to walk Anderson. Daniel Ciraula stepped into the batter’s box, but Madden dug in, fired fastball after fastball and caught Ciraula with a third strike on a check swing.
Fairview closed out a major victory. After a 20-1 record after districts in 2014 turned into back-to-back sour losses to ThunderRidge and Regis Jesuit in the playoffs against ace pitchers, the Knights hope to tame fellow contenders in the playoffs.
“Last year we just weren’t able to finish those games,” Madden said. We were in them pretty much until the last inning, but they’ll fuel us a little bit. I think we’re ready to finish.”