Wheat Ridge catcher Abe Apodaca, left, makes a diving tag on Chatfield junior Blake Dickman during a wild 7th inning. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
LITTLETON — The wheels came off defensively for Wheat Ridge’s baseball team at the most inopportune time Tuesday at Chatfield High School.
However, sophomore pitcher Aaron Arcilise steered the Farmers through a near disastrous bottom of the seventh inning. Wheat Ridge committed five errors in the seventh as Chatfield rallied for a pair of runs to cut the Farmers’ 3-0 lead to a single run.
“The tent came off the circus there, but we were able hold on which is good,” Wheat Ridge coach Adam Miller said after a 3-2 non-league victory. “That’s a good building point for us.”
Chatfield had the tying run on base with two outs, but Arcilise finished his complete-game on the mound in style striking out Chatfield senior Tanner Barnes to end the game.
Wheat Ridge’s Aaron Arcilise threw just 82 pitches in a complete-game victory. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“Everything was on today,” said Arcilise, who gave credit to pitching coach John Dowd for calling a good game. “It was a good day for me.”
Arcilise was masterful facing just one batter over the minimum through sixth innings. The sophomore ended up throwing just 82 pitches for the win. He finished with six strikeouts.
Chatfield senior Jack Winkler had a double in the bottom of the fourth inning that broke up Arcilise’s no-hit bid. Seniors Alec Roach and Nate Semmler both had singles off the righty, but the Chargers’ error-fueled rally came up just short.
“He (Arcilise) was great. He was absolutely outstanding,” Miller said. “He kind of befuddled them all day. He commanded his pitches.”
Wheat Ridge senior centerfielder Jack Marvel was also impressed with Arcilise’s first start on the hill this season.
“He surprised me,” Marvel said. “He pitched a heck of a game. I’m so proud of him. I don’t know how he kept his composure playing a pretty good 5A team. He didn’t show any emotion. He was the man today.”
Chatfield’s Kasey Koppelmaa (14) cruises into third base Tuesday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Marvel gave the Farmers an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning with an RBI single driving in senior Travis Cowan. An RBI groundout by freshman Cael Yenzer pushed Wheat Ridge’s lead to 2-0 in the third inning.
Wheat Ridge (2-0 record) had the bases loaded with just one out in the fifth inning, but could only get one run when Cowan scored on a wild pitch.
“If we would have got two or three more runs before the seventh I believe the game would have been over,” Marvel said. “Those errors wouldn’t have mattered as much.”
Chatfield (0-1) threw a trio of pitchers in its season opener. Junior Blake Dickman got the start and went three innings. Junior lefty Kasey Koppelmaa went three innings before giving way to Winkler in the seventh inning.
The Chargers and Farmers both head to Arizona next week for the Coach Bob Tournament in Arizona. Chatfield is schedule to get in four games, while Wheat Ridge will play five games during the spring break trip.
“The goal is we wanted to be ready heading to Arizona,” Miller said. “The goal is to win the league (Class 4A Jeffco) that is always our goal. We’ve got six more games to prepare us for the league. Hopefully the situation we just went through will be common and we’ll handle it a little bit better.”
The 4A Jeffco League will be tough this season. Defending 4A state championship Valor Christian currently holds the top spot in the CHSAANow.com 4A baseball poll and Evergreen is ranked No. 8. Wheat Ridge, Green Mountain, D’Evelyn and Golden also received votes this week.
Chatfield and Wheat Ridge both head to Arizona next week during spring break. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)