LITTLETON — A walk-off victory is even sweeter when it comes against your biggest rival.
“It feels great,” Chatfield senior Kasey Koppelmaa said after the Chargers’ 6-5 victory over their chief baseball rival. “Columbine is always a good team. We’ve always had a really good game against them. It’s just unbelievable that we were able to get a great team victory today and climb through the adversity.”
Chatfield senior Will Russom delivered the game-winning hit for the Chargers against Columbine. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Chatfield (8-4, 3-0 in Class 5A Jeffco League) tasted the sweet taste of victory with a walk-off RBI single by senior Will Russom in the bottom of the eighth inning against Columbine on the Chargers’ home field. Russom drove in Koppelmaa to give Chatfield the victory in extra innings.
Columbine (8-3, 2-1) actually needed a huge hit of its own in the top of the seventh inning. The Rebels were trailing 5-4 and down to their final out. Junior Logan DeArment came through with an RBI single down the left-field line to drive in senior Frankie Shearn and tie the game at 5-5.
“I just needed to put the ball into play any way I could,” DeArment said with a 2-strike count. “I just tried to poke it over the infield. That’s what happened.”
A double-play in the top of the eighth inning put an abrupt end to the Rebels’ attempt to take the lead. Chatfield made quick work of ending the game in the bottom half of the frame to win its third straight conference game.
Chatfield coach Daniel Medina made all the right line-up moves as the Chargers stayed atop of the league standings. Medina allowed sophomore Jared Olsen to hit for himself after Olsen replaced Koppelmaa on the mound in the fifth inning.
“We made some good moves today,” Medina said. “It’s just great to have confidence in each kid.”
Columbine sophomores Luke Folsom (25) and Brady McLean (12) combined for 2 home runs and 3 RBIs on Saturday against Chatfield. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Olsen, who eventually picked up the win on the mound, delivered with a 2-run double with 2-outs in the bottom of the fifth inning that allowed Chatfield to regain the lead 5-4.
“I just told him (Olsen) it was his time to shine,” Koppelmaa said to Olsen before the sophomore’s at-bat in the bottom of the fifth inning. “I knew he would get the job done. He really grew as a baseball player today.”
Media decided to re-enter Koppelmaa, who hit a 2-run home run in the first inning, for Olsen in the bottom of the eighth inning. Koppelmaa did his job with a lead-off single and stole second base to get into scoring position for Russom.
“It’s a cool, calm and collective type of approach we are trying to have with these kids,” Medina said. “If we play fundamentally sound deep into the game we are going to be where we want to be. I think that happened today for sure.”
Chatfield is on the road against Bear Creek (Tuesday) and Arvada West (Thursday). The game against the Wildcats will be at Keli McGregor Field at All Star Park in Lakewood.
“I tell the guys to just take it pitch-by-pitch everyday,” Koppelmaa said. “Just play for your team and not yourself. We really did that today. I’m really excited to see where we’ll go.”
Columbine has another critical conference game when the Rebels host Ralston Valley (10-2, 3-0) on Tuesday, April 17. The Rebels are on the road later in the week when they travel to Dakota Ridge on Thursday, April 19.
“We have Ralston Valley next week and they have been doing really well,” DeArment said of the Mustangs that won their ninth straight game Saturday with a 7-4 league win over Lakewood. “That’s going to be a test for us. Hopefully we can beat them and get back into the swing of things.”
Chatfield senior Kasey Koppelmaa, left, fires to the plate as Columbine senior Frankie Shearn grabs a lead off first base. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)