(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
HIGHLANDS RANCH — Christian Barber couldn’t have asked for a better ending to his last home game at Valor Christian.
The senior for the Eagles mainly served as a courtesy runner in the 10-2 win over Wheat Ridge Thursday afternoon, but his one at-bat ended, well, perfectly.
The game was already well in hand, so the RBI single didn’t mean much to the scoreboard, but it was Barber’s first varsity at-bat of the season. He was told at the beginning of the year that his varsity playing time would be limited at best, so his coaches suggested he try out for track.
And the opportunity was still there to take the diamond and serve as a runner for the CHSAANow.com No. 4-ranked Eagles (15-3 overall, 9-0 Class 4A Jeffco League).
So in his last game at home, to get that hit and drive in that run, he now has a baseball moment that no one can take from him.
“It was awesome,” Barber said. “For the last two years, I’ve been on varsity as a pinch-runner. It was amazing just to be with the guys. I’ve never been with anyone so supportive, even when I left to go to track tryouts. To come in for my last and only at-bat, it was awesome to have their support.”
On top of his season batting average now at 1.000, he also gets to be called a league champion. The Eagles were dominant from the get go, scoring seven runs in the first two innings. Sophomore Luke Ziegler, a Pepperdine commit, was able to cruise on the mound at that point.
“It’s great to pitch with a lead,” Ziegler said. “It definitely relaxes me but I still feel like I need to go out and give it my best, just like it’s a one-run game.”
He went six strong innings, allowing just two runs and striking out seven hitters in the win. With the way he was dealing, the Farmers (11-6, 6-3) were going to have a tough time getting any kind of offense going.
“Offensively, we just have to find a way,” Wheat Ridge coach Adam Miller said. “We just have not swung the bats good enough this week.”
A loss to Evergreen earlier in the week clinched the Jeffco League title for the Eagles, allowing them to concentrate on senior day and getting as many kids playing time as possible.
But the focus was still to sweep league. Even when Valor coach Keith Wahl told his team that everyone would still get playing time, his players expressed their desire to run the Jeffco table.
“It’s important for these guys to come out every day and give their best effort for the brotherhood that we’ve created,” Wahl said. “I love watching this team play. They are an absolute joy to watch on a daily basis.”
Valor still has one game on the schedule as they’ll travel to Cheyenne Mountain to conclude their regular season on Monday.
The Farmers will step on Coors Field Saturday where they’ll take on Monarch in their regular season finale. Then both teams will wait for the final 4A RPI standings to see how their playoff fate looks.
“One thing we’ll be is battle tested,” Miller said. “We had maybe one of the top three or four hardest schedules in 4A so we won’t see anything we haven’t seen on the field, but we have to be able to execute.”