(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
AURORA — Fossil Ridge is making this an annual thing.
For the fourth-consecutive season, the SaberCats advanced to the state softball semifinals in Class 5A. This time, the young squad did so with a 6-3 win over league foe Loveland at Aurora Sports Park.
“I know we only have two seniors, but there are some kids that because they’ve been to state (before), they get at-bats, they’ve had different roles,” Fossil Ridge coach Dave Philop said. “Now, when they get their chance, that’s paid off.”
Landyn Bruce exemplified Fossil Ridge’s successful youth on Friday. She was the winning pitcher, and also drove in a pair of runs.
“Maybe they think they don’t know any better because they’re so young,” Philop said. “They’re kind of naive. They know it’s tough, they know the moment’s big, but they’re not sure. That’s a little to do with it, because they are young.”
Still, the coach added, “They feel like they can win, and it was their turn. That’s probably a little bit more of it: They want to keep the tradition going as long as they can.”
Fossil Ridge will face another league foe, Broomfield, in Saturday’s semifinals at 10 a.m. Broomfield won their earlier matchup in September, 5-0.
(2) Cherokee Trail 7, (7) Rock Canyon 4
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Chloe Knapp hit a walkoff grand slam in the bottom of the seventh to give the Cougars a dramatic victory.
Rock Canyon led 4-3 going into the final frame before Cherokee Trail was able to load the bases with no outs.
It was the second dramatic win of the day for the Cougars, who edged No. 15 Legacy 11-10 in the first round. Legacy had the bases loaded, but Cherokee Trail was able to get out of the jam.
Rock Canyon beat No. 10 Grand Junction Central 3-2 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Cherokee Trail will face Eaglecrest in the semifinals.
(1) Broomfield 12, (9) Douglas County 4
Avery Bohn and Matti Morales each hit three-run home runs to lead the top seed back to the semifinals for the first time since 2014.
The game was close before Broomfield broke it open with a seven-run sixth inning.
The Eagles had beat No. 16 Cherry Creek 16-1 in the first round, while Douglas County eliminated defending champion Mountain Range 10-0.
(3) Eaglecrest 5, (6) Fort Collins 2
Fort Collins got on the board first, but Eaglecrest responded with three runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a lead it would never give up.
Fort Collins did cut it to 3-2 in the third inning, however, the Lambkins couldn’t get any closer. Eaglecrest added two more runs in the sixth.
The Raptors beat No. 14 Brighton 10-2 in the first round, while Fort Collins beat No. 11 Legend 5-3.