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AURORA — Everyone in the state knew Valor Christian had it’s ace in Ali Kilponen. Silver Creek knew it had an ace of its own in Jetta Nannen.
“Just a warrior there to keep plugging away and not get rattled,” Silver Creek coach Ryan Beavers said after his team advanced to the Class 4A semifinals. “An outstanding effort by her. I think she showed she’s one of the better pitchers in the state. Maybe not known as much because she doesn’t throw 65-68 miles an hour, but she’s a competitor.”
Nannen held Valor Christian down with a solid outing, while the Silver Creek offense got to Kilponen early in a 5-1 quarterfinal win.
“Our gameplan was to jump on them early,” Nannen said. “To do our thing, do things our way and not be pushed by how they play. Play our game.”
The loss was Valor Christian’s first of the season. It broke a 28-game winning streak for the Eagles.
“They realized that she’s a great pitcher, but she puts on her pants just like they do,” Beavers said on Kilponen. “She’s a human.”
Nannen hit a solo homerun in the top of the fifth inning to extend the Raptor lead to 4-1.
“It was really our energy. We had energy, we had passion, we wanted to win it really badly,” Nannen said. “I think we came together as a team. We had to work on that the whole season and it’s finally coming together when it’s supposed to.”
(Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
“It wasn’t just me who hit the homerun. It was the whole team picking me up. It was a team effort.”
Then, Taylor Nielson followed in the sixth with a solo shot of her own that cemented the score at 5-1.
“It brings us up,” Nannen said. “It pumps us up more to keep going and not be satisfied with anything less than winning it. We’re going to put all of our passion and heart into it.”
Nannen went seven innings and allowed one run.
“The biggest thing was executing the gameplan as far as spinning the ball and hitting spots,” Beavers said. “She’s certainly not a power pitcher, but she’s able to spin the ball and move it around.”
Silver Creek will face Pueblo Central in the semifinals for a chance to play for a Class 4A championship.
“They’ve really come together as a unit where kids don’t care if they don’t start the game,” Beavers said. “They want their teammate to excel and do well. They found that identity — playing loose and fast.”
In the other semifinal, No. 10 Mullen and No. 11 Mountain View will face off. The Mountain Lions beat third-seeded Discovery Canyon 4-3 to move on to day two of the state tournament.
Mullen beat Elizabeth, who upset No. 2 Golden earlier in the day, 11-1 to move into the semifinals.