2A District Tournament review/preview
May 8, 2015
By Jeff Letofsky
PBR Colorado Senior Writer
Eight teams have beaten the weather and reached the regional round of 16 in the Class 2A state baseball playoffs.
On the Eastern Plains, Sedgwick County and Haxtun will represent District 7 in the regionals. Sedgwick County knocked off Caliche 10-5, while Haxtun slipped past Yuma 12-7. Sedgwick then defeated Haxtun 9-3 in the championship game. Both teams qualified for the regionals that will be played May 15.
The Colorado High School Activities Association will determine the seedings and sites for the regionals. Four regional champions will advance to the Final Four May 23 at Hobbs Field in Pueblo.
Three other districts have concluded.
Friday at Rawlings Field on the Colorado State University-Pueblo campus, Rye and South Park advanced to regional play out of District 5.
Rye, the No. 1 team in the state polls, defeated Cripple Creek/Victor 17-0, while South Park held on to knock off John Mall 13-11. Rye then whipped South Park in the district championship game.
The T-bolts, who have reached the Final Four four consecutive seasons, winning a state title in 2011, used big innings and big arms to come out of District 5 with a title.
Rye poured across all 17 runs in the first inning to set the tone against Cripple Creek/Victor. It sent 20 batters to the plate during the uprising. Senior shortstop Luis Ortiz (Lamar Community College commit) had three hits in the first inning, including a pair of 2-run inside-the-park home runs.
Senior Trent Hughes (Northeastern Junior College commit) tossed a no-hitter, striking out 13. He would have had a perfect game but hit a batter in the second inning.
Against South Park, Ortiz followed the performance of Hughes with a two-hit shutout, striking out 14.
Once again, the T-bolts used the big inning offensively, exploding for 10 runs in the first inning and five more in the second.
Rye, which has shut out 13 opponents this season, improved to 21-0. South Park enters the regionals with a 5-6 record.
In District 1, Center and Sanford have qualified for the regionals. Sanford defeated Sargent in one semifinal and then dropped a 10-3 decision to Center in the district final.
In District 2, Hotchkiss and Paonia have reached the regionals. Hotchkiss defeated Ignacio 14-0 and Paonia blanked Dolores 10-0. The teams meet today for the district championship.
Four other districts are battling weather concerns to get their tournaments concluded.
Today in District 3, Kiowa and Simla meet as does Ellicott and Peyton. The winners qualify for the regionals as well and advance to the district championship.
In District 4, the district semifinals have Resurrection Christian taking on Lyons and Denver Christian battling Dawson.
In District 6, the semifinals match Las Animas and Rocky Ford and Swink and County Line.
On Tuesday in District 8, Limon takes on the Denver Christian-Burlington winner for the championship.
Two teams from each district qualify for regional play.
Related Material
- CO Breakdown of 1A State Tournament5.08.15
