Lakewood & Conifer softball stars aiming to take programs to new heights
For any team in any given season, sometimes it takes those special individual talents to get a program over the hump. For a pair of softball teams on the western side of Metro Denver, the possibility is there that they have just that.
For the Lakewood Tigers, it is Destiny Martinez, and for the Conifer Lobos, it is Cheyenne Prieto.
Martinez, a returning CHSAA 5A All-State second team selection, is one of the bonafide aces in the state, as she boasted three no hitters in 2020. She posted the lowest ERA in the most amount of innings pitched among pitchers returning from last season, pitching to a 1.67 ERA over 92.1 innings. She also finished second in the state in strikeouts in 2020, notching 165 punchouts.
Not to be outdone, Prieto, a returning CHSAA 4A All-State first teamer, blasted 11 home runs, and boasted a .1298 slugging percentage in 2020. The home runs lead all returning softball players in the state, while the slugging ranks second. She also pitched to a 2.53 ERA with 140 strikeouts. The ERA ranked 29th in the state, and the Ks were 11th.
Both players are looking to get their respective teams over long-standing championship droughts. Lakewood’s only two titles in the sport came as back-to-back champs in 1997 and 1998. For Conifer, the last and only title in softball for the school was in 2003.
Martinez and Prieto were both juniors on last year’s squads that both bowed out in the CHSAA state softball tournament quarterfinals of their respective classifications.
Prieto and the Lobos have started the 2021 season off on the right foot, with a 4-0 mark, including out-scoring opponents, 34-6. Prieto, leads the team in all offensive and defensive categories as her usual two-way threat.
Her and her teammates’ efforts early on in 2021 have taken the Lobos from tenth place to fifth place in the weekly CHSAA 4A Coaches Poll. However, the team hasn’t confined itself to just 4A competition early in the season. Three of the four wins thus far are against 5A opponents, including one over Lakewood in the season opener.
“It means a lot, playing against a 5A team for a 4A school is always a big deal,” Prieto said of facing Lakewood at CHSAA Media Day, Aug. 16. “We don’t have as many players as a 5A school, and playing a team like Lakewood will help us in the long run. Hopefully we can battle through and get a win.”
They did just that, as Conifer knocked off the Tigers, 3-2, Aug. 17. Prieto played her usual big part, as she knocked in a run and tossed a complete game three-hitter. Martinez did not see time on the mound in the opener, and Prieto outdueled her at the dish as she went 0-for-3.
Despite the season opening result for Lakewood, Martinez and the Tigers, who came into the year as the preseason seventh ranked team, are optimistic about their prospects in 2021.
“I’m very excited, we’ve been working really hard and I feel like we’re ready for the season,” Martinez stated at CHSAA Media Day. “I feel that with the team we have, we have a really good offense and defense, that we’re going to have a really good season.”
