4A baseball: Ponderosa and Cheyenne Mountain set for state title clash
COLORADO SPRINGS – A lightning delay gave the Ponderosa offense time to finally show up. The Mustangs put up six runs in the top of the 7th inning to get an 8-2 win over D’Evelyn to advance to the final day of the state tournament without a loss in hand.
It’s a familiar scene for them as they went into the final day of last year’s tournament unbeaten before splitting with Holy Family to win the first state title in program history. While heading into Saturday needing to fall twice is a comfortable feeling, the Mustangs (21-7) don’t want to leave anything to chance.
“Our approach is that we’re only going to play one game,” senior Derek Lukes said. “That’s all we need.”
Lukes went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and he scored a run to help pace the Mustangs in the win. His RBI single in the 7th was part of the rally that pushed them ahead. Bryce Robinette also had a pair of singles with two RBIs to go with them. Tyler Smith threw four innings and gave up the two runs, both of which were earned.
Tyler Slattery threw three innings of shutout relief to get the win.
The Mustangs had outscored their opponents 46-10 in the first three games of the state tournament, so having to battle a little bit was something that coach Bob Maloney liked to see on the final weekend of the tournament.
“I was anxious to see how we’d respond in a close game,” Maloney said. “The kids did that. They took it upon themselves to out and get it done. And it helps that we were in this situation last year.”
And like last year, they’ll have to take down a team they beat earlier in the tournament. Cheyenne Mountain got a boost in the first inning thanks to a 2-run home run from Denton Damgaard and rolled to a 9-2 win over Erie. Damgaard had three total RBIs in the game, adding a third in the bottom of the fifth where Cheyenne Mountain put up four runs in the inning.
“I was a long wait,” Damgaard said. “The rain delay made us wait about another hour and we finally take the field and to take that swing felt so good.”
This will be the first time the Red-Tailed Hawks have played for a state title since 2011. They won the crown that year, beating Wheat Ridge 12-0 in five innings. But the task will be much more difficult this time around.
Ben Myers will be unavailable on the mound after throwing 6.2 innings and holding the Tigers scoreless. He gave up seven hits and struck out eight hitters.
The Hawks will be tasked with beating Ponderosa twice with a makeshift pitching staff while the Mustangs have staff ace Gabe Jacobs available for Saturday.
Whether it’s one win for Ponderosa or two wins for Cheyenne Mountain, both teams will have a chance to do something special to cap a memorable season.
“Pondo deserves to be in this spot,” Cheyenne Mountain coach Mark Swope said. “They haven’t lost a game, they’ve been swinging it. It’s going to take us believing we can do it, which I think we can. Our guy is going to have to throw quality pitches and we’re going to have to play good defense.”
The Mustangs and Hawks will play at 11 a.m. with the second game, if necessary, scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. start.
