No. 1 Columbine softball takes driver’s seat in hotly contested 5A Jeffco race

LITTLETON — The much-anticipated softball showdown between No. 3 Valor Christian and No. 1 Columbine turned into a one-sided affair in a hurry Wednesday.

The top-ranked Rebels had a 7-run second inning to break the Class 5A Jeffco League game wide-open. Columbine eventually took a 11-1 victory in six innings to stay undefeated on the season, improving to 18-0 and 4-0 in conference play.

“It was more excitement more than nervousness,” Columbine freshman Livi Keiter said about the key top-3 match-up. “Then the football and boys soccer teams showed up and started getting loud. Then I kind of got hyped and a little nervous. It was a cool feeling.”

Columbine put the game on ice sending 10 batters to the plate in the second inning. It looked like the Rebels would have to settle for a 2-0 lead with a couple of deep sacrifice fly RBIs by freshman Nina Vargas and sophomore Katie Forbes.

However, with two outs sophomore Ana Lovato’s speed forced a throwing error that kept the inning going. Junior Kenzie Sobieski had an RBI double and Keiter followed up with an RBI single. Junior Addie Branch added a single and then senior ace pitcher Araya Ogden helped herself out with a 3-run home run to make it a 7-0 lead.

“We just kind of wait for our team to catch fire and we get contributions from different players,” Columbine coach Jim Santaniello said. “We know that wave is coming and we just sit back and enjoy what they do.”

Columbine has scored nine or more runs in the last eight games.

“That was huge,” Keiter said of the 7-run second inning. “One of the biggest parts for us is it doesn’t always start in the first inning for us. Sometimes it takes a few innings, but we always have that one big rally.”

Forbes added a solo home run off Valor starting pitcher Olivia Schmidt in the third inning to stretch the lead to 8-0.

Ogden was overpowering and used her change-up on the mound to throw a 1-hitter. The lone hit for the Eagles (13-4, 3-1) came on a bunt single by junior Mckayla Kanter in the third inning. Ogden’s ERA dropped to 0.95 as she struck out nine to picked up her 16th victory.

“I knew Valor could hit fast pitches and I needed to use my off-speed today,” Ogden said.

The lone run Valor could muster up came after a throwing error by Ogden on a come-backer. Junior Charlsie Kulbe reached on the error and would eventually score on a sacrifice fly by junior Kaylie Whidden in the top of the sixth inning to make it a 8-1 lead for the Rebels.

Columbine answered with Keiter driving in a pair with a shot down the left-field line in the bottom of the sixth. Ogden hit a walk-off RBI single up the middle that drove in Keiter to induce the 10-run mercy rule.

“I felt like today they had even more calmness and confidence. You can see it growing,” Santaniello said. “They expect to play well and it was so awesome for all the other sports to come over and support us. It’s that great culture we have at Columbine.”

The Rebels have four straight road games starting Saturday, Oct. 1. The biggest game will be a showdown against No. 4 Chatfield at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6 on the Chargers’ home field next week.

Chatfield (14-5, 2-1) could force a tie for even a 3-way tie for the league title with a win over the Rebels next week.

“We had a feeling it was going to come down to us and Chatfield,” Santaniello said of the league title. “It looks like it is shaping up that way.”