Semifinals set for 2022 state softball championships
AURORA – After two rounds of games at the 2022 state softball championships, the semifinals are set in all three classifications.
The biggest upsets of the tournament came at Class 3A, where both top seeds were toppled. In round one, No. 15 Peak to Peak defeated No. 2 Brush, 5-3, to kick things off. Then in round two, No. 8 Thomas Jefferson, coming off an 11-3 victory over Limon, upended No. 1 Strasburg in a 9-inning thriller, 10-9. The DPS league champs came into the tournament red-hot, winners of seven of their last eight, including a regional championship win over Lamar.
“It was a battle the whole game,” Thomas Jefferson head coach Katie Tyler said. “At first we went up, then they got closer, and it was this back-and-forth, and we just clinched it there in the 9th inning. These girls are totally ready and totally capable. They wanted this, they were thirsty, and they are fighters. This game was all them.”
The 3A semis will feature defending runner-up, No. 3 University, facing off against those same Lamar Thunder, who came in as the No. 10 seed. They knocked off Peak to Peak, 12-0, after winning 15-1 in round one. Meanwhile, the Spartans will face off against No. 4 Eaton, who lost to University in a thriller in the state semis a year ago.
Over in Class 4A, the top-two seeds held firm, as defending 4A state champs, No. 2 Holy Family, and defending 3A state champs, No. 1 Lutheran, rolled through their opponents to advance to the semis. On the other end are a couple of teams fresh off regular season revenge, as No. 5 Frederick defeated No. 4 Riverdale Ridge in the quarterfinals, 10-6, and No. 6 Mead took out No. 3 Windsor in the quarters, 4-0. Frederick came into the tournament with just three losses, two of which came to the Ravens. Meanwhile Mead fell to the Wizards three times. In tomorrow’s semis, No. 1 Lutheran will take on No. 5 Frederick, and No. 2 Holy Family will face No. 6 Mead.
Finally in Class 5A, all four top seeds held, as No. 1 Columbine, the defending state runner-up, will take on 5A newcomer, No. 4 Erie. The Tigers had a couple of thrilling games, winning in round one on a walk-off, and following that up with a seven-run come-from-behind win over No. 12 Fossil Ridge, 11-8.
On the other end, No. 2 Douglas County will take on defending 5A state champions, No. 3 Legend. The Huskies are in the midst of a fantastic 2022 season, just a year removed from a 13-13 season in 2021 year which ended in the regionals.
