5A baseball: Valor Christian Wins First 5A State Championship

LAKEWOOD – After Zach Eigenbrod fired the final out, he was dog-piled by his teammates as Valor Christian celebrated its first Class 5A state baseball championship and capped a miraculous playoff run.

The 15th-seed Eagles cruised to a 4-0 victory over No. 25 Cherokee Trail in the championship game at the All-Star Park in Lakewood.

Leading the way was senior Hunter Smith, who was one out away from pitching a complete game but reached his pitch count and had to step aside as Eigenbrod struck out the final batter to seal the victory for Valor Christian.

“That last out, I definitely wanted it,” Smith said. “I’m glad (Eigenbrod) got that last out and we got to dog pile that kid. Great moment for all of us.”

Smith and the Eagles got in a groove after the third inning, they kept the Cougars off base for three consecutive innings and shutdown 12 batters in a row before Johnny Robledo hit a single to keep Cherokee Trail’s hope alive.

“I was nervous at first,” Smith said. “Came out and did my thing, we just did it. It is an exciting time, and we get to celebrate all day.”

It is the program’s fourth state championship, but its first in 5A. The Eagles won the 4A title from 2016-2018.

“It’s been a long journey, but a beautiful journey,” Eagles’ coach Travis Cruz said. “I don’t think I could have written it any better. This really feels like a dream to be here. I’m waiting for somebody to pinch me to wake me up.”

Valor was just as methodical at the plate as they were in the field. Senior Steven Lukasiewicz led off the second inning with a double and then scored on a base hit by Parker Feagans to put the Eagles up 1-0 after 2 innings.

In the third, Athan Kroll led off with a triple and scored on a Gavin Hunt sacrifice fly to advance the lead to two runs.

The Eagles’ bats continued to roll in the fourth, Kroll hit an RBI single to score Lukasiewicz and Cashel Dugger followed with an RBI double to score Feagans.

Cherokee Trail did have an opportunity to get on board in the third with the bases loaded, but Keegan Waters snagged Charlie Boyd’s hit to end the inning.

“Our brotherhood is just something that I have really enjoyed. We started this new adventure of 21 outs,” Cruz said. “That is all we need to get our goal and it has been fun watch.”

That adventure has been huge for Valor Christian (20-8), which ended the season winning its final 16 games. And while they could have been bitter about opening the state playoffs as the 15th-seed, Cruz said that didn’t matter.

“That was what our seed was, and that is okay,” the coach said. “We are going to stay as us and keep doing what we need to do and just keep believing in each other. And that is what makes this team special. They are very unselfish and work for each other. I’m so happy for them for what they accomplished.”

Kroll, Dugger and Feagans all had two hits in the contest, while Lukasiewicz had three hits.

Smith struck out four batters and only allowed four hits.

“I don’t think there is a better pitcher,” Cruz said. “He is really a pleasure to watch.”

Cherokee Trail (18-13 overall) may have fallen short of the title, but its quest was impressive. The Cougars upset top-seeded Broomfield 5-4 and topped No. 3-seed Regis Jesuit 1-0 and topped Rock Canyon to advance to the title game.