5A Softball: Final 11 Teams Secure Spots in Round of 16

AURORA – The final 11 teams for the 5A Softball State Championships were determined Saturday in Round of 32 play at various sites around the state. In addition to the five teams that clinched a spot in the Round of 16 state bracket yesterday, Arvada West, Broomfield, Cherokee Trail, Columbine, Horizon, Rocky Mountain and ThunderRidge all secured their spots today.

The site winners – Broomfield, Chatfield, Columbine, Eaglecrest, Erie, Horizon, Legend and ThunderRidge – will all be seeded 1-8 in the Round of 16 bracket, while the winners of the consolation bracket – Arvada West, Cherokee Trail, Fossil Ridge, Fruita Monument, Grandview, Mountain Vista, Rocky Mountain and Valor Christian – will be seeded 9-16.

The full Round of 16 bracket will be released Monday with play beginning with the first and quarterfinal round games on Friday. Semifinals and finals will take place on Saturday. All games in the Round of 16 will be played at the Aurora Sports Park.

Top-seeded Arvada West defeated No. 17 Heritage, 10-3, in the second-round consolation game at Arvada West High to secure a spot in the state bracket. Arvada West joins No. 16 Eaglecrest – which secured its state championship appearance yesterday – from Site 1 in the Round of 16.

No. 2 seed Columbine used a 14-1 win over No. 15 Valor Christian in the second round of Site 2 to advance to the state bracket, while Valor Christian advanced to states through the consolation round. Valor Christian swept No. 18 Vista Ridge, 18-0, in the second-round consolation game at Columbine High School.

No. 19 Rocky Mountain upset No. 14 Castle View twice at Chatfield High School to secure a ticket to the state championships through Site 3. In yesterday’s first round, Rocky Mountain swept Castle View, 5-0, and then in today’s second round consolation game, Rocky Mountain used a 4-2 victory to advance to the Round of 16 with No. 3 seed Chatfield.

Fourth-seeded Horizon scored three runs in the fourth inning to flip the lead and hold on for a 3-2 win over No. 13 Mountain Vista in order to secure its bid to the state championship. With the loss, Mountain Vista dropped to the consolation bracket where an 18-6 win over No. 20 Ralston Valley gave them their ticket to the Round of 16.

No. 12 Legend upset No. 5 Fruita Monument, 9-3, at Canyon View Fields to clinch a berth in the state championships. Fruita Monument responded after that though, and used a 7-3 win over No. 21 Grand Junction Central in the consolation bracket to be able to join Legend in the Round of 16.

No. 10 Cherokee Trail rebounded from its loss to No. 7 ThunderRidge in the second round of Site 7 at ThunderRidge High School yesterday by knocking off No. 23 Legacy, 14-6, today. With the win, Cherokee Trail will join ThunderRidge in the Round of 16 at the state championships.

No. 8 Broomfield and No. 9 Grandview both advanced out of Site 8 at Broomfield High School today. Broomfield used a 5-1 win over Grandview in the second round to advance, while Grandview secured a spot through the consolation round, defeating No. 25 Arapahoe, 11-4.

Advancing Teams
Site 1: Eaglecrest, Arvada West
Site 2: Columbine, Valor Christian
Site 3: Chatfield, Rocky Mountain
Site 4: Horizon, Mountain Vista
Site 5: Legend, Fruita Monument
Site 6: Erie, Fossil Ridge
Site 7: ThunderRidge, Cherokee Trail
Site 8: Broomfield, Grandview