Golden baseball shuts out Summit in 4A state playoff rematch

GOLDEN — Senior pitcher Braeden McCarroll looked pretty comfortable in his new role as Golden’s ace on the mound Tuesday.

McCarroll threw six shutout innings, allowing just one hit while striking out 13 in Golden’s 8-0 victory over Summit in the Demons’ season opener at Golden High School. 

Golden and Summit actually matched up in the opening round of the double-elimination Class 4A state tournament last year. The Demons cruised to a 9-0 victory, but that was with Golden ace Laif Palmer throwing six scoreless innings while striking out 11 batters. 

Palmer graduated last spring and is currently a pitcher for Oregon State University.

“It’s not extra pressure,” said McCarroll, who was the Demons’ third starter last season behind now graduated Palmer and Noah Wicks. “I just have to come in and fit my role. Try not to fill Wicks and Laif’s shoes, because that is where you go wrong.”

McCarroll had a 8-3 record on the mound last year with a 5.00 ERA. He pitched a gem in the 4A state championship game, giving up just three hits over six innings in a tough 1-0 loss to Severance.

“He defintely has a different role this year,” Golden coach Jackie McBroom said of McCarroll. “More of a leader. This year he has to be our No. 1. We are still strong on the mound. Not to say we’ll be as good as last year, but it will still be a strength for us.”

The 6-foot-3 senior mowed down Summit’s middle of the line-up with ease. The Tigers’ four, five and six holes hitters were a combined 0-for-8 with 8 strikeouts facing McCarroll. 

Senior Jacob Dehm took over the mound for the Demons in the top of the seventh inning. Dehm struck out a pair and worked around a walk to keep the shutout victory intact.

“He did look confident,” Golden junior Luca Casali said of McCarroll. “I loved it. I love it. He looked great out there.”

It took Golden’s offense a little bit to get going against Summit (2-2 record). Sophomore Sam Eldredge retired the Demons in order in the first three innings. Casali broke the seal with a 2-out single and would later score on a wild pitch to give the Demons a 1-0 lead through four innings.

Golden put up five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Junior Sawyer Brinkman laced an RBI double. Senior Max Trujillo had an RBI groundout. Casali ripped a 2-run double down the right field line to give the Demons a 6-0 lead.

“I was curious to see how it was,” McBroom said of five players getting their first varsity start for the Demons. “I know there are all good baseball players. The hope was someone like Braeden, who has experience, would step up and that makes it easier for everyone to relax.”

McCarroll gave his teammates another reason to relax with a lead-off solo home run to start the sixth inning. 

“I told Wicks I’m coming for his record,” McCarroll said with a smile talking about his solo home run in the sixth inning. 

Wicks — a freshman at the University of Cincinnati —set the school record with home runs last year with 16 bombs.

Brinkman finished off the scoring with an RBI single to push the lead to 8-0. The Demons took advantage of four Summit errors to score the eight runs off seven hits.

“We had 35 home runs last year. We’ve talked a lot about that,” McBroom said. “That isn’t who we are. We have to play to our offensive strengths. I think we’ll be good offensively, but it is going to look a little different.”

Golden (1-0) is scheduled to host Denver South (1-1) tomorrow (Wednesday, March 13) before heading to Florida for spring break. The Demons will play three games next week at the Jackie Robinson Training Camp in Vero Beach, Florida.

“The thing that we need as a team and I think will help is we’ll stay in dorms, stay in the complex and we’ll eat together,” McBroom said of the trip to Florida. “We’ll do everything together. Hopefully it will bring us together more as a group.”