5A Softball: Riverdale Ridge Finishes Championship Quest, Wins First State Title

AURORA – The Riverdale Ridge softball team moved up a classification this season and upgraded its trophy as well.

The Ravens finished as disappointed Class 4A runners-up last season and made the climb up to 5A, which was unable to slow their determined march to a state championship.

Coach Ray Garza’s sixth-seeded Riverdale Ridge team defeated the top-two seeds on the final day at the Aurora Sports Park, capped by an 8-4 victory over No. 1 Cherokee Trail in the state title game.

“I definitely feel like we’ve been an underdog all season,” said senior outfielder Zoie Linville, who had two hits and two RBI in the championship game. “I feel like coming in (to 5A) we had a lot to prove and we proved everyone wrong.”

Indeed Riverdale Ridge — which fell to Lutheran in last season’s 4A final — more than proved itself in its debut in the 5A state tournament.

Of the Ravens’ four victories over three days, the last three came against all three off the top seeds in No. 3 Columbine in the quarterfinals, No. 2 Broomfield in the semifinals and No. 1 Cherokee Trail in the title game.

The Ravens ended the season on a 20-game winning streak and finished 25-4.

“I felt like there was no team that could come and beat us, especially right now with our bats as hot as they were,” said senior starting pitcher Brynn Trujillo.

Riverdale Ridge put on a hitting clinic throughout the tournament and piled up a whopping 41 runs in four victories.

The Ravens started early against Cherokee Trail — which came in off a thrilling 10-9 semifinal victory over No. 5 Legend courtesy of a walk-off home run from Icela Ciocarlan and was in search of its second all-time 5A crown — with a single run in the opening frame.

Junior Jaeanna Sandoval walked, moved up on a single by senior Neila Lucero and scored on Linville’s base hit to left field. Riverdale Ridge struck for two more runs off Cougars’ starter Emma Rice in the third on a leadoff home run by senior Mady Ortiz and a sacrifice fly from Linville, whose drive was caught by Cherokee Trail’s Izzy Becker on a leap over the breakaway fence. With one run across instead of three, the Ravens led 3-0.

The Cougars finally broke through in the fourth against Trujillo, who allowed a run on an error and two straight hits, but limited the damage.

In a tightened 3-1 game, Riverdale Ridge’s bats again made noise in a five-run fifth that included a two-run double from Ortiz plus runs driven in by Linville, junior pinch hitter Sage Englert and senior Jazymn Sandoval.

That gave the Ravens a margin to weather Cherokee Trail’s three-run rally in the fifth inning and close it out. Trujillo gave way on the mound in the final inning to Ortiz, who struck out the final two batters to close it out.

“We had a strong core of seniors who have done a lot on the outside, which is what it takes,” Garza said. “Our community showed up and it’s unreal the support we got.”

It was the second state championship in a girls team sport for Riverdale Ridge, which captured the 4A girls basketball state title last winter.