Golden baseball stock and expectations still high

GOLDEN — A 13-run bottom of the fourth inning was able to mask a few physical and mental errors on the baseball diamond for Golden on Wednesday.

The Demons were in a relatively close game with Thomas Jefferson at Golden High School. The Spartans got an RBI double by Max Feierstein in the top of the fourth inning to cut the Demons’ lead to 5-3. 

“There was a little frustration,” Golden senior Luca Casali said of the tight non-league game. “We expect ourselves to be beating a team like that a lot better than we did. You could see that frustration on the field. We all knew we had more in us. We finally got it going.”

Golden preceded to get it going scoring 13 runs on eight hits, three walks and a pair of TJ errors in the bottom of the fourth inning to grab an 18-3 victory. The game ended with junior Brody McBroom blasting a 2-run walk-off home run to induce the 15-run mercy rule through four innings.

“It was good to see,” Golden coach Jackie McBroom said of the largest scoring output of any single inning for the Demons (8-3 record) so far this season. “I just want to see them be a little more consistent. I think we’ll be good offensively. We’ve had some moments and flashes in the pan of what we can do. It will be more consistent as we move forward.”

TJ (2-8) held a 2-0 early after a 2-run home run off Golden starting pitcher Taden Svendsen in the top of the first inning. Casali, who went 3-for-3 with four RBIs, ripped an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning to score senior Andrew Romero.

Golden put up a 4-run bottom of the second inning that was started with a leadoff double by senior Jaydon Stroup. Sophomores Caycen Mead, Dylan Paulson and Casali all knocked in runs in the second inning as the Demons took a 5-2 lead.

“I thought everyone had good approaches. I thought we were all seeing the ball really well,” Stroup said of the 13-run fourth inning. “We were able to work deep into their bullpen. I think that was their third (pitcher). It was good to take advantage of that a little bit.”

Golden sent 14 batters to the plate in the final inning. The first nine batters reached base as the Demons wrapped up their third straight victory. Svendsen picked up the win on the hill with the lefty striking out seven in the complete-game victory. 

The Demons did commit three errors in the field and had a couple of base running mistakes.

“We are looking to find consistency in a lot of what we are doing,” Casali said. “We want to see the consistency with the intensity in the dugout, the hitting, the pitching and the fielding.”

Golden is on the road for its final three non-league games before heading into Class 4A/3A Jeffco League play. The Demons are at Lewis-Palmer on Saturday, followed up by road trips to Denver South and Longmont next week.

“We are looking forward to the league,” Stroup said. “We are going to play hard and try to do what we’ve done the last couple of years.”

The Demons open up conference play at home against Standley Lake on April 22. Golden is attempting to capture its fifth straight league title. The Demons have a 39-3 league mark over the past four seasons. 

“I do think they put a little more pressure on themselves than necessary,” said Coach McBroom, who has made it a point of focusing on the mental aspect of baseball this season. “We’ve got to play in the moment. We just have to have fun. This is a boys’ game. We are lucky enough to play it all the time. We don’t need to make it a bigger deal than it is.”