Andrew Rydland

Baseball

4A Baseball: Upsets Send Pueblo County to Semis to Face Falcon

AURORA — The first weekend of the 2026 Colorado High School Activities Association's Baseball State Championships is underway with Day 1 featuring three upsets. The six games were played across two sites - the Air Force Academy and University of Colorado-Colorado Spring (UCCS) - with tomorrow's final five games, being played Saturday at those same two sites.

In the first round, No. 5 Pueblo County defeated No. 4 Grand Junction in the first round, 2-0, and then carried that momentum into the second round where it upset top-seeded Palisade, 6-1, to advance to the semifinals. In the semis, the Hornets will face No. 3 Falcon, which got past No. 6 Canon City, 7-4, and then No. 7 Holy Family, 2-1. 

Holy Family also logged an upset on the day, as it advanced to the second round by upsetting No. 2 Durango, 10-6. Meanwhile, No. 1 Palisade advanced to the second round with a 1-0 win over No. 8 Ponderosa. 

Saturday's games will begin with the first round consolation games at 9:30 a.m., which will feed into the second round consolation games at noon. The semifinal game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. 

Next weekend, the third and fourth-round consolation games will be played on Friday, May 29 at the Air Force Academy, with the winner of that fourth round consolation game advancing to Saturday's championship game vs. the winner of this tomorrow's semifinal game. The championship game will be played at 10 a.m., with the if-needed championship game to follow at 2:30 p.m. 
 

Upcoming Schedule

Saturday's Matchups 

  • No. 2 Durango vs. No. 6 Canon City at UCCS at 9:30 am
    • Winner will advance to face No. 1 Palisade at UCCS at noon
  • No. 4 Grand Junction vs. No. 8 Ponderosa at Air Force Academy at 9:30 am
    • Winner will advance to face No. 7 Holy Family at Air Force Academy at noon
  • Semifinals: No. 3 Falcon vs. No. 5 Pueblo County at Air Force Academy at 2:30 pm

Opening Day Results

First Round Results

  • No. 1 Palisade def. No. 8 Ponderosa, 1-0
  • No. 3. Falcon def. No. 6 Canon City, 7-4
  • No. 5 Pueblo County def. No. 4 Grand Junction, 2-0
  • No. 7 Holy Family def. No. 2 Durango, 10-6

Second Round Results

  • No. 5 Pueblo County def. No. 1 Palisade, 6-1
  • No. 3 Falcon def. No. 7 Holy Family, 2-1

NFHS Network

  • The NFHS Network WILL be on site to broadcast ALL of the state tournament games both this weekend at next. Therefore, NO ADDITIONAL STREAMING MAY BE PROVIDED FOR ANY GAMES.
  • Any team/school/parent that streams a game to a team's GameChanger account - or to any other platform (Facebook Live, YouTube, etc.) - will be in violation of the CHSAA/NFHS Network's broadcast policies and will be subject to both a postseason rights fee and a media rights violation fee. 
  • Watch all games live on the NFHS Network.

Important Spectator/Venue Information

Class 4A at Air Force Academy

  • Per United State Air Force Academy base policy, anyone over the age of 18 (coaches, trainers, parents, school administrators, bus drivers, etc.) planning to attend any 4A baseball games at Air Force Academy's Erdle Field MUST complete a Visitor Pre-Registration Request PRIOR to attending any games. The application can take up to 24 hours for processing, so please complete the form as early as possible.
    • Who must complete the form: Non-DoD ID holders who are 18 years of age or older (coaches, admin, trainers, bus drivers, parents, family members, friends, etc.). If both parents are in the car, both parents need to complete the link not just the driver.
    • Who does not need to complete the form: DoD ID holders; Anyone under the age of 18; Players on the team, (ie., Seniors that may have just turned 18) DO NOT need to complete the form.
    • For anyone who is not a US Citizen or does not have a REAL ID, will need to visit the PRO (pass and registration office) at the south gate entrance to receive a paper pass.

Tickets

  • Buy Tickets on GoFan early to save time and redeem quickly on site. All sites are cashless and accept digital tickets ONLY.   

Parking

  • Parking is free at every site

Food/Concessions

  • There will be concessions available.