LAKEWOOD - The Regis Jesuit baseball team finally received the right trophy Saturday.

The Raiders had been handed the Class 5A runner-up hardware in each of the past two seasons after frustrating final days, but ended up with the golden one Saturday afternoon after a cathartic 5-3 victory over Arvada West at jam-packed All-Star Park.

Coach Matt Darr’s Regis Jesuit team rebounded from a loss to the top-seeded Wildcats in the opening game of the day to claim the program’s fourth all-time state championship and first since 2019. It eased some of the sting for the Raiders from losses to Cherry Creek in 2024 (in two games) and in one game last season.

“Best feeling I’ve ever experienced, partially because of the last two years and watching another team do it, so happy that we were finally able to get it done,” said senior Hudson Alpert, a four-year varsity player who was a part of each of Regis Jesuit's teams to play in a final.

Added Darr: “The weight of the last couple of years was heavy.”

The last time Regis Jesuit was in the same position — 3-0 after the first weekend of the double-elimination tournament and seemingly in the driver’s seat — came in 2024 and two different chances got away in a loss to Cherry Creek, which was on the final run under retiring coaching legend Marc Johnson.

Arvada West created the possibility of a similar scenario after it defeated the Raiders 3-2 in the opening game of the day — behind a complete game effort from junior star pitcher Cooper Vais and just enough offense — but Regis Jesuit came out firing in the rematch.

With Vais and senior Brayden Reiner used in the previous two games, the Wildcats had to go to the bullpen and started senior Cole Eisenreich, who retired the first two hitters in the bottom of the first inning before the Raiders got a two-out rally going after a single from senior Deion Cesario-Scott.

A walk to Alpert was followed by an RBI single from senior Eli Shappee as Cesario-Scott came around, while junior Brady Wright drew another walk to loaded the bases. Senior Carter Rathburn laced a bases-clearing double to the gap and he later scored on a passed ball to make it 5-0.

“We knew, especially after losing the first one that we had to come out hot,” Regis Jesuit senior Chase Massey said. “I knew the boys were going to come out swinging it and jumping on whoever was on the mound. Definitely needed that.”

But that would be all the Raiders would muster offensively against freshman Jake Richards — who threw three scoreless innings before an hour-long lightning delay — and senior Beau Friesen, who took care of the last three innings.

The lightning delay brought to an end the outing for Regis Jesuit junior right-hander Mikey Kroll, who pitched four effective innings and kept the potent Wildcats off the scoreboard.

The break was not exactly welcome for Darr, who saw the same scenario play out on the way to a state championship in 2019, though his team has prevailed both times.

“The lightning delay definitely didn’t help,” Darr said. “It made everybody stop and think and you realize, we’re nine outs away and ahead by five. It’s probably not a good thing at that point. But we had Cade (Filleman) out there and he was ready. They were going to have to beat him.”

Filleman’s outing didn’t start out well, as Arvada West plated three runs in the top of the fifth inning with the help of an errant pickoff throw along with RBI base hits from Vais and senior Levi Lueck.

After that, Filleman settled in and retired the side in the sixth and the first two batters of the seventh before the Wildcats put two aboard after an error and a bloop hit to center field. Lueck — Arvada West’s most clutch hitter during the tournament — skied a ball to right field that ended up in the glove of Shappee and ignited a dogpile of Regis Jesuit players in the outfield.

“Sometimes those last outs are the worst, but other times, it’s like ‘this is why you play the game,’” Alpert said of the tense final inning. “You enjoy the feeling, but I was at second base thinking what is about to happen. Just hoping so bad.”

Arvada West — which was in search of its first state championship since 1994 — finished the season 26-5. The Wildcats’ only two losses in Colorado play on the season came to Regis Jesuit in the Championship Series.

In the opening game of the day, both teams threw their ace pitchers as Alpert opposed Vais in a battle of Division I recruits.

Vais, a University of Texas commitment, kept Regis Jesuit’s potent offense quelled for the most part. He surrendered a ringing double to Regis Jesuit senior Jacob Olson on the first pitch of the game, but let Olson stranded in scoring position. The Raiders didn’t get another runner in scoring position from that point until the fifth inning, when Vais got a double play to escape a jam.

The Wildcats took advantage of some wildness from Alpert (a Vanderbilt signee) in the second inning, as they scored their first run on a bases loaded balk after a single and two walks, while Cameron Thornton delivered another run with a single down the left field line. Arvada West scored again in the next inning when Vais singled to lead it off and moved up a base with each of the next two hitters, while Lueck knocked him in with a solid single to center.

That last run turned out to be the game-winner, as Regis Jesuit scored twice in the top of the seventh when Alpert doubled and Shappee singled. A passed ball brought home Alpert and Shappee also scored on an overthrow from the catcher. Rathbun singled and made it to second base as the tying run, but Vais (who was running up against his pitch count) got the final two outs.