GREELEY – Denied a berth in last season’s CHSAA Class 3A State Championship by one run, Parker-based Lutheran went back to work and began erasing ill memories with a one-run victory March 14 over Ellicott City, Maryland, Glenelg Country School, helmed by Chris Garber, older brother of Washington Nationals minor-league infield instructor Jeff Garber.
Playing at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach, Florida, Lutheran lost 8-5 to 5A Aurora Cherokee Trail the next afternoon, but regrouped to beat both 4A Greeley West and Alexandria, Virginia, Episcopal.
Scott Hormann’s Lions haven’t slowed down since.
Having avenged the loss to perennial contender and 2021 state champion Eaton 9-8 earlier this month, Lutheran’s quest for the ’22 crown continued Friday in the first round of Colorado’s double-elimination Great Eight.
The quest continued at Bayfield’s expense.
Arriving at Butch Butler Field on a three-shutout hot streak, Lutheran logged a 24th consecutive win by erasing a 3-0 first-inning deficit and running away 14-4 in five innings ended with the mercy rule.
Lutheran performed like a well-tuned crew for skipper Hormann.
“Lots of people have seen ‘Row The Boat’ with University of Minnesota,” said Hormann. “It’s a concept of everybody’s in a boat, rowing together … to get to your destination in a straight line. Right now, everybody’s got paddles in the water, and we’re rowing! We’ve got to win the last game; that’s our goal.”
“In rowboat racing, you can’t have anybody be lazy or anything,” said sophomore right fielder Eli Morgan. “You’ve always got to work together to have that tempo and fluidity … going for a straight line to victory.”
It was Morgan’s diving catch of Bayfield leadoff man Nic Twedt’s two-out rip down the line that retired the Wolverines (18-7 overall) in order in the second inning and denied the designated visitors a chance to threaten Lutheran’s 4-3 lead. It also changed the tide in the Lions’ favor.
Facing Bayfield pitcher Caden Wood (L; IP, 5 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, HB, K), Lutheran starting pitcher Chace Sorenson led off the home half of the inning with a solo homer to left-center. Three batters later, second baseman Dorian Pacheco crushed an RBI-double to left, and then scored with courtesy runner Ryan Griffin on third baseman Luke Byler’s two-RBI single, ending Wood’s day on the mound.
Inserted as a reliever, Bayfield designated hitter Devin Avery got out of the inning, though Byler scored via Morgan’s two-out single up the middle, increasing the Lions’ lead to 9-3.
It didn’t take long for Lutheran’s defense to recharge their bats.
Lutheran’s 6-foot-8 first baseman, Jayden Brown, retired Austin Twedt with a twisting catch of a foul pop-up, and after Sorensen (W; 4 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, HB, 8 K) froze Isaac Ross with a called third strike for the second out, Lutheran center fielder Brady Webb – a Colorado Mesa University signee – snared Bayfield slugger Noah Chamblee’s long ball with a diving catch while running for the fence.
“They made three plays that were the best that’ve been made against us all year,” Bayfield head coach Bert Miller said. “You’ve got to tip your hat. We’d jumped on them … and then nerves got to us. We let the first inning get away, and (Lutheran) never looked back.”
“We had all the energy in the world after the top of the first, but then they scored four, our whole bench shut down, we made errors and … beat ourselves,” said Ross (1-3, R, RBI). “They made the plays that they had to, and we didn’t; that’s what it came down to.”
“We just come out, play loose, put our foot down … and just get it done,” said Morgan (2-2, 2 HBP, 2 R, 2 RBI). “But I’d say what we need to work on is just keeping that foot down and … believing in each other.”
Helping his cause, Sorenson ended up 2-for-3 with two runs and as many batted in, while Pacheco went 2-3 with a walk, two runs and one RBI. Leadoff Lion Drew McNear was 1-3 with a walk and a two-RBI triple highlighting Lutheran’s four-run fourth against Avery (3 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 HB, 2 K), and Josh Miller went 2-3 with a sacrifice bunt and ended the game early by doubling home Morgan with one away in the bottom of the fifth.
“I’ve got seniors that lead, I’ve got sophomores that are good, and the juniors … man, are they good!” said Hormann, who’d helmed 5A Littleton Heritage for nearly a decade before taking charge at Lutheran this spring. “I’m very lucky to have stepped into … a place where I didn’t really have to do much. I just had to ‘get in the boat’ with ’em and start rowing!”
Bayfield center fielder Lance Mazur, whose snag of a Webb fly started an 8-6-4 double play ending the Lions’ fourth, ended up 1-1 with a walk and two runs scored. Wood and Jackson Queen each went 1-2 with an RBI-single, and Nic Twedt was 0-2 with a game-starting walk and one run.
“There was a lot of fielding errors, a lot of strikeouts, but I think if we just come back tomorrow with our heads in it and play our own game, not worry about the other team,” Avery said, “I think we’ll play better. I think we have a good chance.”
Lutheran (25-1 overall) advanced to face Greeley University (22-4) later Friday afternoon, while Bayfield will plan to survive against Manitou Springs (18-7-1) Saturday at 9 a.m. The Mustangs fell 5-3 Friday morning to University, featuring center fielder and rumored CMU football recruit Tayton “Tayt” Chacon, son of former major-league pitcher Shawn Chacon, who was in attendance.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of; they’re going to go hopefully get a win tomorrow,” Hormann said of the Wolverines. “Classy group of kids, great young men. They play hard, and I really enjoyed the coaching staff.”
“And they’re here for a reason,” he said. “They’re a good team, you know? We didn’t take them lightly!”
