LAKEWOOD — Valor Christian played the entire state tournament like its path to the championship was never in doubt.
That was the case again Saturday at All-Star Park, even after the Eagles had their two aces ruled out earlier in the week due to injuries. The Eagles won their first Class 5A state baseball title anyway, blanking Cherokee Trail 4-0 behind a gem from No. 3 starter Hunter Smith.
It gave Valor Christian its 47th all-time team title and fourth in baseball to add to the Class 4A three-peat from 2016-18.
“This team is leaving behind a brotherhood that’s been built since this school opened — and this (achievement) is a continuation of that,” said first-year Valor Christian head coach Travis Cruz. “Each class has left something for the next one to take and keep going.
“I can only hope this is (the start of a run in 5A). It’s not always in the cards — it’s more about how we’re building our boys for their futures — but I’d be doing a disservice to the program if I didn’t say, ‘Hey, I want more.’”
Smith, a South Mountain Community College commit, threw 6 2/3 shutout innings to end Cherokee Trail’s Cinderella run through the bracket as a No. 25 seed. The senior right-hander, who threw a complete-game shutout in the semifinals, came up huge with the team’s top two starters hurt.
Senior southpaw Ben Leikam had a sore elbow after his start last week and imaging revealed a UCL sprain in his left elbow. Meanwhile, an MRI revealed a slipped disc in the back of co-ace Athan Kroll, keeping the junior right-hander from pitching but he was still able to hit and play in center field.
So Valor Christian needed Smith to come through, and he did to the tune of allowing just four hits, with four strikeouts and no walks. He would’ve had a complete game, but the pitch-count limit kicked in, and junior right-hander Zach Eigenbrod recorded the final out.
“Hunter was locating his fastball on both sides of the plate, and getting hitters off-balance with his offspeed,” said catcher Cashel Dugger, a UCLA commit. “Hunter has a dog mentality, and he lives for moments like this. He competes no matter what, and he knows how to go right after hitters and trust his defense, and that showed.”
Kroll, Dugger, junior shortstop Parker Feagans and senior right fielder Gavin Hunt all had RBI knocks for the Eagles, who beat Rocky Mountain, Regis Jesuit and Rock Canyon last weekend to put themselves in Saturday’s title game. Kroll had a triple and senior Steven Lukasiewicz, who led Valor Christian with three hits, doubled.
“We didn’t change anything from last weekend,” Dugger said. “How we’ve been preparing all year made us ready to win today.”
Valor Christian started the season with four losses to top competition in Florida, and the Eagles also lost to 2022 5A champion Broomfield, 6-2, on March 22. The Eagles looked vulnerable during a three-game slide from April 8-13, during which Valor lost to Grandview (17-13), Heritage (8-1) and Regis Jesuit (6-4).
But the Eagles ripped off 16 consecutive wins since that loss to Regis Jesuit to finish on top. Valor Christian had a plus-29 run differential in four state tournament wins.
“During that three-game losing streak, we were playing uptight and stressing a little bit about who we were as a team,” Dugger said. “But after a few practices and team talks to get us back on track, we realized we have to just play loose and have fun and compete no matter what, and focus on controlling what we could control. The rest would take care of itself.”
Valor Christian, the Jeffco League champions, finished 20-8 while the Cougars finished 18-13.
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