LAKEWOOD — Jonathan DiGiorgio got to his team’s postgame huddle at All-Star Park and was so out of breath he bent over. Finally, after taking a couple moments, he stood up and mustered the few words he had energy left for.
“Hey,” the Cherokee Trail coach said, panting. “How ’bout that 25 seed!?!?”
The Cougars swarmed their coach after that, hooting and hollering, after beating Rock Canyon 10-9 in a see-saw, extra-inning instant-classic to advance to the Class 5A title game on Saturday against Valor Christian.
“We’ve been battled tested all year,” DiGiorgio said. “This team has stuck together and won together all season, and we did it again today.”
Cherokee Trail, the No. 25 seed coming into the playoffs, upset its way through regionals before knocking off top-seeded Broomfield to start the state tournament last weekend. The youthful Cougars, who feature six underclassmen in their starting lineup, were down to their final strike at one point but refused to cave.
“No one thought we were going to be here until now,” said center fielder Johnny Robledo, who had the game-winning hit in the eighth. “No. 25 seed, backs against the wall, playing from behind — we have nothing to lose at this point. We’re putting everything out there. The 25 seed was clearly a mistake.”
The Cougars lost to Rock Canyon 7-2 in the second round, but a 1-0 win over No. 3 Regis Jesuit in Friday’s morning game behind a complete game shutout from sophomore southpaw Carter Wilcox set the Cougars up for revenge against the Jaguars.
And while there’s no Rocktober on the horizon anytime soon, if you like championship-caliber baseball, the CT vs. RC rematch at the Coors Field replica was a perfect substitute.
Then in the eighth, Robledo delivered the game-winning hit, a two-out triple into the right-center alley that scored Zach Garcia. Sophomore right-hander Ethin Woltz held the fort in the bottom of the inning to secure the win for the Cougars, who also made last year’s Final Four.
“I was looking for a pitch I could put in play to pass the baton to the next guy,” Robledo said. “I got a changeup down and away — I just threw my barrel at it and got it in the gap. It was hard to stay back, but I kept my weight back. Biggest hit of my life.”
Cherokee Trail’s win books the third title game appearance in program history, as the Cougars also won the 5A title in 2016 and the 4A title in 2007.
“We had ups-and-downs this year but we kept grinding, and our 10-man senior class really took charge down the stretch,” DiGiorgio said. “We never stopped believing today and that’s been our attitude all season.”
Cherokee Trail will have to beat Valor Christian — also underseeded at No. 15 — twice on Saturday to keep the Eagles from their first 5A title.
Meanwhile, in Class 4A, Golden beat Lutheran 3-2 in the morning game and then top-seeded Holy Family in the afternoon game, 4-1, to set up a meeting with Severance in Saturday’s 10 a.m. title game at UCHealth Park. Senior right-handers Laif Palmer and Noah Wicks both threw gems for the Demons to put them within a couple wins of the program’s first crown since 2003.
And in Class 3A, Saturday’s championship is between driver’s-seat Eaton and University at Butch Butler Field. University needs to beat Eaton twice to keep the Reds from three-peating.
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