Another great weekend of High School Baseball and the stars were shinning bright.  We saw great action stretching across the state, from Pueblo to Greeley.  Here are 4 main things we took away from this Weekend.

The WOW Factor:

Chase Dunker, Sedgwick County, Sr., P/SS

Struck out 21 in a 3-2 win over Lutheran. Had 4 ks in second and third innings and struck out the side in the 4th, 5th and 7th innings. Didn't walk a batter. Only four balls were put in play - a chopper back to the mound for an out, a groundball out to third base and two doubles, one down the right-field line and another off the wall in left-center field. Now has 128 strikeouts in 49 2/3 innings out of a possible 149 outs. Improved to 8-0 with a 0.12 ERA. Both runs were unearned.

Justin Thaxton, Regis Jesuit, Sr. 3B (Pacific)

Came into the playoffs already hitting .500 with 25 RBI and 5 homeruns, he had a huge day on Saturday against Chatfield.  Thaxton's stat line, 3 for 4 with three homeruns, 3 runs scored and 5 RBI.

Max George, Regis Jesuit, Sr. SS (Oregon State)

In a back and forth game against Fairview on Saturday, George came to the plate in the bottom of the 6^th innings with the bases loaded and a tie game 3-3.  George delivered a game clinching grand slam to eliminate the Knights and send the Raiders on in the playoffs.

Devlin Granberg, Holy Family, Sr. SS/P (Creighton)

Granberg had a banner day in the first round of the 3A state playoffs on Friday.  Hitting one grand slam in a game let alone in a season is very impressive, how about 2 in the same game.  Granberg accomplished this task on Friday against Florence, hitting 2 grand slams to propel Holy Family to a 27-3 victory.

There is no substitution for Senior Leadership:

Colton Harguth, Denver Christian, Sr.

Had 12 RBIs in two games - 17-1 over Peyton and 20-8 over Swink. Had 6 RBIs in both games.

Jake Lohr, Resurrection Christian, Sr., P (Garden City CC)

Struck out 11 in 10-0 first-round win over Dolores with a 2-hitter. Faced the minimum of 18 through six innings. Walked two but picked off one runner off first and induced doubleplay grounder following second walk.

Grant Farrell, Cherry Creek, Sr. OF (Creighton)

In two games on Saturday, Farrell collected 5 hits including the game winning single to drive in Roberson in the bottom of the 7^th against ThunderRidge, which send Creek to another Final Four.

Trevor Thomas, Rocky Mountain, Sr.

Trevor who entered the weekend with 14 hits on the season, had a good first half of the tournament collecting 4 hits and scoring 2 runs for a Lobos team that stands undefeated in this tournament and is in the drivers seat for next weekend.

Pitching was at a Premium this weekend:

ThunderRidge saw two of its pitchers take no-hitters late into games.  Senior AJ Jones (BYU) took a no-hitter into the 6^th inning against a very potent Fairview team, which scored over 200 runs this year.  He was lifted in the 6^th after keeping Fairview at bay and helping the Grizzlies to a first round win.  Saturday saw another Grizzly pitcher go deep into a game without allowing a hit.  Austyn Garcia took a no hitter into the 6^th as well, masterfully spreading the ball around and allowing his defense to make plays.  Garcia who finished the game with only 2 K's did a great job of moving the ball around to keep the hitters off balance.

Luis Ortiz, Rye,  Sr., P/SS
Had 11 strikeouts in Rye's 9-1 first-round win over Sargent without a walk in five innings of work. Also scored 6 runs in the two tournament games and played flawless defense at shortstop vs. Rocky Ford.

Ford Ladd, Niwot, So. P

Ladd was charged with trying to pitch the Cougars into the championship round as the only undefeated team in the 4A bracket.  In that game Ford scattered 6 hits, struck out 4 and did not allow a run, sending the Cougars into next weekend in great position to grab the 4A crown.

Rocky Mountain Pitching Staff
Tyler Stevens, Senior, P (New Mexico)  Carl Strajduhar, Senior, P (New Mexico), Marc Bachman Senior, P, Cory Richer, Senior, P.  This is the staff from Rocky that went 3-0 and put them in position for another state title.  At this stage in the game all teams are good, you have to know how to pitch and not just throw.  With less than 1/3^rd of their outs coming by strikeout, this staff did a great job of spreading the ball around and limiting the big inning.

Cory Wiggins, Resurrection Christian, Sr., P
Struck out 8 in a 12-2 quarterfinal win over Nucla with a 3-hitter.

Watch out for the classes of 2015 and 2016

Trenton Hughes, Rye, Jr., P/1B

Had 11 strikeouts in Rye's 7-1 quarterfinal win over Rocky Ford without a walk. Also hit a 3-run home run in first-round win over Sargent.

Luke Mondt, Resurrection Christian, Jr., 3B

Had six hits - three in each game - in the Cougars two tournament wins.

Addison Kaasch, Chaparral High School, So.

Continued his hot hitting from the District round with 2 hits over the weekend including a bases clearing triple against Cherry Creek.

Blake Goldsberry, Cherry Creek High School, Jr.  3B

A rock at third base and a solid two hole hitter who goes the other way with ease.  Goldsberry collected 3 hits on Saturday including a clutch single on a hit and run in the bottom of the 7^th against ThunderRidge that delivered Roberson to third, the eventual game winning run.

Look for more outstanding performances and baseball games on Friday as the Final Four round gets under way in the Colorado State Baseball Championships.