Chaparral had designs on winning the Continental League this season, but after losing four of their last five conference games, the Wolverines’ had to readjust goals.
Instead, Chaparral will be looking for redemption in the upcoming district playoffs. Despite their recent struggles, the Wolverines (11-7 overall, 7-4 Continental League) still earned the 15th seed in the 33-team tournament. Chaparral will face 18th-seeded Rocky Mountain (12-7) at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Grandview High School in the first round of the District 5 tournament. The winner of that will play the winner of No. 2 Grandview (17-2)/No. 31 Rangeview (10-9) at 3 p.m. For the right to advance to next week’s double-elimination state tournament.
Regis, which earned the third-seed and will host the District 7 tournament, was the latest team to hand the Wolverines a conference loss, beating them 10-0 in five innings May 2 at Chaparral.
The Raiders’ David Peterson held the Wolverines to a two hits while striking out six in five shut-out innings of work. Curtis Sholtes and Brett Wallace were the only Wolverines to get hits off of him.
“Peterson is the best pitcher in the league,” Chaparral coach Tony Persichina said. “He has great demeanor and mound presence. He kept us off balance all game.”
Jordan Kennedy led the Regis attack, going 3-for-3 with three RBI. Jack Hardeman was 2-for-3 with two RBI. Pat Powers also drove in two runs, while Brody Weiss went 2-for-4.
“They do not get greedy,” Persichina said. “They put the ball in play and make the defense make plays. … Their approach at the plate is awesome.”
Out of Regis’ 10 hits, nine of them were singles, and the one double was a misplayed line drive.
With the district tournament ahead of them, the Wolverines are still looking for a performance which truly defines them, the coach said. Although they’ve had a few games where solid defense, quality at-bats and strong pitching have been present, they are still looking to put all aspects together for a series of games.
“The focus from here on out is on playing for each other and competing all game,” Persichina said. “Our kids are coming together at the right time. They are continuing to grow as players and making better adjustments throughout each game.
“We might not have a guy that throws 90 (mph), but we have guys that believe in their pitching coach and they way he calls the game.”
Defensively, Chaparral is athletic enough to get to every routine ball, and its players believe in the process, the coach said. Offensively, if the Wolverines make adjustments and put together its quality at-bats, district and possible state opponents could be in for trouble, he said.
Prior to the Regis game, Chaparral knocked off Castle View 8-6 April 30 in Castle Rock. Josh Nicol went 4-for-4 at the dish in that game with a double and an RBI. Brooks Benson also hit a double with an RBI. Wallace went 2-for-3.
Regis Jesuit 10, Chaparral 0
Regis Jesuit 021 61 - 10 10 0
Chaparral 000 00 - 0 2 0
Batting - RJ, Patrick Dinges 1-4 RBI, Joey Larson 0-2 RBI, Jack Hardeman 2-3 2RBI, Jordan Kennedy 3-3 3RBI, Andrew Schmidt 1-2, Brody Weiss 2-4, Max George 0-2, Reagon Todd 0-1, Pat Powers 1-2 2RBI; Chap - Max Kuhns 0-1, Josh Nicol 0-2, Scott Kaley 0-1, Brooks Benson 0-2, Keenan Eaton 0-3, Curtis Scholtes 1-1, Logan Serena 0-2, Zac Guy 0-1, John Burton 0-2, Brett Wallace 1-2.
Pitching - RJ, David Peterson 5-6-0 0.00; Chap, Josh Thomas 3-3-7 16.33, Sam Mitchell 1-1-2 14.00, Nick Bailey 1-1-1 7.00
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