Tigers win 5-2 over Holy Family for 3A state championship

By John Rosa, Special to the Rocky

Saturday, October 20, 2007

AURORA - Winning a state title isn't anything new to Erie softball coach Bob Bledsoe, but even he had trouble holding back his emotions Saturday afternoon at the Aurora Sports Complex.

Bledsoe guided the Tigers to their eighth 3A state championship in the past 10 years as Erie upended defending champion Holy Family 5-2 in the title game. And Bledsoe's eyes welled up as he talked about how special this championship was, considering his daughter, freshman Mariah, was the winning pitcher in the contest.

'That makes it really special,' Bob Bledsoe said. 'The first one was very special, six in a row was way special, but having my daughter on the team and having her come through she did a great job for a freshman and I'm very proud of her.'

Mariah, who grew up watching her father's team win state title after state title, was also overcome with emotion shortly after Erie (20-5) took possession of the championship trophy.

'Watching my dad, when he's been coaching and I was just watching, it didn't seem like much. But now that I'm actually here, it's really made an impact in my life,' Mariah Bledsoe said.

The younger Bledsoe turned in a gritty performance in the championship game, constantly working her way out of trouble. Holy Family (23-2) stroked 12 hits off of her and had a runner on in all but one inning of the contest. But she made good pitches in tight spots, and Erie?s defense was great behind her as Holy Family stranded 13 baserunners, including nine in scoring position.

'My team helped me out a lot; I couldn't have done it without them,' Mariah Bledsoe said. 'They really backed me up out there.'

Added Bob Bledsoe: 'The pressure of a state tournament for a 14-year-old is a lot, and (the team) was very supportive of her.'

Erie's offense, meanwhile, piled up hits and put runs on the board at a record pace. Erie had 62 hits and scored 46 runs during its four games, the second-highest run total in state tournament history.

'We worked so hard for this and I think we definitely made a statement this tournament,' said senior first-baseman Janay Rahrich, the Rocky Mountain News tournament MVP who had six doubles and seven runs scored. 'It was a team effort. So many people came up with so many big hits.'

Erie broke through against Holy Family standout pitcher Megan McGinnis in the top of the third inning, putting three runs on the board. After Ashley Jordan opened up the scoring by plating Britney Baker with a single, Rahric smacked a two run single to left that put Erie up 3-0.

Erie would push the lead to 5-0 in the fifth, getting RBI singles from Ashlie Ortega and Haley David.

That was more than enough for the team to win its seventh title in eight seasons as Holy Family struggled mightily to get a hit when it mattered. Holy Family left the bases loaded in the first inning, and then had two on with no outs in both the third and fifth without bringing home a run.

'We couldn't get the hit when we needed it,' Holy Family coach Glen Ramos said. 'You have to give a lot of credit to Mariah, she pitched outstanding in tough situations and she?s going to be a force to be reckoned with for the next three years.'

3A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Erie 5, Holy Family 2

E 003 020 0 5 13 1

HF 000 001 1 ? 2 12 1

Erie (ab-r-h-rbi) Nichols lf 4-0-1-0, Ruiz 2b 4-2-1-1, Jordan cf 4-2-3-1, Rahrick 1b 3-0-2-2, Estrada c 4-0-1-0, Ortega ss 4-0-2-1, Parker 3b 4-0-0-0, David rf 3-0-2-0, Baker dh 3-1-1-0. Totals 33-5-13-4.

Pitching (ip-r-er-h-bb-k) Bledsoe (W) 7-2-1-12-2-4.

Holy Family McGinnis p 4-0-3-1, Mathewson 2b 4-0-3-0, M. Petersen 3b 4-1-1-0, Johnson 1b 4-0-2-0, Connelly c 3-0-1-0, B. Petersen rf 4-0-1-0, Jarasius dh 4-0-1-1, Boothe cf 3-1-0-0, Wild 3-0-0-0. Totals 33-2-12-2.

Pitching McGinnis (L) 7-5-4-13-1-3.

2B Ruiz, Mathewson. SB ? Baker. LOB E, 8; HF, 13.

3A SEMIFINALS

Holy Family 9, Faith Christian 5

Holy Family 002 030 4 9 16 1

Faith Christian 001 400 0 5 10 2

Holy Family (ab-r-h-rbi) McGinnis p 4-2-1-0, Mathewson 2b 4-3-3-3, Petersen 3b 4-0-1-0, Johnson 1b 5-0-2-1, Connelly c 5-1-3-0, B. Petersen rf 4-1-1-0, Jarasius dh 4-1-3-1, Boothe cf 2-1-1-0, Wild ss 3-0-1-3. Totals 35-9-16-8.

Pitching McGinnis 7-5-5-10-6-2.

Faith Christian Stephens c 3-0-2-0, Griego ss 4-0-0-0, Thompson 2b 4-1-1-0, Kaker rf 4-0-1-0, G. Benson cf 4-1-1-1, Coverdale 2b 4-1-1-0, Johnson 1b 3-1-1-0, Richardson dh 2-0-1-0, B. Benson lf 3-1-2-3. Totals 31-5-10-4.

Pitching: Haight 4 2/3-5-5-8-2-2, Johnson 2 1/3-4-3-8-2-0.

Erie 7, Limon 3

E 401 020 0 ? 7 9 1

L 002 010 0 ? 3 8 3

Erie Nichols lf 3-1-0-0, DeLeon ph 1-0-0-0, Ruiz 2b 4-1-2-1, Jordan cf 3-1-0-0, Rahrich 1b 4-2-3-1, Estrada c 4-0-1-0, Schmid ph 0-0-0-0, Ortega ss 3-1-1-1, Parker 3b 3-0-1-2, Gartrell ph 1-1-0-0, David rf 4-0-1-0, Baker dh 3-0-0-0. Totals 33-7-9-5.

Pitching ? Bledsoe 7-8-3-3-3-5.

Limon Walker 3b 4-0-1-0, Kollath ss 3-1-0-0, Dutton p 3-1-2-0, Spencer c 4-0-3-1, Kelley 1b 3-0-0-0, Taylor 2b 3-0-0-0, Chafflin rf 3-0-0-0, Tornowski cf 3-0-1-0, Head lf 3-1-1-0. Totals 29-3-8-1.

Pitching ? Dutton 7-9-7-4-3-7.