One disastrous inning had Broomfield baseball staring down the barrel of the offseason, but Tripp Bemis made sure his team would still play on into the second weekend of the Class 5A state tournament.
The fifth-seeded Eagles stunned No. 3 Arvada West in a massive, come-from-behind, 9-6 victory Saturday afternoon at All-City Field. The win in the second consolation round ensured they would move deeper into that bracket against No. 6 Regis Jesuit next Friday.
Bemis, pinch-hitting in the sixth inning, blasted a deep ball into right field and right over the glove of Arvada West’s Beau Friesen. His two-run double in the top of the frame alleviated some of the pain incurred by a four-run third from the Wildcats, and it drew the Eagles within striking distance at 5-4.
It was only his second day back in the batter’s box after suffering a wrist injury, which forced him to miss six weeks of his senior season.
“After spring break, I broke my wrist in practice in live at-bats. It was terrible. I really didn’t think I’d be back. I’ve been pushing through it a little, but I’d do anything for these guys,” Bemis said. “I was just going up, really wanted to find a barrel. We needed to find three runs to come back.”
JR Ramsey drove in the tying score in the next at-bat with a sacrifice fly. The Eagles shut the Wildcats down in the bottom of the same inning, then it was Broomfield’s turn to play wrecking ball on offense.
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Members of the Broomfield baseball team celebrate after a successful bunt from JC Smith during Saturday’s Class 5A state tournament game against Arvada West in Denver. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps)
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Members of the Broomfield baseball team celebrate after a successful bunt from JC Smith during Saturday’s Class 5A state tournament game against Arvada West in Denver. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps)
Brendan Fritch led off the top of the seventh with a first-pitch moonshot over the center field wall, and in doing so broke the tie to give the Eagles a 6-5 advantage. After that, Jackson Shepherd and Talan Hutchings reached on a double and a base hit, respectively. The Wildcats then chose to intentionally walk Nate Wochner to load the bases and, in theory, allow force outs at every base.
Big mistake.
JC Smith and Maverick Scarpella knocked in one easy RBI apiece thanks to nearly identical hits to shallow right field, and Jake Orvis walked in one final run for the Eagles before the Arvada West defense finally put them away.
“I was just trying to put a good barrel on the ball, get a hit and let the guys behind me work,” said Fritch. “I have that much trust in our lineup. I think you just got to keep going, keep the next man up, next man up. That’s been our mindset the entire year.”
The Wildcats couldn’t muster enough offense to make up for the beating Broomfield handed them a half-inning earlier, but they did manage to chip in one more score.
The Eagles tapped into the type of grit and tenacity needed at this point of the postseason to stay alive, and they’ll now look to bestow a similar fate to Regis Jesuit. The two teams will meet at 10 a.m. Friday at All-Star Park.
Head coach Kale Gilmore hopes his boys can keep the magic going just a little bit longer.
“It’s hard to win when you get at this level. It’s just hard to win games,” he said. “I think this tournament, of all the high school sports, has to be one of the most difficult to win and survive and advance, just because of the nature of baseball. There were points in the game, especially when we weren’t playing well, (where) you kind of wonder when it’s going to come together. This group has been resilient all year. … I think you have a bunch of guys that don’t want to be done playing baseball yet.”
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