LAKEWOOD | Matt Darr knows that soon he will be sitting on a porch with Marc Johnson talking about their mutual love for the game of baseball.
The Regis Jesuit baseball coach had hoped to have the bragging rights with his good friend — a Colorado coaching legend who was in his 52nd and final season on the diamond — but that won’t be the case as Johnson’s Bruins defeated Darr’s Raiders twice to win the Class 5A state baseball championship Saturday afternoon at All-Star Park.
Regis Jesuit couldn’t get its offense going over two games against Cherry Creek’s talented pitching staff and lost 5-2 in the finale after it dropped an 11-1 contest earlier in the day. When it was over, Darr embraced Johnson with a mix of sad and happy tears in his eyes.
“I was happy for him; if we weren’t going to win, I wanted it to be him,” Darr said. “I know I’ll see him next week on his porch, sitting in rocking chairs talking about coaching like we usually do. It’s hard because you’re torn between your kids because you know how hard they worked and you’re happy for him.
“It’s a really hard juxtaposition of emotions. I’m happy for him, but heartbroken for my kids.”
The last time Regis Jesuit won the 5A state title was in 2019 and it was against the same opponent — as was also the case in 2011 when the Raiders also won — but this time ended differently.
Regis Jesuit (which finished the season 22-8) took seeming command of the Championship Series with a 3-0 opening weekend that included a 3-0 victory over Cherry Creek May 25, which meant the Raiders needed only one win to claim their first state title since 2019.
The Bruins still had life, however, in the double-elimination tournament and held off 16th-seeded Grandview 11-9 Friday afternoon to earn a chance to play on the final day.
Cherry Creek cruised to a mercy rule-shortened victory in the opener — dealing the first loss to senior Liam Mosley, who came into the game at 8-0 — but the rematch had the intensity and emotion ratcheted all the way up.
Sophom*ore Hudson Alpert started for Regis Jesuit and kept the potent top of the Bruins lineup at bay in the opening four innings, while the Raiders created some chances, but were also kept off the scoreboard in the same span by Cherry Creek’s Ryan Falke.
Both teams made key early defensive plays as Regis Jesuit junior Christian Lopez was thrown out at home plate in the bottom of the first inning, while Raiders senior third baseman Trevor Nordstrom fielded a bunt and flipped to senior catcher Grant Wiebe for a tagout at home in the top of the second.
All tournament long, Cherry Creek capitalized on any mistakes made by its opponents and it got a break in the fifth when Luke Rose grounded to shortstop, but beat the throw to first. Just one pitch later, leadoff hitter Brayden Yasuzawa brought him home with an RBI double and he also scored on Connor Larkin’s double before Alpert struck out Eddie Esquivel to end the frame.
Junior Jace Filleman got a run back for the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run for Regis Jesuit, but the Bruins tacked on another run with two hits and then plated two more in the top of the seventh.
Nick Wiley doubled and scored on a base hit by senior Andrew Bell for Regis Jesuit to cut the lead to three and senior Brody Chyr singled to put two on and bring the tying run to the plate in Nordstrom. Nordstrom had been hitting the ball hard in the second game, but swung through the third strike to end the game.
Cherry Creek’s postgame celebration fittingly centered around Johnson, who some of the Regis Jesuit players knew from playing for his team in the summer.
“He’s obviously a legend and he’s a great dude, so I just loved my time playing for him,” Chyr said. “Not enough good things to say about him.”
Regis Jesuit will graduate a variety of key seniors, including Bell (a Duke University recruit), Chyr (who has signed with Loyola Marymount), Mosley (who finished the season 8-1), Nordstrom (the team’s leader in batting average at .476) and others, while those that will return will be hungry.
“I’d watch out for next year,” Alpert said. “This sparked us a little bit, but this one hurts. …We’ll be a young team next year that will be looking for leaders because we lose a lot of good senior leaders. This was one of the best senior classes Regis Jesuit has had.”
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2024 CLASS 5A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
(5) CHERRY CREEK 5, (2) REGIS JESUIT 2
Cherry Creek 000 021 2 — 5 11 1
Regis Jesuit 000 010 1 — 2 9 1
CHERRY CREEK (ab-r-h-rbi)
Brayden Yasuzawa 2b 4-2-2-1, Connor Larkin 1b 3-0-1-1, Eddie Esquivel cf 4-0-1-1, Will Taylor dh 4-0-0-0, Mason Scott 3b 3-1-2-0, Sean Goldy ss 2-0-0-0, Tyce Smith rf 3-0-1-1, Eli Rose c 3-0-1-0, Luke Rose lf 3-2-2-0. Totals 29-5-11-4. Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): Ryan Falke (W, 7-9-2-2-1-3)
REGIS JESUIT (ab-r-h-rbi)
Christian Lopez cf-p 3-0-1-0, Andrew Bell ss 4-0-2-1, Brody Chyr rf 4-0-1-0, Trevor Nordstorm 3b 4-0-1-0, Hudson Alpert p-dh-2b 3-0-0-0, Chase Massey 2b 3-0-1-0, Gavin Cronin lf 3-0-1-0, Jace Filleman 1b 3-1-1-1, Grant Wiebe c 1-0-0-0, Colin Dwyer ph 1-0-0-0, Nick Wiley c 1-1-1-0. Totals 30-2-9-2. Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): Hudson Alpert (L, 5-5-2-2-0-4), Luke Reasbeck (1-4-3-3-0-0), Christian Lopez (1-1-0-0-0-1)
2B — Cherry Creek: Mason Scott 2, Connor Larkin, Luke Rose, Brayden Yasuzawa. Regis Jesuit: Nick Wiley. HR —Regis Jesuit: Jace Filleman (solo in 5th inning)
