AURORA — Behind Ally Distler’s two home runs and lights-out pitching from Korbe Otis, Columbine captured its first softball state championship Saturday, defeating Fossil Ridge 7-1 at Aurora Sports Park.
“I knew I had a special team, and it really came down to whether they could unite, and they absolutely did that today,” said Columbine coach Jim Santaniello. “They made our wildest dreams come true.”
The game marked the third appearance in the state title game for Columbine (27-2), but the first since 1995.
Continued Santaniello, “It’s huge, because even though this is our first one, we’ve had such a storied program. To get it back to state level recognition is just phenomenal.”
For Fossil Ridge (23-5), it’s been a familiar stage with three state title appearances in five seasons, but each has ended in heartbreak.
“It’s hard,” said Fossil Ridge coach Dave Philop. “You’ve got four games to really put it together. It’s tough. It’s been three times now.”
Fossil Ridge freshman Kodi Alvord opened the game’s scoring with her leadoff homer in the first inning, but it would turn out to be the only scoring play for the Sabercats. After giving up the opening run, Otis settled into the game with 13 strikeouts and leaving four runners stranded for the game’s remaining six innings.
“I think we had a little bit of nerves to start, but we settled in and just tried to do our jobs,” Otis said. “With each pitch, I was just trying to come through for the team.”
The junior pitcher, who also led the team throughout the season in hitting with a .678 batting average, had been a rock of consistency for the Rebels all season.
“We usually know we’re going to get an amazing performance from Korbe,” Santaniello explained. “We also know we’re going to get something from the plate.”
Saturday’s performance may have seemed like routine for the Rebels’ ace, but it was also a culmination of months of hard work put in throughout the season.
“This whole year, we’ve had the goal of winning state,” said Korbe. “We’ve been trying to work hard every practice just to try to get there. It was just one more rep to get us to our goal.”
After giving up the opening run, Columbine got the offense going and didn’t look back. The Rebels finished the game with seven unanswered runs including a third inning which featured Distler’s second homer of the game, scoring three runs.
“The pitcher was just giving me what I wanted and I had confidence in myself to go out there and not overthink it,” said Distler. “There’s going to be many more state championships after this, and I was just glad I could be part of the first one.”
Distler will will next play for Colorado Mesa University.
“She just showed up on the biggest day and the biggest stage, and she shined like a star,” said Santaniello. “That’s why she’s going to be playing college ball.”
It was Distler’s final game of her high school playing career, but the catcher was happy to be a part of what she hopes will be continued success for the Columbine softball program.
“It starts right now,” she said. “There’s going to be many after this and I’m just glad I can say I was a part of the first one.”
In Friday’s semifinal game’s Fossil Ridge dispatched 16-seeded Ralston Valley 13-4 to advance to the title game. Columbine grinded to a 3-0 win over Rocky Mountain.
Columbine’s 27 wins marked the most wins for the program in the school’s history. Having led Columbine to back-to-back 20-win seasons, a humbled Santaniello was quick to divert attention away from himself.
“Fossil Ridge are a first-class program, they fought hard and it was just our day. Great competition is a gift because it raises your game. This whole tournament, we had great competition.”
4A State Championship: Erie 13, Golden 9
Erie’s softball program is no stranger to state championships. In a back-and-forth game that went to extra innings, the Tigers outlasted Golden, defeating the Demons to claim their 12th state title.
But it had been nine years since Erie’s last championship, and six years since Erie’s last appearance in the state title game, making it a brand-new experience for the current squad. It was also a new experience for first year head coach Vanessa Smith.
“They had to buy in,” said Smith. “They had to trust a new coach, and they did. They had to trust their coach and trust each other.”
“We just became a family,” explained Alyssa Barnett, who closed the game out on the mound for Erie in the eighth inning. “I originally wasn’t going to come out for softball, but the rest of the seniors convinced me. It was hard for some of the seniors, but the coaches brought in the idea of family togetherness and the buy-in.”
There were doubts early on, but the Tigers united under Smith, defeating a top seed as a No. 14 seed at this year’s tournament.
“They never die,” said Smith. “These girls believed the whole way through. They never die.”
After Erie built up a 6-3 lead by the third inning, Golden stormed back to tie the game in the fourth. The teams ended seven innings tied 9-9 before Erie closed the game out with a four-run final inning.
3A State Championship: University 8, Brush 4
The University Bulldogs softball team claimed their first state title after just four years as a varsity program, dispatching the Brush Beatdiggers 8-4 in the 3A state championship game.
“The girls were wanting this for the last several years,” said University coach Rocky Byrd. “This is the first year we made it to Saturday to play in the semifinals and we knew this was going to be our best shot at winning the state title.”
The Bulldogs led early and wouldn’t relent. But it was Delaney Wieneke’s two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning which helped seal the win.
“Our lineup from 1-12, we think is as good as anybody else,” said Byrd. “They’ve all hit home runs. They all have .400+ averages.”
Sophomore pitcher Kayla Kingsley also got the job done on the mound with four strikeouts.
“This win is huge for our program,” said Byrd. “It’s a huge win for us and our school. The seniors this year are the first four-year lettermen, and they wanted this when they started. It was about putting the pieces of the puzzle together.”
University finished its season with a school record 27 wins.
