LAKEWOOD — Wyatt Rudden struck out eight over five innings and second-seeded Cherry Creek scored in four of the first six frames to beat No. 6 Regis Jesuit 8-1 on May 31 at All-Star Park, giving the Bruins back-to-back Class 5A titles and the 10th in program history.
The Bruins didn’t need a second game this time. A year ago they had to win twice in a day to take the title from the same opponent. They put this one away early instead, scoring twice in the second and three more in the third, then adding insurance in the fifth and sixth against a Raiders bullpen working on short supply.
“The seniors were focused and they had that goal in mind to get out of here in seven innings,” said first-year coach Joe Smith, who took over a program Marc Johnson ran for 52 years. Rudden, a Michigan commit, allowed three hits and walked six but stranded runners all afternoon. Max Goldberg threw a hitless sixth with two strikeouts and Anthony Graziano finished it in the seventh. Connor Larkin, the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year, anchored a lineup with seven Division I signees.
Regis Jesuit reached the final on fumes. The Raiders had knocked out the top seeds a day earlier using their experienced arms, which left four pitchers who had thrown roughly a fifth of the team’s innings all season. Junior ace Hudson Alpert was out with an arm injury. Christian Lopez went 3-for-4 and scored the only run of the game in the third, singling, moving up on a sacrifice bunt and coming home on a wild pitch. Ryan Neumann took the loss. Regis Jesuit finished 22-9 and stranded six runners in scoring position.
“We kept competing and it was a great run for us,” coach Matt Darr said. The Raiders lose five seniors, including Lopez, who signed with Cal State Bakersfield, but return Alpert and sophomore Mikey Kroll along with the three underclassmen who pitched in the title game.
