Standley Lake baseball sweeps series against Wheat Ridge
WHEAT RIDGE — Standley Lake pitcher Camp DeWyse won a full game Saturday afternoon in a road game against Wheat Ridge.
DeWyse scattered four singles as he gave up a single run on a sacrifice fly by junior DJ Miller of Wheat Ridge late in the fourth inning. Standley Lake cruised to a 13-1 victory to bring the Gators (7-3, 2-2 in Class 4A Jeffco League) down to .500 in conference.
“We got swept away in our first (league) series against Conifer and it didn’t do us any good,” Standley Lake freshman head coach David Luongo said. “I told them they just have to keep the energy up and play the game in front of you. We had two against Wheat Ridge. It’s rather good.”
The Gators scored four runs in the second, fourth and fifth innings to take a 13-1 lead. DeWyse ended his full game on the mound by pulling the Farmers (1-11, 0-6) to finish the game after five innings with the 10-run mercy rule.
“We have to compete with the teams that challenge and outrun the teams that we know we can beat,” DeWyse said. “Winning that many in five rounds allows us to save weapons and keep the flow going.”
It was important to Standley Lake to keep its pitching staff fresh. Junior Cannon Frost — one of 4A Jeffco’s best all-arounders — hasn’t pitched since the Gators’ loss to Conifer on April 9. Frost wasn’t in the lineup against Wheat Ridge on Saturday.
“There’s no added pressure,” DeWyse said of the game with Frost out of the lineup. “I trust my teammates and I respect them all. Cannon will come back when he comes back. We’re not going to force him to come back early. We need him healthy for the games at the end when we finish the season.
The top of the Gators order – Christopher Blanco, DeWyse, Brody Geist and CC Pina – carried the offensive load for Standley Lake. The four combined to go 8 for 14 with five RBIs and nine runs scored.
Standley Lake took advantage of three Farmers errors in the top of the fifth inning. Geist hit a key 2-run double to left field to give Standley Lake an 11-1 lead.
“We got some good hits,” Luongo said of the Gators’ 11 hits against Wheat Ridge starting pitcher Cian Young.
Standley Lake continues its home and away streak next week against Littleton and Evergreen.
“My goal and I told the kids before the season to go to Elite 8 (8-team 4A state tournament),” Luongo said. “I want to make the playoffs obviously, but I don’t want to make the playoffs and lose our first game.”
Wheat Ridge will look to end its 10-game losing streak when it hosts Alameda International (3-7, 0-6) on Tuesday, April 19 at Everitt Middle School.
