AIR FORCE ACADEMY — Luca Casali and some of his Golden teammates have been waiting two years for their second chance, so a few extra hours weren’t a problem.
It took a second game to end Cheyenne Mountain’s magical run, but the Golden Demons (26-4) claimed their first Class 4A state baseball championship in 22 years on Saturday with a 5-1 victory at the Air Force Academy’s Erdle Field.
“Ever since that loss (two years ago), it’s just ate at me,” Casali said. “This has just been a huge goal for all of us that were on that team. This was such a fun year and a great team to do it with.
“This feels amazing.”
Casali, a senior first baseman, had two hits and a walk while scoring three times in the decisive game. He was part of the Golden team that lost the 2023 4A championship game, 1-0, to Severance. The final out was made at home plate.
His senior class has made the state tournament all four years. The Demons came back last year and won a program record 26 games, but finished fourth.
They needed 26 wins again this season, and had more adversity Saturday than expected.
“A phenomenal season,” Golden coach Jackie McBroom said. “We lost a game way back (on April 1, to Denver East). We had a little heart-to-heart with the team. Then the guys got busy and went to work.
“We ran off 20 wins in a row and here we are today.”
Casali scored his team’s first three runs, and then a two-run triple from sophomore Liam Leffert finally gave the Demons some breathing room in the fifth inning. Senior starting pitcher Tayden Svendsen allowed just one run on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings.
Golden won its first three games of the state tournament to earn some rest before Saturday, and had reeled off 20 straight victories entering the day. The Demons had to work overtime to finally put away the upstart Red-Tail Hawks.
Cheyenne Mountain (21-9-1) won three times this weekend at Erdle Field to reach a decisive second game Saturday. The Hawks ended Golden’s winning streak with a 5-2 victory in eight innings in the first game.
They beat Golden ace Sawyer Brinkman, who took his first loss in two seasons after pitching into the eighth. Running short on pitchers, Cheyenne Mountain turned to catcher Nate Glad, who had thrown two innings this season, according to MaxPreps.
Glad got the final eight outs and stranded eight baserunners to keep the Hawks alive. Even in the second game with the club running on fumes, the Hawks had two runners on in the top of the sixth but couldn’t conjure one more big hit in a weekend full of them.
“We obviously wanted to come in here and win game one and we had a lot of opportunities,” McBroom said. “They wouldn’t go away. It was kind of like, ‘When are you guys going to stop?’ They just kept coming. We really had to go out there and earn it.”
Golden showed plenty of championship moxie of its own. The Demons had 40 minutes to rebound from a potentially crushing loss.
McBroom said his team needed five. Casali called it a complete reset.
His double and a run-scoring single from senior shortstop Jaydon Stroup in the bottom of the first inning helped reclaim some mojo. And Svendsen worked his way out of trouble the rest of the way.
A few of the players from the 2023 team who have graduated were on the field to celebrate, all wearing shirts that said state runner-up on the back. It was a full-circle moment for a program that has been building toward its second state title. The first, in 2003, featured future MLB All-Star Mark Melancon.
The building blocks for a third were on display as well. Lefferts and fellow sophomore Anthony Boucher delivered the biggest hits of the day, while freshman Austin Bittner relieved Svendsen to get the final two outs and kick off the celebration.
“It’s just the best possible way to end it,” Casali said. “As a senior, I’m just so proud of these guys. We were grinding all year. We definitely had to earn it the hard way here today.”
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