LAKEWOOD — As a freshman last year, Michael Kroll hurt his elbow right before the season, threw only one inning on junior varsity and didn’t pitch at all in the summer after breaking the ring finger on his pitching hand.
Fast forward to Friday, and the sophomore right-hander put an exclamation point on a breakout campaign, throwing a complete game to propel Regis Jesuit back into the Class 5A baseball championship.
Kroll outdueled Grandview ace Ethan Wachsmann as the Raiders beat the Wolves, 2-1, at All-Star Park. Kroll allowed one run on three hits, while Wachsmann also allowed one run through five innings before being pulled after hitting his pitch limit.
“The testament to (Kroll) is that he didn’t even pitch very well today, and he gave up one run in a semifinal game,” Regis Jesuit head coach Matt Darr said. “He was battling his command a little bit, but he showed why he’s one of our special arms. He’s grown in front of us this year.”
The Raiders loaded the bases against Wachsmann in the first inning, but the Wake Forest commit used his high-90s fastball to get consecutive strikeouts to end the threat. Wachsmann ended up with 11 Ks, a dominant effort that came to an end after he surpassed the 110-pitch count mark by hitting the leadoff batter of the sixth inning.
Grandview was up 1-0 at that point — after senior outfielder Kyler Vaughn singled, advanced to second, stole third and scored on Kroll’s wild pitch in the third inning.
But after Wachsmann exited, Regis Jesuit saw its opening. Senior right-hander Josiah Giron walked the first batter he faced, then hit the second to load the bases with no outs. After a flyout, senior right-fielder Gavin Cronin perfectly executed a suicide squeeze bunt to tie the game. Then, a two-out, full-count walk by sophomore Diesel Bernosky made it 2-1.
“We realized (Wachsmann) wasn’t pinpointing fastballs every pitch, so we were taking first pitch most of the game after the opening inning,” said Cronin, an Air Force Academy commit. “Every inning, we were determined to keep taking good at-bats. Even in some of the strikeouts we had, we ran the pitch count up, which ended up being really important at the end.
“When I saw the bunt call, I knew it was my time, and I delivered. We’ve practiced that a ton, but I haven’t had a pressurized one like that.”
The one-run lead was all Kroll needed, as the sophomore used his combination of a mid-80s fastball and mid-70s slider to keep the Wolves off balance. Kroll retired Grandview in order in the sixth and seventh innings to cement the win.
“I’ve been thinking about this game all week, especially after the injury issues I had last season,” Kroll said. “After that inning (where Grandview scored), a switch flipped. I was trying to do too much before that, and I just settled in and trusted my stuff.”
In the morning game, Regis Jesuit beat Broomfield 6-4 to advance to the semifinal. Eagles senior left-hander Maverick Scarpella gave up five runs over three innings, then senior right-hander Clayton Green allowed one run over the final four. The Raiders faced a 2-0 deficit after two innings, but then uncorked a five-run third.
Senior right-hander and North Greenville commit Luke Reasbeck threw a complete game for the Raiders with two earned runs. At the plate, junior Jacob Olson had two hits and two RBIs, junior Deion Cesario-Scott blasted a solo homer and Cronin also had an RBI.
“We needed that big third inning, because that first inning or two, it looked like we weren’t ready to play,” Darr said. “That inning gave us a lot of momentum the rest of that game, and coming into this one (against Grandview).”
Regis Jesuit, which lost twice on the final day last season to Cherry Creek as the Bruins captured their ninth state title, now finds the shoe on the other foot. This year, Cherry Creek is in the driver’s seat and will need to be beaten twice. Saturday’s first game is at 10 a.m., with the second game at 12:30 p.m. if necessary.
The Bruins will have all of their pitchers available, including star senior right-handers Wyatt Rudden (Michigan commit) and Ryan Falke (Washington State). Fellow senior right-hander Cael Knobbe, a CSU-Pueblo pledge who turned in a dominating relief performance against Grandview in last weekend’s winners-bracket semifinals, is also fresh.
The Raiders still have a handful of arms left, including junior right-hander and Vanderbilt commit Hudson Alpert. Sophomore right-handers Ryan Neumann and Cade Filleman and junior left-hander Alexander Denny are also available as Regis Jesuit looks to pull off the upset for its fourth title.
Cherry Creek’s beaten Regis Jesuit in close games twice this year. The first was a 2-1 triumph on March 27 in Greenwood Village, and the second came last week in the second round of the state tournament when the Bruins rallied with two runs in the seventh to walk-off the Raiders, 4-3. But Darr is confident his team can get payback on Saturday at All-Star Park.
“Our competitiveness was on display against Mountain Vista in the district championship, and it’s been on display this whole tournament,” Darr said. “In the past, I’ve had very talented teams that weren’t very competitive, but this one might be more competitive than talent. On a championship day like tomorrow, that may matter more.
“Weird things have happened in sports. Last year, we weren’t meant to win. Maybe it’s flipped this year.”
Whoever wins, the diamond will be stacked with recruits on two of the most talented Colorado high school teams in recent memory. There are 21 college commits between both rosters, including a dozen Division I players. Cherry Creek has 12 commits, seven Division I, and Regis Jesuit has nine commits, five Division I.
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