The second week of the Class 4A baseball state tournament didn’t last as long as the Golden Demons would have liked.
The No. 2-seeded Demons bowed out of the double-elimination state tournament in a 3-0 loss to Pueblo County on Friday, May 31, at Erdle Field at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
“We all came out and put our heart out there. At the end of the day, we kind of fell short,” Golden junior Sawyer Brinkman said after the season-ending loss.
Brinkman and Pueblo County senior Roy Higinbotham were locked in a pitcher’s duel through five scoreless innings. The Hornets finally broke through with a three-run top of the sixth inning. The big blow was a two-run double by senior Donovan Walsh to give Pueblo County a 2-0 lead.
“We made some mistakes when we didn’t need to make some mistakes,” Golden Coach Jackie McBroom said of an error and fielder’s choice that got the inning started for the Hornets. “(Pueblo County) got hits when they needed to get some hits.”
Despite throwing a complete-game four-hitter, Brinkman suffered his first loss on the mound this season.
Golden junior Luca Casali, who went 9-for-12 from the plate in the Demons’ four state tournament games, ripped a one-out triple in the bottom of the first inning against Pueblo County. However, the Demons weren’t able to cash in and it was the lone extra-base hit of the game for Golden.
Sophom*ore Brody McBroom had a single to start the second inning and senior Braeden McCarroll had a pair of singles, but it wasn’t enough as the Demons were shut out for the first time all season.
“Honestly, not really. I thought it would be hard to make it past the Great 8 (first week of the state tournament),” McCarroll said when asked at the start of the season if the Demons could make it back into the Final Four for the second straight year. “This team had a lot of fight in them. They didn’t want to lose. I’m really proud of them.”
Golden made it to the 4A state title game last year, losing to Severance 1-0. The Demons graduated seven seniors last season, including Laif Palmer (Oregon State University) and Noah Wicks (University of Cincinnati) who had a combined 16-0 record on the mound with both ERA’s under 2.00.
“I know the expectations were there. You shoot for the moon,” Coach McBroom said of the Demons’ 25-4 record this season. “I think this is a good season for these guys after everything that we lost. There were lots of new guys on the field this season.”
McCarroll stepped into a bigger role on the hill, while Brinkman and fellow junior Taden Svendsen solidified the top of the Demons’ pitching staff. Brinkman was named the Class 4A Jeffco League MVP this season.
“It was a huge season. I think after last year, that was hard to beat,” Brinkman said of the Demons advancing to the 4A state championship game in 2023. “This year we came in with huge expectations. We delivered. We had an amazing season. Everyone who needed to step up stepped up. I think that brought us together as a family.”
McBroom was able to lean on Brinkman as a pitcher and catcher after he played limited varsity time as a sophom*ore.
“It definitely was a big jump, but it needed to be done,” Brinkman said of having a 7-1 record on the mound with a .80 ERA. “Someone had to do it.”
As a sophom*ore, Brinkman pitched in just under nine innings the whole season with a 6.45 ERA.
Golden graduated seven seniors from this year’s squad but will return five regular starters from its line-up. Freshman Dylan Paulson filled a huge role stepping in as the Demons’ centerfielder. Casali led Golden in batting average, runs, hits, RBIs and home runs.
Junior shortstop Jaydon Stroup batted over .400 in his third year of playing varsity and sophom*ore Brody McBroom had a solid season filling the shoes at third base after the graduation of Jaydon Hord.
“I know these kids will go back next year and win a league championship, probably get back here to this same spot,” said McCarroll, who plans to play at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix next spring. “It puts me at ease a little bit knowing that they are going to come back and dominate next year.”
Brinkman is also high on the upcoming season.
“Some of our freshmen from this year are going to step up. I just know it,” Brinkman said. “It would definitely get another repeat (Final Four) next year, but I think our goal is to develop players and play the game the way it is supposed to be played. The rest will come.”
If Golden advances to the Final Four next season, it would be the first time in the program’s history to do it three straight years since the Colorado High School Activities Association went to a double-elimination state tournament format over 20 years ago.
“We are going to do it,” McBroom said of getting back to the Final Four next season. “I’ve been here 10 years now and we’ve improved every single year that I’ve been here. The program has gotten better. The expectations don’t change.”
Golden has a 50-10 record over the past two seasons.
“We have to stay healthy and stay together as a group,” McBroom said of being a state contender next season. “We have the pieces in place. Now we just have to prove it. Unfortunately, we have to wait like nine months to start that journey again.”
Dennis Pleuss is the Sports Information Director for Jeffco Public Schools. For more Jeffco coverage, go to CHSAANow.com.
