Boys Baseball played annual game at Coors Field
April 11, 2023
The shine of the stadium lights. The crack of the bat. The cheer of a crowd. Kids who dream of one day being able to experience the sensation of playing at a major league field sit in the crowd. For the Varsity Cherokee Trail baseball team this dream comes true annually at Coors Field. However, instead of a crowd of MLB fans, Cherokee Trail students, families, and friends fill the stadium seats.
On a chilly spring morning, the Cougars took on the Eaglecrest Raptors in their annual matchup at Coors Field. Playing their fourth game in four days and coming off of a successful 2-1 tournament in Arizona, the boys were ready to keep the wins coming.
Braedan Reichart said, “We got hot in Arizona and wanted to come back to Colorado and keep the streak going to show other teams that we’re still one of the top teams in the state.”
Reichart got on base two times out of his three appearances that day, scoring one run and grabbing a double. Bowen Tabloa also took to the plate with two RBIs (Runs Batted In) and a big energy triple. Another Cougar with an extra-base hit was Grayson Hoffman-Roenfeldt, who took the Raptors pitcher deep in a gap ending in a double.
The Cougars, with depth in the bullpen, used three pitchers in the game. Tommy Munch started the game off for three innings, sat down five batters, and only allowed two total hits. Keegan Eberly followed, forcing two grounders resulting in outs, and eventually striking out a batter to end the inning. Dom Basile closed the game for the Cougars, earning the last nine outs of the game and completing the game in the win.
Tabola explained that there were many “different distractions [while] playing there, but our end goal stayed the same. We were there to win and that was it.” Tabloa said, “Emotions are always higher when you are playing in a big league stadium, but it was a little extra knowing that it would be my last time playing there in a CT uniform.” Tabola will go on to play at Western Carolina University in North Carolina in the fall. With 13 games left until playoffs, fans are excited to see how Tabola can lead the team, with a 0.261 batting average and two home runs already under his belt.
Playing at Coors Field is a special opportunity, and Assistant Coach, Rodd Johnson, explained that the coach that opened up the school had good connections with the Colorado Rockies. Coach Johnson also talked about the Cougar’s challenging path, coming back from Arizona. He said, “You always want to beat the neighbor guys.”
After beating Eaglecrest, the Cougars played #9 ranked Rock Canyon and unranked Chatfield, the Cougars held a 3-3 record before taking on #6 ranked Douglas County. The game even gained the attention of 9 News Sports anchor, Scotty Gange, ending the day by saying, “It was a great day at the Trail!”
