AURORA — At least Silver Creek softball players won’t be able to point to a single inning, a single pitch or a single play that short-circuited their season.
Essentially, everything went wrong for the Raptors on Saturday.
Silver Creek was dispatched 11-1 by Erie in the opening round of the Class 4A state tournament at Aurora Sports Park, where the Raptors fell into an early crater and never dug themselves out.
“It’s really great to get here, but once you do, you have to perform at another level,” Silver Creek coach Ryan Beavers said. “It’s a little disappointing because we had a great week of practice.”
Silver Creek, which finished 15-8, was trying to pull off a No. 11-over-No. 6 upset, but the Raptors fell behind 3-0 in the first despite only one hit by Erie. That was a push bunt by Carrie Clarke with the bases loaded, one she perfectly placed despite having two strikes in the count.
“I believe that we could have come back, but we would have had to stay on our A-game and Erie is a tough team to beat,” Raptors shortstop Keegan Wergin said. “So kudos to them for keeping the pressure on us. We just made some defensive errors that didn’t keep us in the game and we didn’t hit as well as we should have.”
The Raptors punched back in the third when Devin Aubry’s RBI single scored Cassie Jones to make it 4-1. But Silver Creek popped out three straight times with two runners aboard to end the inning.
It was all Erie from there, as the Tigers (who went on to defeat Pueblo East to earn a berth in the semifinals) got a home run from Rio Sanchez in the bottom of the third and seemed to drop in every popup for a hit.
The disastrous first began when typically accurate pitcher Marisa Yost walked the first four batters, including Tiffany Maul to force a run home. Seeing Yost was struggling with her command, Erie coach Bob Bledsoe instructed his typically aggressive hitters to adopt a more patient approach early.
Yost couldn’t be singled out, however, as this was a categorical loss. The Raptors were far from sharp pitching, fielding and hitting.
“The leadoff hitter was on every inning, and we gave 11 free passes with walks, errors and hit-by-pitches,” Beavers said.
Silver Creek will lose Wergin, its top run producer, Yost, its primary pitcher, and Aubry, who departs with a bevy of Raptors records. But there is reason for optimism with players such as outfielders Haille Weber and Jones, catcher Sheyann Ludwig and first baseman Katelyn Strub.
“We still have a lot of talent in the food chain,” Beavers said. “We’ll just come back and reset next year.”
The Raptors ultimately will reflect on an 11-3 record in the rugged Northern League and an explosive offense that was batting .375 entering the tournament.
“I’m proud of our team and everything we’ve accomplished,” Wergin said. “Next year’s team is going to be really good.”
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Erie 11, Silver Creek 1
At Aurora Sports Park
Silver Creek (15-8) 001 00 — 1 4 4
Erie (20-3-1) 311 42 — 11 8 0
W — Clarke (8-1). L — Yost (15-8).
Silver Creek hitting (ab-r-h-rbi) — Weber 2-0-1-0, Aubry 2-0-1-1, Ludwig 2-0-0-0, Wergin 3-0-0-0, Strub 2-0-0-0, Wagner 1-0-1-0, Yost 2-0-0-0, Ballard 2-0-0-0, Jones 2-1-1-0. Totals 18-1-4-1. SB — Wagner.
Erie hitting (ab-r-h-rbi) — Kudrna 3-2-1-0, Glaze 2-2-1-1, Toot 2-2-1-1, Maul 3-0-1-2, Natal 0-0-0-0, Kovets 3-0-1-1, Wilson 0-1-0-0, Clarke 2-0-1-2, M. Foster 0-0-0-0, Sanchez 3-1-1-1, S. Foster 3-1-1-0, Macias 1-1-0-0, Hutzley 1-1-0-0. Totals 23-11-8-8. HR — Sanchez (solo in third). SB — Kudrna, Toot, M. Foster, Macias.
Silver Creek pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — Yost 4.1-8-11-6-5-1.
Erie pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — Clarke 5-4-1-1-2-5.
