Thanks to CSU Pueblo and walk-offs, Rye baseball bolts into 2A final eight with regional title

The Rye High School baseball team is now on its way to the final eight in the Class 2A state baseball tournament.

And beyond their own winning ways, they partly have CSU Pueblo to thank for it.

With inclement weather moving in over the weekend, Rye administration was able to move its Class 2A regional from the Rye baseball field to Rawlings Field on the CSU Pueblo campus.

The Thunderbolts and three other teams not only were able to play on the all-turf field but managed to get all three games in on Sunday and provide a champion.

Rye took advantage, defeating Dawson School 8-7 in the title game to move on to the 2A final eight Friday and Saturday. The Thunderbolts will meet the winner of the St. Mary's regional (to be played Monday) at 10 a.m. Friday on Andenucio Field at the Rawlings Sports Complex.

"Not the day we wanted but I told our kids championship teams find a way no matter everything going against you and you're not having the day you want to," Rye head coach Clay Klipfel said. "It was ugly and it was dirty, but we found a way."

Here are takeaways from Sunday's 2A regional:

A pair of walkoffs

Rye, the No. 3 seed in the 32-team bracket, walked off its opponents in both games on Sunday.

First, the Thunderbolts dodged a huge upset by defeating No. 30 Meeker 5-4, scoring two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning after trailing the entire game.

Two Cowboys errors aided Rye's cause after Taye McCauley singled to left field to lead off the inning.

McCauley moved to second on an errant pickoff attempt and scored on Will Hamler's sacrifice bunt that was thrown away past first base for an error. After Brock Benz and Ben Compton were intentionally walked to load the bases with no outs, Hamler scored the winning run on a passed ball.

In the regional championship, they did it again.

Rye led nearly the entire game and held a 7-4 advantage heading to the seventh inning. But Dawson erupted for three runs to tie the game, setting the stage for another walkoff.

In the bottom of the seventh, Compton drew a leadoff walk and pinch runner Coday Graber went to second base on a wild pitch. Brandon Benz moved Graber to third with a sacrifice bunt.

With one out, Riley Rochester struck out but the ball bounced away and Rochester broke for first base. In an attempt to throw out Rochester at first base, the ball hit the Rye senior, allowing Graber to score the winning run, setting off a wild celebration near home plate.

Rochester steps into spotlight

Rochester, a junior right-hander, stepped up in the title game for the Thunderbolts. He started on the mound and gave up an unearned run before recording two shutout innings, allowing only two hits and striking out five.

He departed in the top of the fourth after walking the leadoff batter with a 6-1 lead.

Rochester had a hand in Rye's three-run third with a two-run single into left field that gave the Thunderbolts some breathing room. Dawson went on to score three runs in the fourth to chop the lead to 6-4.

Rochester said his team just battled.

"I was just trying to do what had to be done," Rochester said about the game-winning  play. "That was a definite grind. That was a powerhouse team for hitting. We just stuck to it and grinded it out."

Pueblo East falls in regional final

Also on Sunday, the Eagles reached the Class 4A Region 3 championship game before falling to No. 3 Golden 9-1, in Golden.

East, the No. 19 seed, had defeated No. 14 Fort Morgan 8-2 in its first game on Sunday.

"If Golden doesn't win it in 4A I'd be very, very surprised," East head coach Nick Marfitano said. "They hit one home run and two others that were close."

The Eagles finished the season with a 14-11 record.

Chieftain senior sports reporter Jeff Letofsky can be reached by email at jletofsky@chieftain.com or on Twitter @jeffletofsky

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Rye uses two walkoff wins in regionals to reach Class 2A final 8