Arvada West High School began its defense of the Class 5A Jeffco League baseball title with a 10-5 victory over Ralston Valley on April 9. The game, held at Arvada West, was delayed for 45 minutes due to lightning and concluded after more than three hours.
The matchup is considered one of the top cross-town rivalries in the area and marked an early test for both teams as league play began. Both teams are seen as contenders in the league, making this opening contest significant for momentum.
Brayden Reiner, a senior at Arvada West, started the offense with a triple in the first inning and finished with three hits. “We usually play these guys at the end of the year, but it’s nice to come out here and beat them to have some good momentum pushing forward into league,” Reiner said. He added that Ralston Valley and Valor Christian are expected to be their toughest competition.
Ralston Valley responded in the third inning by tying the game after capitalizing on defensive errors by Arvada West. After a lightning delay halted play, Jake Walters hit a sacrifice fly to even things up at three runs each. However, Wildcats pitcher Cooper Vais managed to escape further trouble. “If that is the worst Cooper is going to be, we’ll be alright,” said Danny Vais, head coach of Arvada West.
Arvada West regained control with four runs in their half of the third inning thanks to RBI singles from Jeramiah Gonzales, Keegan Millikan and Reiner. Ralston Valley coach Brad Madden acknowledged his team struggled against strong hitting: “It’s hard to hold them down. I thought Jake did a good job. He walked a few too many guys and that hurt us in the end.” Senior Luke Alonso pitched three innings for Arvada West before Beau Friesen closed out the win by striking out all three batters he faced in fading daylight.
The two teams will complete their conference series on Saturday at Ralston Valley High School. Looking ahead, Reiner said he is prepared for his start on Saturday: “I only threw 30 pitches our previous game earlier this week… I just want to attack them and see what I can do on the mound out there.” Last season Arvada West went undefeated (12-0) in conference games en route to their first league title since 2014.
Coach Vais praised playing back-to-back games under this format: “From a baseball purist type person, that is the way you find out who the best teams are by playing them back-to-back.” Madden also supported this approach: “You’ll see throughout league play a lot of splits when you have a lot of good teams… That is what we are going to try to find a way to [do]—a split (Saturday).”
After Saturday’s rematch between A-West and Ralston Valley, both schools continue league action next week against Bear Creek and Lakewood respectively.
