GREELEY - Eaton didn't need a second chance Saturday.

The Reds beat Lamar 4-1 in the Class 3A Baseball Championship Series state title game at Butch Butler Field in Greeley.

Eaton (22-3) secured its eighth state title in school history and fifth since 2000, finishing the double-elimination tournament with a perfect 5-0 record.

If Lamar (19-7) had won the morning game, Eaton, by virtue of being unbeaten in tournament play up to the point, would have had a second chance at a title with a rematch against Lamar on Saturday afternoon.

Eaton senior left-handed pitcher Kyle Ottoson made sure the Savages' chances were few and far between Saturday.

With Eaton leading 2-0, Lamar was poised to turn the tide, capitalizing on a pair of fourth-inning Reds errors to score a run. The Savages then loaded the bases with no outs, but Ottoson responded by striking out three straight batters to keep the Lamar baserunners stranded and Eaton's lead in tact. Ottoson allowed the Savages only two more hits the rest of the way.

"Everything was working for me," Ottoson said. "The knuckle curve was a very good pitch for me (Saturday). I felt like I had a lot of control with it and it was breaking good."

Saturday was the first time Ottoson pitched in a state title game. He certainly didn't show any jitters, pitching all seven innings, striking out 15, allowing just four hits, three walks and no earned runs. Ottoson (8-2) tacked further onto his single-season school strikeout record of 136 in 67 innings and added to his career strikeout record of 385. He finished his high school career with a four-year record of 34-3.

Even though Eaton coach Jim Danley has coached eight different state championship teams since the Reds won their first title in 1994, Danley said this year's team ranks as one of the most hard-working ball clubs he has coached.

"This team ranks very highly," Danley said. "They had further to go, but they accomplished more than most teams I've had. ... This is huge for these kids because about a month ago we picked up a couple losses to good teams - Erie and Holy Family. At that point I really saw a change. They grew up. They started to mature."

The slip-up to Holy Family on April 15 was the last time Eaton lost. Since then, the Reds have outscored their opponents by an average of 10.8 to 1.8 runs per game.

While Ottoson was sitting down batter after batter, Eaton's balanced offense made sure Ottoson had all the run support he needed.

Logan Hall, Tyler Wallace, Seth Jackson and Bennett Pickar each had two hits, combining for eight of the team's nine hits.

Hall got things started against Lamar junior pitcher Alex Peacock (6-1). He drilled a deep double into left-center field on the second Eaton at-bat of the game. Two batters later, senior shortstop Bo McLavey hit into a fielder's choice but sent home Hall with the game's first run.

Coming up with the first hit, and its first run, was a satisfying experience for Hall, who has seen some close calls during Eaton's recent stretch of final-four appearances - including a title-game loss to Roosevelt two years ago.

Even though Eaton has won enough state hardware to fill a small warehouse, the Reds' last state title came in 2004. Saturday was the first championship victory for this class of Reds players.

Hall said finally getting over the hump on Saturday is an experience he never will forget.

"We've come so close over the past three years,' he said. "We've felt the ring on our finger, and it's just slipped off because of little plays here and there. It just feels great to get the monkey off our back."

Eaton 4, Lamar 1

Lamar 000 100 0 ‹ 1 4 1

Eaton 110 020 X ‹ 4 9 4

L (AB-R-H-RBI) - Dylan Walker 2B 2-0-1-0; Alex Peacock P/CF 4-0-0-0; Garret

Harper CF/RF 4-1-1-0; Tyler Blain RF/1B 4-0-0-0; Leonel Aguilar LF 4-0-1-1;

Kelby Repp 3B/P 2-0-0-0; Clint Straily SS 3-0-1-0; Cory Fassiotto 1B

3-0-0-0; Alex Aguilera C 3-0-0-0. Totals 29-1-4-1. Pitching: Peacock (L, 6-1,

9H, 4R, 2ER, 2BB, 3SO), Repp (6th, 0H, 0ER, 0BB, 0SO).

E - Adam Geisick RF 4-1-0-0; Logan Hall CF 3-2-2-1; Tyler Wallace 3B

2-0-2-0; Bo McLavey SS 3-0-0-1; Kyle Ottoson P 2-0-0-0; Seth Jackson 2B

2-1-2-1; Bennett Pickar C 3-0-2-1; Sterling Monfort 1B 3-0-1-0; Bryce Ruff

LF 3-0-0-0. Totals 25-4-9-4. Pitching: Ottoson (W, 8-2, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 3BB,

15SO).

2B -­ Jackson 2, Hall, Pickar.

Back to Top