Valor Christian's softball team got a wake-up call a week before state playoffs begin.
Mullen, ranked third in the CSHAANow.com Class 4A poll, snapped the 33-game winning streak of the top-ranked Eagles with a 4-3 win in the regular-season finale Oct. 8 on the Mustangs' field.
Eight regional, four-team state playoff regional tournaments in Class 3A, 4A and 5A will take place Oct. 15 with two teams from each region advancing to the state tournament, which will be held Oct. 21-22 at the Aurora Sports Complex.
Valor, the two-time defending Class 4A state champions, has gone 65-3 over three seasons, and the Eagles feel comfortable taking one loss in the state tournament, which they have done the past two seasons
"Last year we lost one game in the regular season and came back," said Valor coach Dave Atencio. "Same thing two years ago. They will bounce back. This loss wakes us up a little bit and refocuses us. And, it was great timing with the state regional tournaments starting."
The top eight teams, according to the RPI standings, earned host roles for the regional tournaments.
In Class 5A, Douglas County, Legend and Arvada West earned the right to play host to a regional tournament. Douglas County will hold the Region 4 tournament at the Metzler complex in Castle Rock and the Region 6 tourney hosted by Legend will be the Salisbury fields in Parker.
In the opening pairings, 16th-seeded Legacy (13-6-0) will face No. 17 Castle View (11-7-1) in the Region 1 tournament at Broomfield High School. Cherry Creek, seeded 25th with a 9-10-0 record, will take on No. 8 and host Loveland (13-6-0) in the Region 2 tournament at the Barnes Softball Complex in Loveland.
No. 12 Ralston Valley (11-7-0) will meet No. 21 Mountain Vista (12-7-0) in the Region 3 tourney hosted by Eaglecrest at the Aurora Sports Park. The Region 4 tournament has first-round games pitting No. 4 Douglas County (15-4-0) against No. 29 Horizon (8-11-0) and No. 20 Rock Canyon (10-9-0) going against No. 13 Prairie View (16-3-0).
Sixth-seeded Legend (14-4-1) will face No. 27 Smoky Hill (11-8-0) in the Region 6 tournament while the Region 7 tourney finds No. 28 and defending 5A champion Mountain Range (10-9-0) challenging No. 7 Arvada West (13-5-1) in an opening contest. No. 18 ThunderRidge (13-6-0) travels to Grand Junction and will play No. 16 Fort Collins (12-7-0) to begin Region 8 action.
Valor reserved Aurora Sports Park for the Region 5 Class 4A tournament. The Eagles, seeded third with an 18-1-0 record, will play No. 30 Pueblo East (7-12-0). No. 19 D'Evelyn will face No. 14 Pueblo Central (12-7-0) in the other opening game.
Fifth-seed Wheat Ridge (13-6-0) faces No. 28 Pueblo Centennial (6-12-1) as host for Region 3 and No. 16 Golden (14-5-0) faces the challenge of playing No. 17 Berthoud (12-7-0) in the Region 1, Class 4A tourney in Erie.
Advancing to the state playoffs was an accomplishment for Arvada. The Bulldogs are 11-8-0 this season and the most wins Arvada managed in a single season over the previous seven years was six.
Arvada, seeded No. 29, plays No. 4 Pueblo West (15-3-0) in the Region 4 tourney at Runyon Field in Pueblo and No. 22 Ponderosa (9-10-0) will open against No. 11 Frederick (12-7-0) in the Region 6 event hosted by Mountain View at the Barnes Softball Complex in Loveland. No. 23 Holy Family (11-8-0) meets No. 10 Air Academy (14-4-0) in the Region 7 meet at Garden Acres Park in Longmont.
Twenty-four teams qualifyied for the Class 3A playoffs and No. 14 Faith Christian (10-9-0) plays No. 19 St. Mary's (10-9-0) in the Region 3 tournament, while No. 7 The Academy (15-4-0) will be at home to play the winner of the Cedaredge-Akron game in the Region 7 tournament.
Two fields must be available for a school to host a regional tournament so all the sites have yet to be determined.
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Mullen-cracks-Valor-softballs-winning-streak,236798
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