2024 Colorado High School Baseball State Championships Recap
Cherry Creek Sends Legendary Coach Marc Johnson Off in Style, Eaton Wins 4th State Title in a Row Capping Another Perfect Season
Photos above from CHSSA
All of the 2024 Colorado High School Baseball State Champions have a familiar ring to them.
For the ninth time, the Colorado State Baseball Playoffs ended with a win for the Cherry Creek Bruins and head coach Marc Johnson. Cherry Creek topped Regis Jesuit 5-2 in the championship game, held at All-Star Park in Lakewood, to send the legendary coach off after an incredible 52-year career coaching at Cherry Creek. During those 52 years, Johnson amassed 871 wins (most all time in Colorado), nine titles (most) and had 53 players selected for the MLB draft.
This title, though, was perhaps one of the more unlikely. In the double-elimination tournament, Regis beat Cherry Creek in the semi-finals by a score of 3-0, paving their way to the championship game and sending Cherry Creek to battle it out in the consolation bracket. It was there that they beat Grandview 11-9, setting up a rematch with Regis. The Bruins topped the Raiders 11-1 in game one setting up a winner-take-all championship.
After a scoreless first four innings, Cherry Creek started the scoring with two runs in the fifth and eventually took a 5-1 lead to the final inning. After Regis put a run on the board, Creek held on for a 5-2 victory as the rain started to fall and praise was showered upon Johnson.
“I’ve loved every second, every day that I’ve coached. Every kid I ever coached. I had guys here from the 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s,” Johnson spoke with reporters after the game. “It wasn’t because of me. It was because of these guys. It’s because of my coaching staff and my players. It’s because of all the people who believe. We love the family, our Cherry Creek baseball family.”
In 4A baseball, Holy Family defeated Pueblo County 13-6 for its fourth state title and first since 2014. For the Tigers, it represented their first title at the 4A level, as their previous three came as a 3A program.
In 3A, another familiar champion was crowned as Eaton defeated University 6-5 to capture their fourth consecutive state title. The win also pushed their state-record winning streak to an astounding 69 straight games. The Reds trailed throughout the entire game, from the first inning to the final inning until a walk-off hit from senior Lucas Stone.
In 2A, Denver Christian won its second-straight state championship with 2-1 win over Limon. Denver Christian also won in 1996, 2013 and 2023 making this their fourth in school history.
The Merino Rams won the 1A title, their second in program history, with a 10-9 win over the Akron Rams.
In other season-ending news, Trey Gregory-Alford, a senior at Coronado High School, was named Colorado's Gatorade Player of the Year. Gregory-Alford hit .492 with 7 HRs and 34 RBI while also pitching to a 2-0 record with one save and an impressive 94 strikeouts in 45.1 innings pitched
Congratulations to all the champions!
5A: Cherry Creek
4A: Holy Family
3A: Eaton
2A: Denver Christian
1A: Merino
At HitStreak, we are proud to have had several players and teams train at our facility this past spring. Congrats to all the players, coaches and families on a wonderful spring season and best of luck to all the graduating seniors as they continue forward in their academic and athletic careers.
Full info, brackets, results and more can be found at https://chsaanow.com/sports/baseball
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