Riverdale Ridge celebrates the second of two, three-run homers hit against Berthoud during a CHSAA 4A regional playoff game Oct. 15 at Riverdale Ridge High School. The Ravens advanced to the state tournament in Aurora, beating the Spartans 10-0.

Stefan Brodsky

THORNTON – The Riverdale Ravens’ softball team is flying on to the state tournament, and the Ravens are doing it with swagger.

Fourth-rated Riverdale Ridge cruised through the class 4A Region 4 District tournament Oct. 15. The Ravens rolled by No. 29 Evergreen 14-4 and then flew by No. 13 Berthoud 10-0.

“I am so proud of this team,” Ravens’ coach Ray Garza said. “They work so hard in the offseason, and I’m just blessed to be a part of this group.”

Riverdale Ridge (22-3 overall) will have its work cut out next week at the class 4A state tournament with a tough slew of competition up and down.

Amongst the top of the competition is No. 1-rated Lutheran, which defeated Riverdale Ridge in a tough 1-0 defeat earlier this year, and Holy Family, the team that knocked Riverdale out of the playoffs last season.

“(Class) 4A has a lot of competition,” Garza said. “It’s going to be tough. Any of the 16 teams can win, it is entirely possible. We are just going to ride it out and bring our ‘A’ game.”

The Ravens brought their game Saturday. They got off to a slow start against Evergreen, allowing the Cougars to score three runs in the first inning. But Riverdale started to pull away in the third with a seven-run inning to go up 11-4. The Ravens sealed the win in the fifth with a pair of runs.

Sophomore Jazmyn Sandoval led the way with three hits and four RBIs. Zoie Linville and Madyson Ortiz also had a pair of RBIs and scored two runs. Neila Lucero added a pair of runs too.

The Ravens carried the momentum into their contest against Berthoud and put the Spartans in a big hole early.

Aubree Davis and Ganessa Duran each hit a pair of three-run home runs in the first inning, and Linville scored on a passed ball to give the Ravens a 7-0 advantage after the first.

With the big lead behind her, Riverdale’s outstanding sophomore pitcher, Brynn Trujillo, was cooking on the mound. She struck out 12 batters in the contest and shut down 11 batters in the row. Only two Spartans got in scoring position in the contest, but Trujillo and the Ravens stout defense left the runners stranded.

Junior Tegan Medina sealed the victory with a solo shot in the fifth.

“The strong start was very important. It gave us a big confidence boost and got us going,” Davis said. “I have complete confidence in our team, and we are just going to play our game (next week).”