MetroWest staff

    ARVADA – The Prairie View Yankees 13AA baseball team wound up second in the USSSA state championships at Pioneer Park.

    The Yankees’ first win of the day came against the Columbine Rebels. Coach Kevin Blount gave credit to strong pitching from Caleb Dameron and Kyle Everett.  The second game didn’t go the Yankees’ way. But catcher Dustin Martin poked a 320-foot home run and stole home in the last inning of the game. Kyle Everett, who spent most of the summer on the mound, provided a strong effort, according to Blount.

    “The boys have been coming together for the last three weeks, and pool play helped us get a good seed for bracket play,” said assistant coach K.C. Everett.

    When bracket play began, Kyle Blount took the mound and pitched 2 1/3 innings against the Colorado Coyotes, a former state champion. He struck out two.

    Kyle Everett and Junior Guerrero finished up the pitching chores, and the Yankees won the game 9-6. Tommy Moore celebrated his birthday that day with a double and three RBIs against his former team.

    In the quarterfinals, the Yankees squared off against Chatfield, one of the top teams in the Jefferson County Baseball League. Prairie View scored four runs in the first inning. Starting pitcher Caleb Dameron doubled. Kyle Blount singled him home for the first run. Dameron threw a complete game as the Yankees won 11-3.

    Catcher Zach Kenyon threw out a Chargers’ runner at second base. Garrett Dalyrmple added a double and, according to coach Blount, played a strong game at second base. Alex Stevenson added a scoring fly ball, and Austin Rupple chipped in with an RBI single.

    In the semifinals, the Yankees and the Cherry Creek Scarlets met again. Prairie View beat the Scarlets in a tournament earlier in the summer. Kyle Blount drove in Dameron with the game’s first run. Tommy Moore had an RBI triple, and Alex Schlihs drove in Moore.         Despite a pair of weather delays, the Yankees won the rematch. Kyle Everett struck out two.

    Kevin Blount said continuous hard work paid off.

    “The group that finished second continued to work hard even though we were playing in a league one division up and struggled,” he said. “They kept listening to the coaches and doing the hard work they had to in order to get better.

    “I am just so proud of the effort our kids gave. What a great accomplishment to finish in second place in state.”