Six shots: Do any of the 6 teams from BVSD, SVVSD and Broomfield have enough firepower to win the softball state title?

Six teams from the Boulder, Broomfield and Longmont areas are headed to this weekend’s state softball tournament.

The 5A, 4A and 3A classifications will play their respective brackets of 16 teams over two days at Aurora Sports Park. The first two rounds will take place on Friday, followed by the semi-finals and championship matches on Saturday.

Broomfield leads the way for the local teams, coming in second in the 5A playoffs with a perfect 25-0 record. No team in the state’s top classification has finished with a perfect record since at least before 2011, which is as far back as reliable statistics have been publicly available.

No. 11 Erie joins the Eagles in 5A.

No. 5 Holy Family and No. 12 Niwot meet in the first round of the 4A bracket. Mead is in 16th place.

Lyon is ranked eighth in 3A.

Below is a quick overview of each of them.

Class 5A

No. 2 Broomfield Eagles

First round match: No. 15 Rock Canyon. The teams last met in 2022, when the Eagles beat the Jaguars in the regular season and regional tournament.

What to know: The Eagles (25-0) have a pretty good argument to be seeded No. 1 in the bracket. In the final game of the regular season, they defeated Cherokee Trail, which remained 5A’s top seed in the Colorado High School Activities Association Selection and Ranking Index despite its four losses. Regardless, Broomfield has been dominant in 2024, hitting .475 with a team ERA of 1.21.

Player to know: Ireland junior ace Heer is 14-0 with a 0.70 ERA in 80 1/3 innings. She and the team’s No. 2 pitcher, Delaney Meehan (2.07 ERA in 40 2/3 IP), make up one of the best pitching duos in the state.

#11 Erie Tigers

First round match: No. 6 Riverdale Ridge. The teams met last year during the regular season when the Tigers lost 8-4.

What to know: The Tigers (18-8) got some important pieces from last year’s second-place finish in 5A, including player of the year Addie Osborne and their top two pitchers. After a slow start to the season, they won 14 of their final 15 games of the regular season, then advanced to the No. 5 Legend Regional Tournament’s second qualifying spot.

Player to know: Senior Lyric DeLozier is hitting .458 with 24 RBIs and 35 runs scored. In last weekend’s regional tournament, she drove in eight points as the Tigers lost to Legend, but beat Brighton twice.

Softball: Erie flattens Longmont with deadly attack

Class 4A

No. 5 Tigers of the Holy Family

First round match: n°12 Niwot. The Tigers defeated the Cougars, 4-1, on September 3. Isabella Arroyo, two-time BoCoPreps.com Player of the Year, had four hits and allowed one unearned run in seven close innings in the victory.

What to know: Qualified for the state tournament every season since 2018, the fifth seed is the Tigers’ lowest ranking (19-6) during that span. But after winning the regional championships, they said they accepted the role of underdog. And at least on paper, they have a shot at their first state title since 2021, when they won their third title in four seasons.

Player to know:Arroyo. A decorated player since serving as the team’s ace during its 2021 title run, the University of Tulsa commit has a 1.50 ERA in 98 innings. Perhaps even more impressive, though, is that she’s hitting .541 — and that’s after she switched from right-handed to left-handed shortly before the season started.

Brooms: Holy Family and Broomfield advance to the state softball tournament after sweeping their regional tournaments

Niwot Cougars n°12

First round match: No. 5 Holy Family.

What to know: The Cougars (16-9) are back in the state tournament for a second straight season despite getting their two best bats from last year. Three of their top five hitters in slugging percentage this season are underclassmen. In the circle, Kianna Butler has been one of the best throwers in the state.

Player to know: Butler. She owns a 1.37 ERA over 127 2/3 innings and is tied with Lyon’s Gretta Wynja for the state lead in strikeouts with 213.

Softball: Kianna Butler gives Niwot its best start since 2012

No. 16 Mead Mavericks

First round match: No. 1 Lutheran. The teams have not met in recent history.

What to know: The Mavericks (14-12) play at their best in October, where they have won five of six. They beat No. 12 Niwot in their regular season finale, then No. 12. 8 Roosevelt to get out of its regional tournament. Of course, opposing Lutherans is a tall order. The Lions have lost just once since winning their third straight title a year ago.

Player to know: Senior Nikki Ward is hitting .489 with 35 RBIs and three home runs. She leads a powerful offense that hits .401 and hits .583.

Softball: Mead defeats Niwot in regular season finale

Class 3A

No. 8 of the Lyon Lions

First round match: No. 9 Wellington. The Lions beat Wellington, 14-12, when they met in late August. Just like they did in last weekend’s regional final, they rallied in the seventh inning in this victory.

What to know: The Lions (17-8) are rallying at the right time of the season, averaging 12.7 points during their current six-game winning streak. Sophomore Ava Vasquez helped lead the way with 13 hits and 14 RBIs in that span. On Saturday, they upset regional host The Academy with an eighth-inning seventh.

Player to know: Wynja. The state’s co-leader with Niwot’s Butler (213) has pitched every inning for the Lions this season. She has a 2.05 ERA in 143 2/3 frames.

Magic eight ball: Lyon softball organizes a huge rally to upset the Academy and win the regional title