AURORA — The talented, relentless players on University’s softball roster had waited long enough.
And when junior Emma Zacheis saw the opportunity to finally end that wait for her and her teammates, the time for patience was over.
Zacheis showed zero hesitation on a pair of championship-seizing plays in the wanning moments of the top-seeded Bulldogs’ dramatic 5-4 victory over second-seeded Eaton during the Class 3A state softball finals Saturday at the Aurora Sports Park.
Using her ample speed, Zacheis charged the right-field foul line for a spectacular diving catch to retire the heart of the Reds’ potent lineup in the top of the seventh. The impressive defensive play sent the game into the final half-inning tied at 4.
Mere minutes later, Zacheis provided another pivotal, clutch moments when she led off the bottom of the seventh with an infield single.
One University standout senior, Sydney Goetzel, drilled a line drive to left field to advance Zacheis to third base. Then, in the next at bat with no outs on the board, another Bulldogs standout senior, Jasi Cole, blooped a single into the outfield to bring Zacheis home and ignite a celebration years in the making.
“I definitely knew we had to get the momentum back on our side,” said Zacheis, who hit 2 for 4 with two pivotal runs in the title game. “For sure, (the Reds) had a few great hits that gave them all the momentum. I could feel that. So, I knew I had to do something for my team to just get the momentum back on our side and give us the edge going into the bottom of the seventh.”
University junior infielder Jocelyn Chacon reaches for an overthrown ball at first base during the Bulldogs' 5-4 win over Eaton in the Class 3A state title game Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, at the Aurora Sports Park. (Joseph Sykes/For the Greeley Tribune)Zacheis and her University teammates played with the ultimate edge during their entire championship run.
On the final day of a hard-fought, deceptively challenging, 27-2 campaign, the Bulldogs actually had to engineer two comebacks en route to their second state softball title in school history.
In the semifinals, just a couple hours before the title-game victory against the Reds (24-5), University erased a slight midgame deficit to top fifth-seeded Wellington 6-3.
That shift was a little more sudden than that of the grind-it-out affair against Eaton. Trailing 1-0 against the Eagles, the Bulldogs scored four runs in the top of the third and never looked back.
Even though University racked up dominant win after dominant win this fall, Bulldogs coach Chris Hutton had the ultimate confidence in her team to play from behind when need be.
University junior infielder Emma Zacheis makes a running catch in foul territory during the Bulldogs' 5-4 win over Eaton in the Class 3A state title game Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, at the Aurora Sports Park. (Joseph Sykes/For the Greeley Tribune)“They have that tenacity to just come back and hit, hit, hit,” Hutton said of her strongminded team. “They’ve been resilient all year. They’ve come from behind in so many games this year. … It’s been a really solid season. We’ve had our ups and downs, but we’ve come through when we needed to.”
Eaton led 2-0 after the first inning before University scored three runs in the bottom of the third. The Reds again inched ahead, 4-3, with two runs in the top of the sixth inning before the Bulldogs took the lead for good in the final two innings.
In the most important game of the season, Hutton utilized a coaching strategy that help Valley to a 3A state title a decade-and-a-half ago when Hutton was part of Vikings head coach Kevin Miles’s staff.
University’s talented senior duo of Cole and Goetzel alternated each inning in the pitcher’s circle.
University senior Mia Whitcomb and her teammates celebrate after the Bulldogs' 5-4 win over Eaton in the Class 3A state title game Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, at the Aurora Sports Park. (Joseph Sykes/For the Greeley Tribune)Eaton, led by coach Chad Shaw, actually employed the same strategy with junior pitchers Bria Foster and Johanna Galvan, and sophomore Kenzie Braddy.
But it was ultimately the Bulldogs’ duo that teamed up to hold the Reds’ dangerous offense to four earned runs on eight hits, striking out seven and walking one.
Besides the fact that Cole and Goetzel have contrasting styles in the circle, another key factor that allowed Hutton’s bold strategy to work so well is the fact that neither of her star pitchers felt slighted in the least, having to share the spotlight in the biggest game of the season.
“We just complement each other so well,” Cole said. “We’ve been best friends ever since we were 8 years old. (Goetzel’s) spins and her offspeeds go well with my speed and whatever movement I have. I just really love working with her. And I think that’s why, in a way, it was easy to do that with her, because I love her so much.”
University senior infielder Natalie Galindo celebrates with her teammates during the Bulldogs' 5-4 win over Eaton in the Class 3A state title game Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, at the Aurora Sports Park. (Joseph Sykes/For the Greeley Tribune)Before Saturday, University had been the state runner-up three of the previous four seasons.
Two of those three title game losses were against the Bulldogs’ longtime rival, Eaton, which had won the previous three 3A state titles.
University’s five seniors felt the full brunt of those title runs that fell inches short, as they were part of both of those finals losses to the Reds.
But staring across the field against Eaton in the Aurora Sports Park one more time, Goetzel and the rest of her squad just refused to be denied this time around.
“We’ve been working for this for months,” Goetzel said. “This is what it’s all for, and we knew we were leaving everything on this field. There is no other game after this. It was all for this moment.
“We talked about leaving everything on this field, playing with no regrets. And, that’s certainly what we did.”
Hence then, the article about university refuses to be denied in softball title game win over rival eaton was published today ( ) and is available on GreeleyTribune ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( University refuses to be denied in softball title game win over rival Eaton )
Also on site :