Lions roar to state tournament

WASHINGTON - The press clippings will crinkle over time, but the memory of Levi Saterfield's championship effort will never fade for the Lone Tree baseball team.

Saterfield, a three-year starting catcher, threw out three runners at second base and hit a run-scoring double to lift the Lions past Burlington Notre Dame 2-1 in the Class 1A Substate 5 final at Washington High School. Lone Tree (21-6) earned its first state tournament berth since 2001 and only its second in school history.

Defense was crucial to the Lions' victory, and Saterfield's play was pivotal. He threw out a runner at second base by several feet to end the first inning. He also nabbed Notre Dame (17-10) runners in the fourth and fifth innings.

'Their coach came to me before one of the innings and said, ‘Young sir, we are done running on you for tonight,'” Saterfield said. 'I was like, ‘Ah, come on. I like it.' He was like, ‘I bet you do.'”

But Saterfield's offense also was vital. In the fourth inning, he drove home the game's first run on a full count with a one-out double to the left-field corner, scoring Ty Robertson.

'He doesn't get his name in the paper a lot because he's not one of our offensive leaders,” Lone Tree Coach Steve Gibson said. 'Defensively, he is indispensable. You saw that tonight. The thought of the Lone Tree baseball team without him behind the plate is a scary thought because he's like an assistant coach on the field. He does so many things that I don't even need to worry about.”

Lone Tree pushed the lead to 2-0 in fifth when Jovonte Squiers scored on sacrifice fly from Ty Schillerstrom. But Notre Dame wasn't done quite done yet, scoring a run in the sixth and loading the bases with two outs in the seventh. But Lone Tree starting pitcher Erik Murry (8-2) forced Notre Dame's Jacob Smith to ground out to end the game.

Lone Tree's full bleacher section emptied into the playing field after the final out. Through happy tears, Murry hugged his father, Garth, near the pitcher's mound where he scattered five hits and struck out seven.

'It's still unreal,” Murry said. 'Just finding the words for it is almost impossible. Just knowing that there have been so many great teams that have come out of Lone Tree, so many great ballplayers, but knowing that this team made it with who play, all the people who stepped up throughout the year, just made it more special.”

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