Area players enjoy treat with game at Coors field

DENVER - On Sunday, a crowd of 32,256 took in the Colorado Rockies' game at Coors Field. While only a couple of hundred fans stuck around once that game ended, it didn't spoil the day for the state's best high school seniors.

    "Just to be in this atmosphere, stands everywhere," Air Academy pitcher Dexter Price said. "The dugouts, a wonderful stadium. Dugouts, were not even used to that. It's awesome to come out and play on this field."

    Fifty of the state's best were invited to play in the annual Senior Top 50 Game. Golden's Tony De-Carlo capped an 8-7 victory with a bases-loaded single for the Rockies, who scored four in the seventh inning.

    "We came out excited to play," Price said. "We got down there in the seventh inning. Then we got the bases loaded and it was like we have a chance here."

    Dion DeHerrera of Pueblo Central hit a three-run homer off Fountain-Fort Carson's Shayne Hulce in the third to give Colorado a 3-2 lead. DeHerrera's 400-foot blast cleared the right-center field wall.

    Hulce wasn't overly critical of his performance.

    "I did pretty well besides giving up that three-run bomb," he said.

    And his teammates came through with the late rally.

    "It was awesome," he said. "Before the inning we were like, ‘We got this.'"

    Price and Hulce were among eight area players in the game. Others included Air Academy's Ron Burton and Ross Yeager, Doherty's Kristopher Ogawa, Lewis-Palmer's Bobby Hansen, St. Mary's Will Percy and Calhan's Ben Doran.

    Despite the one bad pitch, Hulce left with plenty of good memories.

    "Before the game I saw (Rockies first baseman) Todd Helton come out of the locker room, which was pretty exciting," he said. "I was pretty shocked."