NHS baseball reunion

Twenty-five years ago, the Niwot High School baseball program won its first state title, winning the Class 4A championship game with a mercy-rule 5-inning 14-0 victory over Broomfield. A celebration of that first state title as well as the 50-year program is scheduled for Saturday Sept. 23 at 12 noon at the NHS baseball field as part of Homecoming Week.

Senior Eric Larson led off the 1998 championship game with a homerun, and sophomore Mike Moat pitched a shutout. That marked the first of five state titles in an 8-year span, with titles in 1999, 2000, 2004 and 2005 to follow, all under veteran coach Bob Bote.

Moat went on to win the next two title games on the mound as well, setting a Colorado high school record at the time for the most championship victories by one pitcher, a record later broken by Seattle Mariners pitcher Marco Gonzalez from Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins, who won four.

Moat is now part of the board of directors of Niwot Baseball, Inc., along with former player and coach Connor Messinger, former parent and supporter Bill Hake, current NHS coach Ken Rosales, and former parent and current assistant coach Biff Warren.

The Niwot High baseball program got back into postseason play last year as a 27th seed, and knocked off the 7th-seeded Lewis-Palmer team on Lewis-Palmer's home field, before falling to conference foe Riverdale Ridge by one run in the next round.

Coach Ken Rosales and the supporting non-profit organization, Niwot Baseball, Inc., will honor the 1998 squad and other alums at a Niwot Baseball Alumni Reunion at the Niwot High baseball field, with a barbeque and an opportunity for an alumni exhibition game.

Former players are encouraged to bring their bats and gloves for an alumni game to go along with hotdogs, hamburgers and soft drinks. The high school team plans to invite alums to a game next spring as well.

Current and former players, coaches and family members are invited to attend, as well as parents and fans who have supported the program over the last 50 years. Those attending are asked to RSVP to lefthandsports@hotmail.com. Coach Rosales and the NHS team plan to barbeque hamburgers and hotdogs at the field, which has recently been renovated to improve the infield.

The organization is also kicking off a fundraising campaign to purchase maintenance equipment and replacement equipment, and has received a $10,000 anonymous donation toward the $40,000 fundraising goal.

The program also plans to invite alumni to attend a NHS game in the spring to continue to reconnect with former players and supporters. For more information, call Biff Warren at 303-652-2433.