Sargent's Ryan Davis (left) pitches to Maguire Peterson of Sanford (right) during the 1A District 1 Championship on Friday. Sargent would take the contest by a score of 12-7 and will advance to the 1A Regional Tournament.(Courier photos by Stephen Jiron)

ALAMOSA — The District tournament to decide who would represent District 1 in the 2A regional playoffs next week was under way on Friday. Sargent picked a win one over Del Norte in a 23-1 game to advance. Sanford defeated Center 14-9 to get into the championship game. The final game between Sargent and Sanford, wrapped with a 12-7 win for Sargent.

All eight districts send one team the 16-team bracket with the remaining eight spots being earned off RPI. The result is a regional tournament that feeds directly into the State Championship.

Friday morning started with the semifinal matchups led by Del Norte and Sargent, which was a lopsided affair. Del Norte started off well, getting on the board in the first frame with a run from Juan Rodriguez. Rodriguez was advanced home on loaded bases when Nicholas Davis was hit by a pitch to force the run.

After that it was all Sargent. Five runs in the first were followed by 13 in the second and another five in the third to total 23 unanswered for Sargent. The fourth and fifth innings passed quietly to bring an end to the morning’s contest.

Sanford's Max Salazar (top)  tags Tejay Kemery of Center (bottom) out at second base during Sanford and Center's semifinal meeting Friday afternoon. Sanford took a 14-9 victory to  enter the district championship.

The second semifinal match was between Center and Sanford. Thanks to a few errors Sanford was able to cash in 9 runs off inside-the-park home runs. All three took nestled into 400-foot mark on Adams State’s diamond. Sanford junior Thad Jackson led his team with 6 RBI in the contest and a .750 batting average. Maguire Peterson picked up the win for Sanford throwing a 4.20 ERA and five strikeouts. While the Vikings were able to claw back with a 5-run fourth inning the damage had been done, the Championship would take place between Sanford and Sargent.

In the championship Sanford struck first with their first at bat. Dalton Gartrell scored Guy Larson on a basehit. Sargent answered in the second inning with nine runs on their way through cycling the batting order.

Jacob Deacon, Sargent(right) and Nicholas Davis, Del Norte  (left) watch  the ball sail after Deacon makes connection in the first game of Friday's Tournament. Sargent won the morning game 23-1.

Both teams would add runs en route to the fifth inning where the game took a competitive turn. With an eight run deficit Sanford got their bats going. Larson would bat in two runners with a single to center  field. Nate Ortiz followed suit with a double to center field that scored two. Ortiz later got home himself on a wild pitch to make it a 10-7 game in Sargent’s favor.

The Farmers delivered a back-breaker in the bottom of the sixth inning in the form of Jacob Deacon. Trevor Milne earned a base on balls ahead of Deacon’s at-bat. Deacon got underneath a change up and sent it over the left field fence for his third home run of the season taking Milne along for the ride. The two runs were the last of the game giving Sargent their second district championship in as many years.

Up next for Sargent will be the Regional Tournament. While they will wait for seeding and bracket building, Sargent can plan on a Pueblo trip to the Runyon Complex on May 18-19.

Editors Note: This story has been edited to reflect a correction with regard to those pictured.