NHS baseball racks up post season awards

Five Niwot High School Cougars received Longs Peak Conference postseason baseball awards, which were announced by NHS Head Coach, Ken Rosales.

Leading the way were juniors Haden Shaw, Charlie Shaw, and Kaige Kennedy, who were named first team All-Conference. Haden Shaw caught most of the varsity games this season, but also took a turn on the mound when needed. He led the Cougars with a .507 batting average and had a team-high 27 RBIs. He received Honorable Mention All-State honors as well.

Charlie Shaw was a fixture in the Cougar outfield, hitting .412 at the plate, third-best on the team, with a team-high two home runs and 24 RBIs, second only to his brother. Kennedy, in his first year on varsity, hit .471, second highest on the team, and became the closer for the Cougars, while also seeing time in the infield. Kennedy struck out 47 hitters, tops on the team, in only 37 and one-third innings.

Senior pitcher Brock Rothstein was named Honorable Mention as was sophomore pitcher Henry Noblin. Both saw action in the Cougar infield as well. Rothstein led the team in victories, posting a 5-2 win-loss record, with a 2.68 ERA. He also hit .388 at the plate and scored a team-high 37 runs while stealing a team-leading 22 bases without being caught. Noblin hit .250 at the plate and posted a 2.15 ERA, striking out 30 batters in 29 and one-third innings before an injury curtailed his season.

The injury bug hampered junior Jagger Kilpatrick, who had a 2-0 win-loss record, striking out more than a batter per inning while not allowing an earned run in five appearances before being shut down on the mound. Kilpatrick served as a designated hitter and posted a .278 batting average, seeing action in only 16 of 24 games due to injury. Senior Sergio Pimentel, who anchored the infield at shortstop, was also hampered by an eye injury for much of the season, which affected him both in the field and at the plate.

This season's Cougars were a very young team, with only two seniors who started. By the end of the season, sophomores Jack Schrock and Jude Schechter were playing regularly in the infield.

On the academic side, several Cougars received All-State Academic honors. Rothstein, as well as fellow seniors Bo Gardner and Julian "Johnny" Wu were named to the first team, along with juniors Charlie Shaw and Drew Stapp. Junior Arlo Richards received Honorable Mention All-State Academic honors.

Gardner and Wu spent their first season with the Niwot varsity in 2024, and served in backup roles while supporting their teammates. Stapp, a lefthander, played first base, outfield, and pitched for the Cougars, while Richards was described by Coach Rosales as the hardest working player on the team, holding down centerfield in most games. Stapp and Richards hit .286 at the plate, tied for fifth-best on the team.

The Cougars finished the season with a 13-11 record overall, and a 9-9 conference record. They made the Class 4A playoffs and were down only 10-9 in the sixth inning against fourth-seed Palisade High School before losing 17-10 in the first round.

At the postseason baseball banquet, Rosales announced that the team had raised over $85,000 towards the cost of improvements, equipment, and repairs to the baseball facility. Cougar players and coaches will conduct a week-long camp for young ballplayers from June 10-14 for Niwot Youth Sports.