Success in playoff baseball is usually measured on what team makes defensive plays.

Grand Junction turned a pair of rally stopping double plays on Grandview in the first game of Saturday’s Class 5A, Region 3 tournament, which led to a 4-1 Tigers win.

“The defense was a big part of it,” said Tigers pitcher Connor Dixon, who held Grandview to four hits in the first-round win. “I believe in my defense. They have my back for me always.”

The same can be said of Legacy in their 13-2 championship game win that prematurely ended Grand Junction’s season.

The Lightning turned double plays in the first and second innings to turn away Grand Junction uprisings.

Geoff Baldwin’s bases-loaded ground ball to Legacy third baseman Cameron Brown started an around-the-infield twin killing to snub a first-inning Tigers rally. Energized by the defensive stop, Legacy sent 10 batters to the plate in the bottom of the frame while ringing up a 5-0 lead before chasing Baldwin, the Tigers’ starting pitcher, to first base.

The same thing happened to Grand Junction in the second.

The Tigers filled the sacks again on Seth Quigley’s being hit by a Luke Bublitz pitch, a Legacy infield error and Bublitz walk — only to come up empty again.

The Tigers’ Chris Kelly lined a hard-hit ball to Legacy center fielder Justin Allen for the second out. After making the catch, Allen quickly whipped the ball to second where shortstop Colton Little forced out Eric Bergman back to second base to end the threat.

Baldwin put the Tigers on the board with a massive two-run home run that hit the batter’s screen beyond the center field fence. It was the only runs they were able to post on
Bublitz and reliever Michael Oberto, who pitched two shutout innings from the fifth on.

After quashing one Legacy rally and throwing a scoreless third, Dylan Wiman, the second of Grand Junction four pitchers used in the loss, lost his effectiveness.

Legacy pounded out four hits, three for extra bases, on the Tigers senior to open a 9-2 lead.

Little, David Bauer and Bublitz all had RBIs in the four-run outburst. The three players had six of Legacy’s 15 hits in the game. The Lightning added two runs in next two innings for the final score.