BROOMFIELD >> High-level baseball is a privilege among the high school scene in Colorado, and at Class 5A’s seventh-ranked Broomfield on Thursday, fans didn’t have to wait long. Following seven thrilling innings, No. 17 Erie won 4-3.

In the bottom of the first inning, with the Eagles in an early 1-0 hole, Broomfield senior starting pitcher Maverick Scarpella stepped up to the plate looking to set the tone for the afternoon. It didn’t quite go as he had planned.

He did part of the job in reaching first base on a hard ground ball to right field, which brought Caden Williamson home from third with ease. With two runners on base, he wanted more.

“I was just trying to do damage, two runners in scoring position,” Scarpella said. “That’s how you win games. You get runs on the board. Really, I just wanted to drive those two in, find a way to get those two and keep batting on throughout the game.”

That didn’t sit right with Erie right fielder Jack Carnival, who launched the ball with stellar precision to his catcher Varek Van Aelstyne. Broomfield’s Jackson Shepherd sprinted home from second base on a bit of a Hail Mary. Van Aelstyne rejected the prayer with the tag at home, ending the inning in the process.

“I definitely wasn’t expecting it. Good piece of hitting,” Carnival said. “I got it and I saw him rounding third. I definitely didn’t expect to send him, but they did and I knew I had the arm for it, so I didn’t waver at all.”

Carnival has had plenty of practice with those in-game situations, adding, “It’s usually not a lot, but this season, it’s more. It’s occurred more than you’d think.”

The rest of the contest followed much of the same tit-for-tat pattern. Erie picked up a 3-1 lead in the top of the third thanks to a two-run base hit from Carnival, only to see that advantage evaporate with two more runs from Broomfield in the bottom of the same frame. Those were courtesy of a Brendan Fritch triple and a Scarpella base hit.

The Tigers found the opening they needed to pull out a victory in the top of the seventh, when Ronin Ward reached first on a throwing error, and then subsequently made it to third on another. Maddox Burnett brought him home with a no-drama sacrifice fly to right field before the Eagles defense wrapped the half-inning up. Broomfield’s offense couldn’t muster up enough of a response in the end.

The Eagles fell to 8-3 (1-1 in the Granite Peaks League) with the loss, having also suffered setbacks to No. 11 Rocky Mountain and a team out of Arizona, while the Tigers improved to 10-4 (2-2 GPL).

Carnival is excited to see where the rest of this season takes his senior-heavy Tigers team, especially as they’re wading through a lot of ups and downs with two losses over the past four games.

“(5A baseball) is next level,” he said. “You can tell, just being a senior this year, that the level’s definitely stepped up. Everything means a little bit more. Everybody tries a little bit harder. It’s fun. It’s a good environment to be around.”