LAKEWOOD >> If you’re looking at the barrel of a bat, the difference between where Broomfield senior Nate Wochner connected on a grand slam compared to his bases-loaded sacrifice fly Friday afternoon are negligible.

“Very little,” he said of the contrast. Which in turn, could have been used to describe the margin between a two-game split rather than two straight wins for the Eagles on the opening day of the eight-team, Class 5A state tournament.

“We just have to go into tomorrow and play our best,” said Wochner, whose team will look to stave off elimination Saturday after it beat Fossil Ridge, 5-2, and fell to Grandview, 5-4, Friday at All-Star Park.

At 6-foot-5, built like a prospect destined for the bigger stage, Wochner’s grand slam proved the decisive blow for the No. 5 Eagles in their comeback win over the fourth-seeded SaberCats.

Nearly duplicating it with the bases juiced in the first inning against the top-seeded Wolves, though, he settled for a really long sacrifice fly.

“An inch,” and “probably less than that,” was the difference at contact, he said.

Now, the Eagles will need to win Saturday — either against No. 3 Arvada West or No. 7 Rocky Mountain at 11:30 a.m. at All City Stadium — to advance to next weekend, where they can win the 5A title for the second time in four years.

Wochner’s power surge is among the reasons they’re a step closer.

In Broomfield’s first game of the day, the Brigham Young University commit connected so well on a pitch from Fossil Ridge’s Brek Benedict in fourth inning, he was but a few steps out of his swing before he and his teammates exploded into full-frenzy mode.

In the second game, he nearly popped another. Broomfield loaded the bases on Grandview’s Jax Pfister before the senior could record his first out. The Eagles would score three in the frame — Wochner’s deep sac fly followed by sophomore JC Smith’s two-run single — but the Wolves were fortunate it wasn’t more.

Grandview responded with five runs off starter Ethan Zufall, then threw out the tying run at home on a game-ending double play in the seventh. It snapped Broomfield’s 15-game winning streak.

“Usually, it’s about 24 hours to think about the game and then forget about it,” senior Maverick Scarpella said. “But we have a game tomorrow, so it’ll be about 12 hours, forget about the game, and win one tomorrow.”

Scarpella got the win in Game 1, allowing two runs in 5 1/3 innings in his first start since throwing a 12-strikeout no-hitter in his team’s regional championship game six days prior.

When asked about his masterpiece earlier in the week, Scarpella in part credited his cool composure in those big moments to his belief in the bullpen behind him. Little did he know he was predicting what was just ahead.

Leaving with one out in the sixth against Fossil Ridge, there were runners in scoring position when Scarpella gave way to senior reliever Clayton Green. Green not only got out of that jam, he stranded two more on base in the seventh to seal the win.

“He came in and got the job done,” Scarpella said. “And that’s what Broomfield baseball is, really. Just pick up your teammates whenever you can.”

They’ll get another chance to do so Saturday.