FREDERICK – Air Academy’s trip to the Class 4A state tournament was a brief one.

And the Kadets felt it was a missed opportunity,

Windsor lefty Christian Montague held Air Academy to three hits and two runs – one earned – while throwing a complete game, as the No. 5 Wizards eliminated the No. 24 Kadets 3-2 at Frederick High School on Saturday in the double-elimination tournament.

“It was a good ride,” Air Academy senior Cole McKissock said. “We all love each other, it’s a tight-knit unit, so just a good experience. Wish we could’ve gone farther.”

A lack of lefties in the Colorado Springs area ended up doing in Air Academy’s playoff run.

“We haven’t seen lefties all year,” said Kadets senior Bailey Hansen, who drove in McKissock to cut the gap to 3-2 through six innings. “We saw one lefty at Cheyenne Mountain and nothing close to the two lefties we saw these last two days.

“It threw us off a lot. We don’t get that practice or work with them. … It’s hard to see a hard-throwing lefty late in the season like that.”

After McKissock scored on Hansen’s triple, Montague, who threw 99 pitches, got the next batter to end the inning, then set the Kadets (16-7) down in order in the top of the seventh to ice it.

A couple of gaffes in Friday’s game led to Air Academy falling in the tournament opener. On Saturday, three Kadets pitchers yielded 11 hits and two walks, but limited the damage by holding the Wizards (19-4) to three runs, despite Windsor putting the lead-off batter on in each of the first four innings.

The Kadets’ lineup couldn’t help the pitching staff, as Montague faced the minimum number of batters in four of the seven innings.

“Hits didn’t fall like we wanted,” McKissock said. “We’d hit it to the fence and they’d get caught. They’d hit it to the fence and it wouldn’t get caught.”

Air Academy took a 1-0 lead on a squeeze bunt in the top of the third. Windsor answered with a run in each of the next three innings to take an insurmountable lead.

“I feel like we could have (gone farther),” Hansen said. “I feel like the guys came in a little bit more nervous coming into these playoffs. … Just a new experience, pressure for sure.”

While the Kadets head home for the season, Hansen enjoyed it while it lasted.

“It’s been amazing,” Hansen said. “Great group of guys, fun to be around. The last few years we’ve just been missing that click with the team, and this year we really had it. I think that’s the reason we got so far.”