It wasn’t the season first-year coaches hope for. Durango softball head coach Sara Clair won her second game coaching last year against Montrose to start the season 1-1. After that, it was mostly downhill for the Demons. Durango won one of its next 10 games before winning two in a row at Basalt for the Demons’ third and fourth wins of the season. Then Durango lost its final seven games to finish the season 4-17 overall and 1-7 in the 5A/4A Southwestern League.
As tough as last year’s finish was, Durango softball only lost two seniors and has 10 returning players. Six of those 10 returning players are seniors and five of those seniors were starters last year. All the returners gained a lot of experience last year.
“Last year was my first year as head coach,” Clair said. “I was the assistant coach for varsity for five years a while back so it had been a minute. I felt like I had a couple of months to get the girls ready for the season. It was a lot. Now after having a year under my belt, I know what level I need to have them at and what we needed to work on. We worked hard in the offseason. These girls, especially the seniors, they were showing up all winter, we had bullpens all spring and they've been showing up working hard all summer.”
Clair specifically mentioned how the seniors are hungry to have a good year. One of the key seniors for the Demons this year will be catcher Karina Trujillo. Clair said Trujillo has grown into a leadership role despite being more introverted. She’s a role model on the team who plays her position very well.
Second baseman Ellie Casias is another senior who’s a leader. Clair said she’s someone who will carry the equipment and will rake up the field. Clair said Casias is someone who she wants younger players to aspire to be. She’s a very positive person.
Senior center fielder Molly Best is another senior who has led the younger right and left fielders. Clair complimented Best for being very coachable. Best was playing a lot of first base last year and Clair switched her to center field.
Durango will be led on the mound by junior pitcher Jenna Glueck. Clair said she’s gained 3-5 miles per hour in her pitches from the strength she gained from competing in track and field. Clair has worked with Glueck for about five years. She said Glueck has added a nice drop ball pitch to go with a great change-up and a good fastball. Glueck should be the Demons’ primary pitcher.
Another pitcher to watch on the roster is freshman Abigail Gordon. She moved to Durango from Texas three years ago and Clair worked with her since then. She said Gordon has a great drop ball, change-up and has worked on a curveball in the summer.
Clair, 46, was a Division I pitcher at the University of Dayton. She’s been using her arm to help prepare her hitters for the level of play they’ll see in the Demons’ league. Clair is excited to see her batters and said almost all of her seniors can hit homers. There have been a lot of home runs hit in practice.
Defensively, Clair thinks the Demons should be improved. Best has a great glove and is a great athlete who can throw runners out at home from center field. Casias can make some SportsCenter Top 10 type plays diving for fly balls. Senior Mya Trujillo will stand her ground at third base and knock down opponents if there’s a collision.
One of the reasons Clair said the team struggled was because Durango had a very tough schedule last year. She said the schedule this year won’t be as tough but the league games will still be challenging.
What also makes things tough is Colorado is in the minority by playing high school softball in the fall. This hampers the Demons’ ability to play teams in Farmington or in Arizona since New Mexico and Arizona don’t play in the fall. Bayfield doesn’t have a softball team so the nearest opponent is in Cortez.
Teams don’t want to come down to Durango and because of that, the Demons have their first six games on the road.
Regardless of where Durango is playing its games, the team looks to change a Durango softball program with one winning season in the last 10 years.
“We've talked a lot about controlling the controllables,” Clair said. “What we can control is our effort, our attitude, our toughness and grit. That has been a big focus. What I saw happen a lot last year was one error turns into two errors really quick or three errors. Then all of a sudden, you've got the snowball effect happening … It's a fast-moving game. You can't dwell on the error you just had. You've got to move on to the next one and be ready for that next pitch or the next hit coming at you on defense. In a mental place, our team is a lot stronger and there's so much more confidence.”
Durango begins its season with two games at Eagle Valley today at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
