A young group of athletes mixed with a few seniors who are used to winning make up the 2016 Durango High School baseball team.
Eric Baker is in his second season as head coach of the Demons after replacing Rob Coddington. Despite a 7-14 overall record a year ago, Durango still hosted a regional postseason tournament before falling to Evergreen in the regional title game. That loss ended a run of two consecutive final four appearances at the state tournament for Durango.
“I’m excited to get going,” Durango senior Lawrence Mayberry said. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. I want to get back to that final four and get after it. Have a good season and end my career on a good note.”
Mayberry is the unquestioned leader of the Demons. He plays a clean infield and will see valuable innings on the mound this season. He also provides some power to the lineup, especially after another year in head football coach David Vogt’s weight training program.
Mayberry, son of George and Tonya Mayberry, is joined by fellow seniors Dylan Carlson, Kyle Duran, Andrew Selser and Zach Szura.
Carlson is the team’s ace of the pitching staff, while Selser also will provide quality innings along with Mayberry. Joining them in the rotation are juniors Tyler Ruetschle and Peyton Woolverton.
“We should be deep at pitching even though we lost a lot of seniors and our top guys from last year,” Baker said. “Carlson and Selser have thrown a lot of innings, and Mayberry got plenty of time. Those guys are tough. Tyler and Peyton had success this summer in Connie Mack league, and those give guys will push each other.”
Baker said arms such as sophomore Gavin Mestas and junior Dakota Padoven will also allow the team to throw as many as eight boys if needed.
Offensively, the Demons have a lot of work to do to replace the power bat of Casey Dunlap, who belted seven home runs in 2015. Duran hit two homers a year ago and will provide some pop, and Mayberry is capable of the same.
Dunlap hit for a .532 average a year ago, with Duran the next closest with a .220 average.
“We’re gonna have to do some small ball. Put the ball on the ground and rely on speed and run things out,” Baker said. “We have to have our lineup putting the ball in play. Last year, that was a big problem for us. We can’t rely on home runs or one guy. We need everyone putting it in play.”
Team speed is something Baker is impressed with in his club so far, and he expects his team to steal a lot of bases and move each other around with bunts and hit-and-run opportunities.
The Demons will open play Friday against Eagle Valley in the first game of Montrose’s Lloyd McMillan Tournament. The Demons beat Eagle Valley 6-5 in the first round of the regional tournament last season. After that comes games against Fort Morgan and Bear Creek.
Baker doesn’t know what to expect from his young group right away this year, but he believes they will come along during the lengthy spring season.
“If we can put it together, we will be tough and give teams some challenges,” Baker said. “We have a chance of being good.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
