Four teams are set to vie for one spot in the state baseball tournament.
The Durango Demons are thankful to be the team hosting the three-game district tournament this Saturday at Ray Walden Memorial Field.
Durango High School (11-8) earned a No. 7 seed in the Class 4A postseason, giving the Demons the right to host a district tournament.
Joining the Demons in District 6 are No. 10 Ponderosa (9-10), No. 23 Rifle (12-7) and No. 26 Eagle Valley (10-8-1). DHS will open with a game against Eagle Valley at 10 a.m.
“We are happy to be playing at home, sleeping in our own beds and playing in front of our home crowd,” DHS head coach Rob Coddington said Thursday night. “We are excited to go at it with Eagle Valley, and we hope to make it to a second game against either Ponderosa or Rifle.”
The Demons haven’t played Eagle Valley since March 15, 2013, a game DHS won 13-2 in five innings. Coddington, too, was able to see the Devils play earlier this season.
“We know a bit about them, and we know they have a good pitcher in Travis Edgar,” Coddington said. “He is a big, tall kid who throws hard.”
Edgar, a senior, stands 6-5 and carries a 2.38 earned-run average and 4-0 record in 15 appearances this season.
The Demons have a team ERA of 6.07, but strong starts late in the season by Blake Dunlap, Casey Dunlap and Lawrence Mayberry have made Coddington confident in his rotation.
“We still are working on some lineup options, but Blake, Casey and Lawrence have all given good innings lately,” Coddington said. “We will look to those three to be our main guys.”
Regardless of what pitcher the Demons face, the team is more than confident in its potent offense that is hitting .354 this season with eight home runs. The team also is quick on the basepaths, stealing 32 bags.
Blake Dunlap boasts a .439 batting average with two homers, three triples and 19 runs batted in. Casey Dunlap leads the team with a .455 batting average and another two home runs. Isiah Mayberry has slugged to a .441 batting average with one homer and two triples with 20 RBIs, and Jeremy Szura has a .435 average with one homer and five triples to go with 23 RBIs.
“Our kids are willing to swing it; they are always aggressive at the plate,” Coddington said. “We will continue to look for our pitch and take care of business.”
Eagle Valley is hitting .351 as a team with five home runs this year. The Devils have stolen 34 bases.
Coddington knows any team is dangerous in the district tournament, where it is win and advance or lose and go home. He said the Demons won’t take any team lightly.
“When you get into districts, it is anyone’s game. We were 9-10 last year and won our district, and we know any team can do that to us, too,” he said. “Last year, we were a 12-seed and made the final four and won district handily. Our guys don’t really care about the seed; they are just ready to get after people.”
If the Demons can win Saturday morning, they would face the Ponderosa-Rifle winner at 3 p.m. for the right to go to the elite eight of the state tournament in Denver.
Ponderosa carries a .348 team batting average and 3.96 team ERA.
“We played Ponderosa a few years ago in summer ball. They play in a strong league and are well-coached,” Coddington said.
Rifle enters the weekend with a .319 team batting average and a team ERA of 3.21. The Bears are quick on the basepaths, with 49 steals this season.
“Rifle won’t give you any breaks. You have to play them hard,” Coddington said. “If we get there, it won’t matter who we play. It is always competitive baseball, and I think it is the toughest weekend of the year.
“It is a whole different level of baseball when teams are playing for their lives.”
One year removed from a final four trip, Coddington is hoping his experienced squad can make another run and get to Denver.
“Last year, it was a lot of fun for the kids, fans and community,” he said. “We would like to give ourselves a shot to get back again and represent the town and show the state that our team means business.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
