The Durango Demons could use some good vibes right about now.
The Durango High School baseball team has run into a rough patch since starting the season 5-1, winning just once since – on a walk-off home run by Isiah Mayberry on April 5 against Grand Junction Central.
During this tough stretch, Durango (6-7, 1-4 Southwestern League) has been snakebit at times, losing one-run games to Fruita Monument and Grand Junction, the latter coming in a game in which DHS couldn’t hold off a furious Tigers’ rally in a 14-13 defeat. The only real blowout in the stretch was a 19-6 loss last weekend to the same Wildcats the Demons nearly edged at the Piedra Vista Tournament.
DHS head coach Rob Coddington said getting back on track is a matter of getting a couple of bounces and focusing on the simple things, particularly on defense and on the mound.
The DHS offense has taken an expected step back from the otherworldly pace it set early this season, but taking a “step back” to a .363 team average and a continued average of more than 10 runs per game isn’t exactly a precipitous dropoff.
“Throw strikes, keep hitting the ball the way we’re hitting it and play defense the way we were playing it, and I think we’ll be all right,” Coddington said.
“They’ve been playing hard in the games, but we’ve had a couple things not go our way ... Montrose didn’t have a hit against us (Saturday) until the fifth. We just had a few too many walks.”
Getting back in the win column this weekend would go a long way toward keeping hopes of a third consecutive postseason berth alive. Durango will host rival Montezuma-Cortez at 3:30 p.m. Thursday before traveling to Montrose on Friday to take on Valor Christian in a nonconference matchup.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us Thursday. Cortez is playing very well this year. They always come here to play, and they’ve got good athletes,” Coddington said of the Panthers, who touched Bayfield High School ace and Colorado Mesa signee Clay Miller for four hits and the left-hander’s first two earned runs of the season.
Miller still struck out nine, and BHS picked up a 14-2 win in five innings.
A good pitching weekend would be important both for the win-loss record and the mental side of things. The offensively proficient SWL has made life difficult on the Demons, who carry a team earned-run average of 7.52. DHS also has walked 68 batters against just 55 strikeouts. Limiting the free passes should bring the ERA down as DHS comes down the stretch.
The Durango skipper said his team’s run of unfavorable results hasn’t manifested itself in practice as the Demons have kept on point in their effort to try and end the season on a streak of a different kind. A bounce here, a clutch hit there, and things could be a bit different. But DHS is focused now on taking care of what it can control and hoping the things it can’t fall its way.
“Keep doing what we’re doing and hope we get a bounce and break. ... A lot of them are out there early. They’re ambitious kids; they really want to win,” Coddington said.
rowens@durangoherald.com
