Coaches and players often use the “nobody believes in us” card as a motivational tactic, whether true or not.
When Durango High School baseball coach Rob Coddington said it Wednesday, however, it wasn’t a ploy, wasn’t a tactic; it most likely was true.
It’s hard to see more than those directly associated with the program predicting a spot in the last four in Class 4A this weekend in Lakewood. After all, DHS entered regionals 9-10 and trailed 8-3 against Niwot as late as the sixth inning.
But since then, the Demons (13-11) have looked every bit the team they hoped to be to start the season. They scored 11 runs in the sixth inning to beat Niwot, then rolled Pueblo East 9-0 to advance to state. Once there, DHS stormed past Cañon City 19-5 before suffering a setback against top-seeded Pueblo West.
But a 9-8 walkoff win against Southwestern League foe and SWL champion Montrose put Durango into the final four, where the Demons will face Valor Christian at noon today in Lakewood.
“They played us tough every single game, and we just came out victorious when it mattered, you know?” said Ty Elliott, son of Ahne and Russ Elliott. “We played hard and beat them,” he said Wednesday.
A few different things have helped this squad coalesce at the absolute perfect time. The mistakes on defense that sporadically plagued DHS during the regular season have been cut to a minimum. The timely hitting has returned in force.
But it’s the Demons’ arms that may be having the biggest impact. Elliott has rounded back into form after fighting through ankle and back injuries and missing a good portion of the regular season. Ben Wiley shut out Pueblo East in the regional final before a bit of a hiccup against a good-hitting Pueblo West squad, and young arms Dayne Rowley (sophomore) and Lawrence Mayberry (freshman) kept DHS in striking range in the Montrose victory.
The key? Cutting down walks.
“Throw strikes, just throw strikes,” said catcher Isiah Mayberry, son of George and Tonya Mayberry. “That’s all we’ve been asking for a long time. We’ve been putting it out there and just letting them hit it.”
The emergence of younger players to complement an older stable of arms has been critical as well. Rowley and Lawrence Mayberry were integral in the elimination-game victory, and sophomore Casey Dunlap had a serious breakout performance last weekend on the big stage, going 8-for-12 with 10 runs batted in and a pair of home runs in three games.
Familiarity should help this weekend. DHS will make the same trip, stop for a practice on the same field in Salida, stay in the same hotel, eat at the same restaurants. They’ll also play at the same park, All-Star Park, in Lakewood.
The opponent also will be familiar. Valor Christian edged DHS 12-11 on April 19 in Montrose. So both teams also will know what to expect from their foe heading in.
“They both know what to expect. I think they’re going to come in gunning, and I think we’re going to do the same,” Coddington said.
Three wins. That’s all that separates Durango from its first state title in baseball since 1996. The players, however, didn’t seem rattled by the magnitude of their upcoming undertaking. Just cooly confident. After all, how many people actually expected them to make it this far?
“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet, but hopefully we can get a few more wins and get a state championship under our belt,” Isiah Mayberry said.
rowens@durangoherald.com
