The playoff race begins now for the Durango Demons.
Fresh off its first Southwestern League victory, the Durango High School baseball team will face a tough weekend series against two of the premiere teams in the SWL: Fruita Monument and Montrose.
After a 12-10 upset victory against Grand Junction Central (10-3, 3-2 SWL), the Demons (5-5, 1-3 SWL) entered the wild-card standings ranked No. 10 in Class 4A going into this weekend’s games.
“Any win right now will help us stay in that playoff picture,” DHS head coach Rob Coddington said. “We have to stay as high as we can in those wild-card rankings, and I know our strength of schedule is as good as anyone else’s in the state.”
DHS will begin its weekend series against Montrose (7-2, 2-2 SWL). Though the Indians have dropped two consecutive games to Fruita Monument and Grand Junction Central, they remain ranked No. 1 in the CHSAANow.com Class 4A poll, as of April 7.
Montrose defeated the Demons 16-0 in a run-rule game March 29 in Montrose. The Demons were two-hit in that game by Indians’ ace Tyrus Lopez, but Coddington isn’t certain his team will face Lopez again Friday.
“They are well-coached, and we always know we are in a game when we play them. We have to play good every time we see them,” Coddington said of the Indians. “I am not sure (what pitcher) we will see; I just want good at-bats and for the kids to keep a good approach at the plate.”
The Demons have swung solid bats all season. Blake Dunlap leads the team with a .500 average with 11 runs scored, 10 runs batted in and one home run. Jeremy Szura is hitting .486 with 18 RBIs, 12 runs scored, three doubles, three triples and one home run, and Casey Dunlap is hitting .481 with 13 runs scored.
“We are swinging a hot stick. Guys are taking a good approach, and we have had a really good week of practice,” Coddington said. “We just want that to roll over into this weekend’s games.”
That solid hitting was on display when the Demons scored 11 runs in one inning against Fruita Monument, but defensive errors and inconsistent pitching plagued DHS in the game as they lost 18-17. That loss left a bad taste in the mouths of the Demons.
“I am counting down the minutes and seconds until we get to play them again,” DHS senior Riley Jaye said of the Wildcats after last Saturday’s win against the Warriors.
The Demons’ six combined errors against Fruita Monument and Montrose carried over into a disappointing 10-6 loss to Grand Junction, a game in which DHS allowed only four hits to the Tigers but had five fielding errors while hitting six opposing batters with pitches.
After that loss, the Demons rallied together, and the coaching staff made some lineup adjustments. Those moves translated into the two-run victory against Grand Junction Central.
“We will be a new team for the rest of the season,” Blake Dunlap said Saturday after the Demons’ victory.
Coddington is unsure of what his pitching rotation will be this weekend. Ben Wiley had a no-hitter through 5 2/3 innings against Grand Junction last Friday, but he hit four batters with pitches, and that didn’t help his cause. Dayne Rowley pitched three strong innings against Grand Junction Central, and Lawrence Mayberry also had a good showing in three innings of work against the Warriors.
“I am not sure what our rotation will look like. I have talked to those kids and have an idea in my head, but we will work through it as a team and figure out what we want to do,” Coddington said.
Coddington has been impressed by his team’s attitude and play during the last week of practice. He said the team is ready to enjoy being on the diamond while working as hard as they can to make a run toward the playoffs.
“The whole team has had a great week of practice. We want to go out and enjoy the next couple of days and appreciate the fact we are out playing baseball,” Coddington said. “I think we will come after both teams with an aggressive approach.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
