After an abbreviated season in spring, the Durango softball team is looking forward to playing a full slate of games this fall. With nine returning varsity players, including seven seniors, the team is looking to continue bonding while aiming for a trip to the state playoffs.
“I’m excited to play more games and have overnight trips again,” said senior Mia Baguskas. “The spring was hard with only 16 games and only 16 teams making the playoffs.”
The Demons went 8-8 overall last year and 3-5 in the Southwestern League, finishing strong with victories over Montezuma-Cortez and a sweep against Montrose.
“We rolled over Montrose for the first time in a while,” Baguskas said.
“That was the first time we beat Cortez in a long time,” said senior Sydney Flores.
Ending last year on a positive note has the team excited about the upcoming season.
“It would be great to make the playoffs,” Baguskas said. “That’s been the goal the last couple years.”
“We were really close last year,” Flores said. “We might have made it (if the bracket was 32 teams).”
The team also returns four of the six players who earned all-conference second team honors last season, including Flores, Teagan Kehm, Alaysia Kremer and Meah Mordecai. Lily Longan and Sylvia Reyes also scored all-conference honors last year before graduating.
With a lot of girls returning and a strong freshman class that have been competing on the Durango Danger, the team’s chemistry will be one of its strengths this season.
“I think the team unity is awesome this year,” Flores said. “It’s great to see all of the new faces and everyone is super excited, especially since last year we only played about half the games (of a regular season).”
“Everyone has a really good attitude and nobody is pulling anyone down,” Kehm said.
Head coach John Bernazzani also pointed to the culture of the team as one of its strengths.
“Their unity and the way they support each other and the coaches is just fantastic,” Bernazzani said. “They appreciate being out here playing a game they love.”
Another one of the team’s strengths will be its offense.
“Our bats are definitely really strong,” Flores said. “We have a lot of strength on the team that powers our offense.”
“One through nine, I’m confident with any of them stepping into the (batter’s) box,” the coach said.
The team also has some fast players. The coach said three of them can run to first base in under 3 seconds. Senior Carly Piccoli is one of Durango’s speedsters and will help the team be aggressive on base.
The coach, however, said 60% of his focus early on has been on defense and getting outs. The team held its first official practice of the season on Monday. Saturday, it will open its season with a doubleheader against Aspen at a neutral field in Grand Junction.
“It seems like it’s like that every year,” Bernazzani said, but added that summer ball is like a preseason for the team. “It’s a great setup for the fall season,” he said. The Durango Danger fast pitch squad plays in the Farmington league, which was also shortened since the high school season in New Mexico extended into the summer. Durango played seven games this summer, opposed to about 25 on a normal year, but it helped the team’s freshmen see some high school-level action before the season.
“It was nice to play with some new faces and get in the zone,” Baguskas said. “It was really fun.”
The coach also said the team’s freshman class, “is probably the best incoming group I’ve seen; it’s great for the program.”
Durango has 25 girls out and will split them between varsity and junior varsity.
On Thursday, Durango will play its first home game when the team welcomes Montezuma-Cortez to town for a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. Currently, there’s no limit to the number of fans who can watch outdoor games this fall.
Bernazzani said, for the time being, the only COVID-19 protocols the team has to follow is players must all wear masks while riding on the bus.
Playing in the 4A/5A Southwestern League, the team will also play 5A squads Grand Junction Central, Fruita Monument and Grand Junction.
“It helps us when we play 5A teams because it forces us to play harder,” Baguskas said. “It also raises our RPI.”
Central and Fruita are usually the toughest teams Durango plays, Baguskas said, while Flores said Montrose and Cortez are some of the team’s biggest rivals.
The Demons, however, are just excited to see what they can do against them.
colivas@durangoherald.com
