A zero in the loss column this late in the season is a rarity for not only the Durango Demons, but any high school baseball team.
At 13-0, Durango High School now stands as the lone unbeaten team in Colorado’s Class 4A. Falcon had run its record to 10-0 before it fell by one run Wednesday in a non-league game at Manitou Springs.
“We have that target on our back,” Durango senior Elias Fiddler said. “We’re going to get everyone’s best, but that’s good for us. We want to beat everyone’s best to be the best.”
Elsewhere around the state, Lutheran stands at 14-0 in Class 3A, while Limon is 12-0 and Highland is 9-0 in Class 2A. Those are the last remaining undefeated teams in the state.
Durango will look to keep its undefeated run going in perhaps the biggest challenge of the season with a doubleheader Saturday at Class 5A Fruita Monument at Canyon View Park in Grand Junction.
One win in the two games will give DHS the 5A/4A Southwestern League championship for the first time since 2012, while the Wildcats (9-4, 5-1 SWL) could steal the league title if they can sweep the Demons (13-0, 6-0 SWL).
Fruita has won every league title since 2015. The Demons 2012 championship came via three-way tiebreaker with Montrose and Grand Junction, and their last outright championship was in 2009.
“Fruita wants it, and we want it,” said DHS senior Gage Mestas. “Everyone is pumped for this weekend, and we know it’s going to be a battle. Coming from a town like Durango, you usually only have one or two guys on the team who are really baseball guys. This year, we have a full roster of dedicated kids who are motivated, and it has changed the whole feeling of this team. We’ve set our goals for state, but first we are trying to win a league championship and make a name for Durango baseball.”
Right roster, right coach
The Demons pushed their record to 13-0 after last weekend’s home doubleheader sweep of Grand Junction Central with wins of 8-2 and 9-5. Then, DHS went on the road to swing wood bats in New Mexico in a 13-6 win at Farmington High School. That gave DHS a season sweep of the mighty Scorpions along with two wins against Aztec and another at Piedra Vista. This year, Durango showed it can do more than play with the powers of San Juan County, it proved to be the best high school team in the Four Corners.
That was something head coach Rob Coddington took to heart after hearing talk earlier in the year that DHS couldn’t hang with those same teams.
“It’s pretty difficult to do what we’ve done. We have so much respect for the local coaches down there, especially at Farmington and Piedra Vista,” Coddington said. “They both have great ball clubs, and it feels pretty good to get a couple wins against those guys.”
Coddington returned to coach the Demons in 2020 after five years away from the dugout. In 2013 and 2014, he had led DHS to the final four in Class 4A to end an eight-year run in charge of the team.
With Coddington leading a talented roster, the Demons had high expectations for the 2020 season before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled play after just one game.
The majority of the team returned for 2021, and the group knew this season could be even more special than they imagined in 2020. That is especially true after many of these same Demons won a state football title in the fall.
“Everyone is remembering that energy we had during football season the week we had the same opportunity to win a league title like we do this week,” said DHS junior Jordan Stanley. “The last couple of practices and the win against Farmington, you can feel it in our dugout. It’s that same energy we had in football.
“We’ve had a chip on our shoulder after having last season taken away from us. We’ve had unexpected people step up in big roles all season, and we plan on continuing this through the playoffs.”
Coddington also can sense the rare and special team he has this year, and he has pushed this squad to be the best version of itself and, potentially, even better than those 2013-14 teams.
“Cod reminds us how special of a group we are and won’t let us coast or play down to other people’s level,” Gage Mestas said. “He won’t let the 13-0 get to us. He lets us know that other teams are better than us, and we still have to outplay them. He keeps us engaged, motivated and puts us in the best possible position each week while also keeping us healthy through the season.”
Atop the rankings
Durango is the top-ranked team in the state, regardless of classification, in the MaxPreps.com rankings. In the Colorado High School Activities Association coaches poll, the Demons are ranked third in Class 4A behind Cheyenne Mountain (13-1, 9-1 4A Pikes Peak League) and Ponderosa (12-2, 9-1 5A/4A Continental League). In its second game this season, Ponderosa beat Fruita Monument 18-7.
The Demons have earned six first-place votes in the CHSAA poll. That is four more than No. 1 Cheyenne Mountain and two more than No. 2 Ponderosa. Receiving one first-place vote each were No. 4 Holy Family (11-1, 8-1 5A/4A NCAA League) and No. 9 Golden (9-5, 7-1 4A JeffCo League).
Hitting, pitching and defense
Durango has gotten to this point with a .413 team batting average combined with a 2.28 team earned-run average and a .973 team fielding percentage.
At the plate, Fiddler has led DHS with a .522 batting average. He has six of the team’s 13 home runs to go with five doubles and two triples. He boasts 26 runs batted in and 18 runs scored.
Fiddler has also caught every game for DHS when not pitching, giving the senior a massive leadership role at all times.
“Elias has been so big for us,” Gage Mestas said. “He has taken control entirely and had a phenomenal year. Having him playing the way he is is a weight off everyone’s back. We know we can rely on a lot of kids, but he has gotten it done every time we have really needed it.”
DHS junior Chase Robertson has hit .500 with two homers, three doubles and two triples. He has 13 RBIs and has scored 11 times.
Leadoff man Gage Mestas is tied for second on the team with 21 hits. He has five doubles and four triples while he has 12 RBIs and 12 runs scored to go with a .429 batting average and .491 on-base percentage.
The middle of the order behind Fiddler has delivered, too, as Stanley has hit .415 with two homers, six doubles, 12 RBIs and 16 runs scored, while Cal Walsh has hit .429 with a homer, six more extra-base hits, 21 runs and 12 RBIs.
In the win at Farmington, DHS seniors Thomas Barnes and Noah Pritchard also hit one home run each, a perfect example of the Demons’ sensational hitting at every spot in the batting order. Eight Demons are hitting for an average of .400 or better with the rest of the regulars all batting above .300.
“One through nine, anyone can hit a home run,” Gage Mestas said. “We see it all the time in practice, and now we are seeing it in games, too.”
DHS has only committed nine fielding errors all season. That has backed up brilliant pitching, as Gage Mestas has a 1.40 ERA in four starts, allowing only 12 hits and five walks while striking out 36 in 20 innings of work. Niko Mestas has a 1.75 ERA in his 20 innings, as he has struck out 13 and pitched well to contact.
Walsh, the closer, has yet to allow a run in 10 innings of work in which he has struck out 16 and allowed only eight base runners.
And thanks to the pitching of Fiddler, Ty Martinez, Stanley and Walsh, DHS has been able to save the Mestas cousins for Saturday league doubleheaders. Playing as many as four games a week during the shortened seven-week season, that ability to rest arms has been vital.
“This is the best pitching we’ve had in my past four years here,” Gage Mestas said. “Some guys are pitching who have never pitched in their lives. It has really taken the stress off our arms, and it’s a great gameplan to mix in those pitchers and get them innings so they are ready for the playoffs, too.”
In three starts, Martinez has held opponents to only four earned runs across nine innings. He has struck out 15 and allowed only five hits. Fiddler also has tossed 19 innings and allowed only seven runs while striking out 13 and walking eight.
“You gotta give a lot of credit to Fiddler, Martinez, Walsh and Stanley. Those guys picking up innings on Tuesdays and Wednesdays has been big,” Coddington said. “Being able to save our Nos. 1 and 2 guys for weekends has been a gift. A lot of the credit goes to those guys throwing in the middle of the week.”
‘Playoff baseball from now on’
DHS expects to see Fruita senior Jacob Weaver on the mound for the Wildcats in one of this weekend’s games. He is 4-1 this season with a sparkling 0.45 ERA in 31 innings of work. He has allowed 20 hits and seven walks but earned only two runs, as he has struck out 49 batters. Weaver also leads Fruita with three homers.
“I think our guys have a lot of confidence that they can manufacture runs and get people across the plate no matter who we see,” Coddington said. “It’s a seven-inning approach. Sometimes, we’re just trying to wear a pitcher down. Other times, we’ve been lucky to jump on them. Hopefully, we can continue the good roll.”
If Durango can wear down the Wildcats, they will be league champions and will host a regional tournament June 12 with the chance to get back into the state playoffs.
“We are in playoff baseball from now on,” Coddington said. “No matter what game we play or what team we play, we have to come in with the same approach, work hard and play as a team.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
