After a rough stretch, the Demons are looking forward to trying to keep this recent run of positive results going.
Right on into the playoffs.
The Durango High School baseball team used a big comeback against Grand Junction Central and a win over Montezuma-Cortez to stem the tide of a stretch in which the Demons had lost five of six. And theyll try and end the regular season on a high note with a win over Grand Junction at 11 a.m. Saturday.
The Demons now sit at 9-9 and 4-5 in the Southwestern League, and last Saturdays win over Grand Junction Central may have been the spark they were looking for. DHS trailed by five heading to the top of the seventh, then rallied with nine runs in the frame for an eventual 17-13 victory, with the momentum carrying over into Tuesdays 13-4 triumph over the rival Panthers.
We do have some momentum going. The kids are correcting some things theyve needed to fix throughout the season, DHS head coach Rob Coddington said. The last couple games, weve definitely played better baseball, and I think its important that we get after it.
Looking at Class 4A wild card points, Durango appears to be a very likely postseason participant. The Demons rank sixth in points, with the teams ahead of them likely to be one of the 26 automatic qualifiers. The next six teams in the field are selected simply on terms of points, and a strong schedule has DHS primed to be one of those six.
A win over an above-.500 5A team in Grand Junction wouldnt hurt matters and would allow DHS to finish with a winning record, likely helping their seeding. So Saturdays tilt remains important.
Theyre a 5A team, so its going to help either way, but getting a win out of that is going to be huge. And we have to come out of that game with a win just because of what kind of statement itll put whenever we go into the playoffs, too, said DHS first baseman Cole Dunegan, son of Mona and Paul Dunegan.
A shot at redemption may stoke the Demons flames Saturday against the Tigers, as well. DHS led 12-4 on the road over Grand Junction in the fifth inning in the teams last meeting, only for the Tigers to score 10 runs in the bottom of the fifth for an eventual 14-13 victory.
After that, the Demons are eager to show theyre not the same team that coughed up that lead.
It seems like in a lot of our games, its just that one big inning that kind of gets us. ... Its huge. Itll really help us out, especially since we thought we had that one in the bag, Dunegan said.
Coddington said Ty Elliott likely will toe the rubber for the Demons on Senior Day against the Tigers and expects his squad to be ready to play at a peak level against Grand Junction.
Im sure they remember. That was an emotional game, hard-fought on both sides, Coddington said. Junction always comes to play. ... I think if we come out and play hard, well do a good job.
rowens@durangoherald.com
