The Bayfield baseball team will have to take its impressive show on the road this weekend.
With a new playoff selection format in place, the Bayfield High School baseball team’s 15-4 record was put to the test by the Colorado High School Activities Association Ratings Percentage Index based largely on strength of schedule.
Despite being a consensus top-10 team in Class 3A coaches polls, the Wolverines were not awarded a top-eight seed in the district tournament. Instead, the Wolverines, who are unbeaten in Class 3A games played against Colorado opponents this season, received the No. 13 seed and will travel Saturday to No. 4 Lamar’s 3A District 3 bracket.
Lamar also went 15-4 but went only 6-3 in the 3A Tri-Peaks League-East, finishing second to St. Mary’s, which received a No. 3 seed.
Making matters even more puzzling for the Wolverines is the fact they beat St. Mary’s 12-10 on the road earlier this season. That same weekend, Bayfield beat Lamar 10-5 and No. 11 Manitou Springs 7-5.
“It’s frustrating to have to travel,” BHS head coach Jonathon Qualls said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “It’s a little hard to swallow when you beat two of the teams hosting and three of the top-10 teams and then have to travel to them.
“We will do whatever we need to do to hopefully move on through the playoffs.”
Bayfield will open action Saturday against No. 20 Bennett (10-6), and Lamar will face No. 29 Centauri (8-10).
“It’s also frustrating to have Centauri in our bracket,” Qualls said. “We have one of the smallest leagues in (3A) and we’re possibly playing other teams in our league, but it is what it is.”
The Wolverines won the Intermountain League championship with an 8-0 record and beat their league foes by a combined score of 121-7 in those eight games, with the Bayfield pitching combining to throw two perfect games.
The Wolverines certainly passed the eye test this year, as they ranked fifth in the latest CHSAA poll released May 2. Since that poll was released, BHS won two more games by a combined score of 49-0 against Pagosa Springs.
“Our big hitters are starting to come through, get some timely hits, and our pitching has been solid all year,” Qualls said. “We’ve relied on that, and hopefully that continues.”
BHS could face a well-known pitcher in Lamar’s Dalton Chandler, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound sophomore who played with Bayfield in last year’s Connie Mack summer league. He pitched the last time the teams met in Bayfield’s win.
“That was earlier in the season for both of us,” Qualls said. “Both teams have changed a lot, grown a lot. It will be interesting to see how they play their first game and whether or not they use that No. 1 pitcher then or save him for us.”
The Wolverines lost two games in New Mexico to Class 5A opponents Aztec and Belen. Both of those teams made the state tournament in New Mexico. Bayfield also lost a game to Uintah of Utah in a game played in New Mexico. Uintah is 15-11.
Bayfield lost only one game in the state of Colorado, and it came to Class 4A Durango on the road.
The Demons (9-10) squeaked into the CHSAA Class 4A District 8 Bracket and will travel to face No. 6 Delta on Saturday morning. Delta finished the regular season 16-3. On the other side of 4A District 8 is No. 11 Pueblo South (15-4) against No. 22 Wheat Ridge (11-7).
DHS hasn’t faced Delta since the season-opener of the 2015 season. Delta won that game 17-5 in Montrose.
“You always gotta be happy when you’re able to go to district and don’t have to go all the way to Denver,” DHS head coach Eric Baker said. “I expect Delta to be kind of like they were last year, fundamentally sound. They won’t be overpowering, but they’ve got good athletes and good players that come after you.”
Of Durango’s 10 losses, seven came against schools from a larger classification and two more came against teams hosting a district tournament in 4A. Playing tough teams in the Class 4A/5A Southwestern League once again cost the Demons, as they went 5-5 with four losses to 5A teams.
But Durango was happy with the way it finished the regular season with an 8-5 win against Grand Junction Central and even a tough 9-6 loss in nine innings to Fruita Monument.
“We had a rough patch there and had some losses, but even those I thought we played well in,” Baker said. “I’m pretty happy with the way we’re playing right now. We’re getting good pitching, the offense is coming around a little bit with some guys who have been hitting all year and some guys who have been streaking here and there. If we continue to get hits up and down the lineup, we will have a good shot.”
The Class 2A District 2 bracket features Ignacio (13-4). The Bobcats will travel to Paonia for the tournament. Paonia and Hotchkiss earned byes in the quarterfinal round. Ignacio will open with Cedaredge (12-7), with Hotchkiss (16-1) awaiting the winner. Paonia (18-1) will await the winner of Dolores (0-15) and Meeker (7-11).
Each district champion will advance to the CHSAA State Baseball Championships.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
