The last game of the season resembled much of the year for the Durango High School baseball team.
The Demons struggled with errors early and couldn’t produce enough hits in an 8-3 loss to No. 9 Evergreen in the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 4A District 2 tournament.
The win sends the Cougars (16-5) to the final eight of the state tournament next weekend in Denver, while Durango’s season ended with the loss.
DHS (7-14) shuffled its batting order before the district championship game, but it didn’t result in added production as the Demons managed only six hits in the game, with four coming in the final three innings.
“We felt like we needed to get some offensive production in there. I felt like Evergreen is a team that had potential to put runs on the board, and we needed to be able to match them. We tried to shake it up, and it worked reasonably well but not enough.”
Sunday’s games originally were scheduled for Saturday, but wet fields and inclement weather forced postponements around the state, and Durango was no exception.
Evergreen (16-5) arrived in town Friday night and was anxious to get on the field. They jumped on No. 24 Delta to win 5-1 in the district semifinal.
“One thing I talked to the guys before we even got on the bus in Evergreen is that this would be a battle. I told them we would have to grind through this weekend,” Evergreen head coach Steve Jones said. “It’s a battle of wills, a mental game. The team that can grind through delays, weather and all the situations, that’s how you win. The guys did a good job keeping their edge.
“Waiting around is a hard thing, and our guys were here wanting to get after it.”
The Cougars quickly pounced on the Demons, scoring one run in the top of the first inning because of a DHS throwing error on a dropped third strike. That runner, Ryder Eagen, came around to score four pitches later on an Alec Moens RBI-single up the middle.
DHS starting pitcher Lawrence Mayberry, who delivered the Demons’ walk-off double in the district semifinal win against No. 25 Eagle Valley, continued a rhythm through the fourth inning of the district championship. But consecutive DHS fielding errors to start the fourth spoiled his day, as Dane Kapande followed the DHS errors with a two-run double for Evergreen to make a 2-1 game 4-1 in a hurry. Ben Setlak followed two batters later with an RBI-double of his own.
Mayberry was done on the mound after five innings. Of the five runs that crossed while he was on the mound, only one was earned. He walked two and struck out three while giving up six hits.
“Great job, you really battled out there,” Baker said to Mayberry as he walked off the field after the loss.
Evergreen added three more runs in the sixth inning to blow the game open.
Casey Dunlap came on in relief of Mayberry after pitching 2 1/3 innings against Eagle Valley in the morning game. He wasn’t able to carry over his banner performance from the semifinal to the championship as he walked three and allowed two hits, including an RBI-double by Moens, in his inning of work. Sam Hudd also added a sacrifice fly to score a run in the inning.
DHS’ offensive was highlighted by a solo home run off the bat of senior Hayden Sill. It was his third homer of the season.
The Demons followed Sill’s blast in the fourth with one run in each of the fifth and sixth innings. Kyle Duran singled and later scored on an error in the fifth, and Dunlap scored on a wild pitch in the sixth. Dunlap, who led the team with 10 home runs this season, finished the game 0-for-2 with two walks.
The winning pitcher was Eli Ausman, who went four-plus innings and struck out three while walking only one. He allowed three hits and two runs, one earned.
Ben Muscatello was effective in 1 2/3 innings of relief, striking out three before three walks eventually led to his exit. He allowed only one hit.
Moens closed the game out, issuing only his second walk of the season in the seventh to Dunlap. He gave up two hits while closing the game.
“This is vindication for us,” Jones said, adding that he likes his six-man pitching staff going into state. “We started out well, hit a rough stretch in league with losses to Wheat Ridge, D’Evlyn and Green Mountain – all top-five team – but it was shaky for us coming into the playoffs. They responded, and I’m so proud of our guys.”
DHS will lose six seniors from this year’s team and will return several underclassmen who saw valuable varsity time.
Many of the players will stick together this summer for Connie Mack summer league baseball in Farmington, and Baker said he believes they will grow from their experiences in his first year as head coach.
“At all levels, we have some talent coming up and should be pretty tough if we put things together,” Baker said. “It always helps to develop as a team. Experiencing the ups and downs together can benefit you.”
Durango 6, Eagle Valley 5, 8 innings
A key at-bat by a freshman preserved the Durango High School baseball season early Sunday.
The Demons blew a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning in a semifinal, but DHS rallied to tie Eagle Valley at 5 in the bottom of the sixth inning to help carry the game into extra innings.
Freshman Trevor Candelaria led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a 12-pitch at-bat, drawing a walk to turn the lineup over to leadoff man Mayberry.
Mayberry, a junior, turned on a pitch and drove a line drive to left field. The ball got past a diving attempt from the Eagle Valley left fielder for a double that scored Candelaria from first base and gave Durango a 6-5 walk-off win.
“Just be aggressive, help out my team,” Mayberry said of his approach at the plate. “All I want to do is help out my team. I just want to win.”
The win gave the Demons some validation after there was talk the Demons shouldn’t be one of the top eight teams in 4A to host games in the district round.
“We had a pretty not-decent season,” said Mayberry, son of George and Tonya Mayberry. “But to come out here and ball up is great for us.”
Baker called Candelaria’s leadoff at-bat in the eighth the best at-bat of the season for a Durango hitter, especially considering he is a freshman.
“Very clutch,” Mayberry said of Candelaria. “That’s what we need out of him, and he know’s that, too. He’s a great ballplayer.”
DHS jumped out to a 3-0 lead on No. 25 Eagle Valley (12-8).
It started with another freshman, Gavin Mestas, taking a pitch to the helmet with one out in the second inning. Catcher Zach Szura then came through with a single, and Mayberry was plunked with a pitch to load the bases.
A bases-loaded walk to senior Sill scored Mestas, and Dunlap followed with a two-run single to spot the Demons a 3-0 lead.
That’s all starting pitcher Dayne Rowley would need until the sixth inning, when his own throwing error helped start a four-run inning for the Devils.
Rowley fielded a bunt by Eric Boyd and misfired to first base, allowing Oscar Gallegos to score. The bases then were loaded when Joe Rivera reached first despite striking out. With runners on second and third and one out, Rivera took first base on a dropped third strike with no throw attempted by Szura in a moment of confusion.
That led to a bases-loaded walk to Kyle Williams, and an Ethan Ellsworth sacrifice fly tied the game at 3. Another Rowley walk ended his day, and another Eagle Valley run scored on a Dunlap wild pitch before Durango could get out of the inning trailing 5-3.
But DHS answered in the bottom of the sixth. Mestas drew a leadoff walk, and a Mayberry fielder’s choice allowed him to score later in the inning. Sill and Dunlap then were walked, and Kyle Duran drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game at 5.
Rowley took a no-decision in 5 2/3 innings pitched. He struck out eight and walked four while giving up five hits.
Dunlap earned the win in 2 1/3 innings of work. He struck out two and issued one walk. He didn’t allow a hit.
“It feels really good to help out Dayne and Casey. Those two are seniors and wanted that W as much as I did,” Mayberry said. “I did it for my team.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
