Ford Ladd of Niwot and Ben Wiley of Durango High School matched each other pitch-for-pitch for seven innings Saturday at All-Star Park in Lakewood.
Despite pitching a gem and allowing only three hits in the game, it was Wiley who came up on the losing end of the pitcher’s duel.
In the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 4A State Championships’ elite eight, the No. 4 Niwot Cougars (21-3) picked up a 1-0 victory against the No. 7 Durango Demons (15-9) with a two-out, walk-off single by pinch hitter Cameron Kopplinger in the bottom of the seventh inning.
“Ben Wiley gave us his best game; he was great,” DHS head coach Rob Coddington said. “Unfortunately, he had to come away with the loss, but he did everything to give us a chance to win.
“Both teams came to play and had clutch defense at key times. Both teams knocked on the door all day, but Niwot just got to bat last.”
Wiley only walked two batters while striking out three. The Demons tallied six hits in the game, but it wasn’t quite enough to push a run across.
“I went into the game knowing (Niwot) could hit the ball, based on the research we did on them. I tried to go in and prove I could hold them to very little, and I think I did a decent job,” Wiley said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “We are a tenacious team every game. We brought that same intensity (Saturday), unfortunately their pitcher threw well, and we couldn’t get much of anything going against him.”
Ladd, a left-handed sophomore, kept the Demons off-balance with a good curveball all game.
“He had us out in front of pitches with that soft curve,” Coddington said. “We hit a lot of groundballs.”
Blake Dunlap was 2-for-3 at the plate with a double for DHS. Isiah Mayberry was 1-for-2, Chris Jaworsky was 1-for-3, and Tyler Worley was 1-for-3.
Niwot turned three double plays in the game.
Durango threatened with two runners on base and no outs in the top of the seventh inning, but one of those three double plays turned by the Cougars put an end to the scare.
“We got two guys on, but we popped out on a bunt for the first out, and then we grounded into a double play,” Coddington said of the threat.
Niwot now is guaranteed a spot in the championship round May 24. The Cougars will face No. 2 Longmont (16-8) in the final four May 23, while Durango will face No. 5 Green Mountain (17-7) in an elimination game on the other side of the bracket May 23. All of the games will be played at All-Star Park in Lakewood.
The Demons will have to play three games without losing to win the state championship.
“We are excited to get back up (to Denver). We are going to have to come up and win three games next weekend, but if we win Friday, we will show up big time Saturday,” Coddington said. “We are really excited to see Green Mountain.”
If Niwot beats Longmont, the Cougars would have to lose twice Saturday to lose the state title. If Longmont can beat Niwot, the Trojans would face the winner of Durango and Green Mountain for the right to play the Cougars one more time.
“It would mean a lot to see (Niwot) again,” said Wiley, son of Ann and Greg Wiley. “We will come with everything we’ve got.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
