Durango baseball does it the hard way

Spencer Patterson

Monday, May 15, 2000 | 10:02 a.m.

Last season, Durango's road to the 4A state baseball title went through the loser's bracket, with the Trailblazers coming out ahead in four must-win zone games to reach the state tournament.

This week, Durango will have a chance to repeat as Nevada's 4A champs -- thanks to another against-all-odds trip through the loser's bracket over the weekend.

On the brink of elimination, the Trailblazers rallied from a 4-0 deficit to defeat Cheyenne, 7-4 on Friday. Saturday, Durango trailed Bishop Gorman 4-0 before coming back to post an 8-4 win.

That forced a repeat of the title game, as the Gaels had suffered just one loss in the double-elimination event. This time, the Blazers posted an 11-2 win to get back to the state tournament.

"We told them before the Cheyenne game that there's nothing sweeter than coming back when your back's against the wall," Durango coach Mike Gomez said. "The kids were extremely emotional and focused, and it bonded us together much tighter.

"All along we've felt like we've been underrated and overlooked," Gomez added. "Obviously, having three teams of national ranking caliber brings the other side to the forefront, but our coaches felt like we can play baseball on our side of town as well."

Joining Durango (28-8) in this week's four-team state tournament, which will be played at Henderson's Burkholder Field, are Sunrise Region champion Silverado (22-7) and Northern Region representatives Reno (29-6) and Carson (21-12).

The Skyhawks earned their spot in the event with a march through the Sunrise tourney that culminated with Saturday's 7-2 victory over Basic.

Reno, the No. 1 seed in the north, also cruised through its regional, going 4-0 and outscoring its four opponent 35-7.

Carson, which earned the north's No. 2 seed after Galena withdrew from the event for fielding an academically ineligible player, lost twice to Reno in the playoffs, 11-1 Thursday and 6-4 in Saturday's title game.

In other prep action over the weekend:

The Skyhawks (31-8) faced elimination after falling to the Sundevils Thursday night, but defeated Las Vegas on Friday to force the rematch with Eldorado (25-9) for the title.

"We chatted Thursday night and Friday morning about tradition," Silverado coach Chuck Pope said. "We got on a roll against Las Vegas and we got a little momentum going. Against Eldorado, we just tried to focus on each inning."

On the Sunset side, first-year Centennial (26-8) added a softball title to its regional girls basketball crown, posting a 3-2 win over Durango in Friday's championship.

Silverado, Eldorado, Centennial and Durango will try to become the first southern school since 1993 (and the second since 1983) to capture the large-school state title.

Green Valley avenged its only conference loss of the year in the Sunrise championship with a 15-12, 15-13, 10-15, 15-5 win over Basic.

The same four teams will play for the first 4A state title in the sport, with the semifinals slated for Tuesday at Chaparral.

Seniors Calvin Redden and Nicole Ireland led the way for the Rattlers, with Redden winning the 100, 200 and 400 meters and anchoring the victorious 4x200 meter boys relay squad. Ireland finished first in the 100, 200, 400 and 100 meter high hurdles.

Silverado finished a close second on the girls side, thanks in large part to senior Lara Saye -- who captured gold medals in both the discus and shot put.

The Skyhawks got two victories from sophomore Kurt Cady to slip past Green Valley, 392-369, in boys competition. In girls action, the Gators posted a 135-point win over the field despite not winning an individual event or relay.

Spencer Patterson covers prep sports for the Sun. Reach him at 259-4085 or by e-mail at spencer@lasvegassun.com