Columnist Spencer Patterson: Durango hopes to bounce back in Legion play

Spencer Patterson

Friday, June 21, 2002 | 9:03 a.m.

Spencer Patterson covers high school sports for the Las Vegas Sun. Reach him at spencer@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4085.

The 2002 high school baseball season hardly could have been a bigger disappointment for the Durango Trailblazers.

Ranked among the nation's elite prep programs when the year began, the Blazers struggled through an up-and-down campaign, ultimately missing out on the 4A State Tournament altogether.

For Durango's senior holdovers, the American Legion summer season represents a chance to erase some of those painful memories and cap their high school careers with a more positive outcome.

But Blazers Legion coach Tom Appleyard is quick to point out that before his graduated seniors can consider making the Legion state tournament in August, their younger teammates will need to grow into several key roles.

"We're young and we're making mistakes, but we think we'll be OK in a month or so," Appleyard said. "Some of our young guys just have to learn how to play. They're learning on the job."

Through their first game in this week's Joyce Stoker Memorial Baseball Classic, the Trailblazers are 16-15 overall, 9-9 in conference. The team went 2-4 last week in Pueblo, Colo., but gave Appleyard hope for the future.

"I thought we played pretty good ball there," he said. "We improved from the time we got there to the time we left. I like this team. It's a good group of kids, and they work hard."

Seven of the high school team's senior starters remain with the club: infielders Danny Kelly and Casey McDonald, catcher Jake Stretz, outfielder Coltyn Simmons and pitchers Matt Davis, Jeff Jacobsen and Robbie Martinez.

The Blazers have also received key contributions from junior-to-be Nick Bumstead and sophomore-to-be Chris Cichoski -- two members of the pitching rotation -- as well as incoming juniors Dustin Romero and Chris Stiles. Graduated seniors Joe Limon and Jordan Hidalgo, who saw little action with the varsity squad in the spring, have also chipped in.

"It's just a matter of working the new guys into these spots," Appleyard said. "We've had young kids before, but they never had to contribute much in the past. Our simple goal is to be better each day than we were the day before."

Bishop Gorman led the way, advancing to the championship game before falling 9-0 to the Colton Knighthawks, a California-based all-star AAU squad featuring several college players. The Gaels are 18-2 overall.

Palo Verde finished 4-1 in Prescott, falling to the Knighthawks in pool play before bouncing back to take fifth place. Silverado and Green Valley wound up 3-2.