Dakota Ridge baseball sneaking up the 4A/3A Jeffco League standings

DENVER — Dakota Ridge’s 0-7 start to the baseball season is a distant memory.

The Eagles (9-10, 4-1 in Class 4A/3A Jeffco League) has nearly reached the .500 record mark after its 11-1 road victory against D’Evelyn on Thursday. 

“I told them when we were 0-7 that once we got into league that we could win our league,” Dakota Ridge coach Jeff Legault said. “It was just one game at a time. Don’t look ahead. Don’t look past anyone. Just go one game at a time.”

Dakota Ridge has a 4-game winning streak and is just a game behind 4-time defending league champion Golden (16-3, 5-0) in the conference standings. The Eagles have four league game remaining against Standley Lake, Littleton, Pomona and Golden over the next week.

“We are a great team that just started off slow,” Dakota Ridge junior Matt Larmore said of the Eagles in the hunt for the league title. “Once we really bonded and came together we were able to execute. We can be a great team. Best team in the league.”

The league title might very well come down to the league finale against Golden on Saturday, May 10, at Golden High School. Still, Legault knows there is work to be done if that final regular-season game will decide the conference champion.

Against D’Evelyn (6-13, 2-3), the Eagles took care of business scoring seven runs— all with two outs — in the top of the 5th inning to extend Dakota Ridge’s lead from 4-1 to 11-1.

Sophomore Daniel Medina got it going with a pinch-hit, 2-run double to keep the inning going. Back-to-back walks set the table for Larmore to rip a 2-run double to extend the lead to 9-1. Sophomore Ben Bixby capped off the huge inning with a 2-run double to give the Eagles a 10-run lead.

“We had some good at-bats,” Legault said after Dakota Ridge sent 13 batters to the plate in the top of the fifth inning.

Larmore finished off his complete-game victory on the mound getting back-to-back fly outs to end the game. D’Evelyn’s lone run came when senior Thomas Sweetman scored on a Dakota Ridge fielding error in the second inning. 

“I just really wanted to throw strikes, limit walks and let my defense work,” Larmore said after his second win on the mound against D’Evelyn. “I’ve got a great defense behind me.”

The junior got the win on the hill in the Eagles’ 13-5 victory against D’Evelyn back on April 8. 

“Earlier in the year he was struggling throwing strikes,” Legault said of Larmore. “I think with the league today he got some confidence going. Plus, he had that big hit at the end.”

Despite the impressive run off winning 9 of 12 games, the Eagles are still sitting outside the top-32 in the 4A baseball CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index. Dakota Ridge is No. 34 after Thursday’s win. However, a league title would give Dakota Ridge an automatic postseason berth.

D’Evelyn is also the bubble for a postseason berth. The Jaguars are currently No. 32 in the 3A baseball seeding index. D’Evelyn finishes its regular season against Evergreen, Standley Lake, Wheat Ridge and Littleton over the next week.