D’Evelyn tests its mettle at annual Dave Sanders Memorial Softball Tournament

AURORA — It was an early-morning wake-up call for D’Evelyn’s softball team Friday, Sept. 11.

The Jaguars had a 9 a.m. game against MountainVista at Aurora Sports Park to open up a trio of pool play games Friday for D’Evelyn in the Dave Sanders Memorial Softball Tournament co-hosted by Columbine and Lakewood.

D’Evelyn fell behind 5-2 early after the Golden Eagles plated five runs on the bottom of the second inning, but the Jaguars got their bats going like they have done all season so far.

“We come out flat for some games, but we always seem to come back for sure,” D’Evelyn junior Macie Allen said of the early deficit to Mountain Vista. “Going down that much today was a little of a surprise for us, but we came back well.”

D’Evelyn scored three runs in each the third and sixth innings, along with a 6-run top of the fifth inning to eventually take a 14-5 victory. The offensive was highlighted by Allen and senior Myla Seda both crushing home runs to spark the 18-hit output by the Jaguars.

It was the fifth home run of the season for Seda.

“I’m seeing it well and playing loose,” Seda said of her five home runs in the Jaguars’ first six games of the season. “Last high school year. I’m excited to be here and I have nothing to loose.”

Junior Hallie Book — 5-0 record in the circle coming into the 2-day tournament where the Jaguars will play five games — got the start against Mountain Vista. Seda didn’t get many pitching opportunities last season with then senior Nava Basquez carrying the load pitching over 100 innings for the Jaguars while being named the 4A Jeffco League MVP.

It will be a little different with Book, Seda and junior Claudia Harris being three solid options for new D’Evelyn head coach Kate Courtney.

“We have something I haven’t seen before. We have three very strong pitchers,” Courtney said of Book, Seda and Harris.

The Jaguars also have a solid trio of coaches. Courtney was an assistant for Dan Porreco for five seasons before stepping into the head coaching role this year. Porreco and longtime assistant coach Joel Halliwell have both stayed on staff to make the change at the top seamless.

“It feels really good,” Courtney said of being at the helm of D’Evelyn’s softball program. “I feel lucky that I got them (Porreco and Halliwell) to stay on and help me. I look up to them a lot. It means a lot that they are still here.”

D’Evelyn offense is still there too. The Jaguars scored double-digit runs in five of its first six games. D’Evelyn (6-1, 2-0 in 4A/3A Jeffco League) had its closest with a 5-2 victory over rival Green Mountain on Tuesday.

Book crushed a home run deep over the outfield fences at D’Evelyn in the key conference win.

“We kind of joke that we kind of have five four-hole (hitters) right now,” Courtney said of the Jaguars’ hitting depth. “It is really nice to have that kind of energy up and down the line-up.”

As a team, D’Evelyn already has 12 home runs on the season.

“We have a really strong team this year,” Allen said. “Defintely thinking state. We’ve gone to state almost every year. This year I think we are going to make it really far.”

D’Evelyn did have its first setback of the season in the 11 a.m. game Friday against Eaglecrest. The Raptors handed the Jaguars’ their first loss of the season 10-5.

“We are trying not to focus on wins and losses,” Courtney said. “We kind of say that after every game that it is a 0-0 record. We don’t want to focus on the past we want to focus on who is next and what we need to do to beat them.”

D’Evelyn is scheduled to face Brighton at 3:15 p.m. Friday to cap off the three games on Friday. The Jaguars will play a pair of games Saturday to finish out the tournament.

“The biggest thing is feeling that heavy responsibility. What am I going to do to get these girls ready to go?” Courtney said of being the head coach. “It falls on me now. If they don’t do it, it’s on me now. It is more emotional. You get more invested when you are the ‘big guy’ in charge.”

D’Evelyn will remain busy next week with a non-league game at Eaton on Monday, Sept. 14. Followed up with home league games against Dakota Ridge (Tuesday, Sept. 15) and Golden (Thursday, Sept. 17).

“I told the girls when I stepped in that we are going to go hard and we aren’t going to stop,” Courtney said. “They have bought in and that is half the battle right there. We all have the same goal to win as much as we can. We all have a lot in common this year.”