Fruita Monument’s Dylan Row. (Courtesy of Rachelle Row)
Good, solid seasons have not been uncommon for the Fruita Monument baseball team the past several years. What it’s doing in 2015, however, is definitely out of the ordinary.
The Wildcats are sporting a perfect 17-0 record, and are ranked No. 4 in the latest CHSAAnow.com Class 5A poll.
“Part of it is we have a lot of seniors (nine),” said coach Ray McLennan, who is in his eighth season guiding the Wildcats. “We had a pretty good record last season and we fell on our face a little bit and I think that actually helped us because it created a little bit of a chip on our shoulder.
“The kids realized that every game is a challenge and just because you won the last one doesn’t mean you are going to win the next one. We have a sense of urgency and have learned from our failures.”
The Wildcats made the playoffs last year, but were ousted by Arapahoe in the first round.
There actually is a long history of tradition within the program.
Fruita Monument has won two baseball state crowns in school history in 1993 – a 5-3 decision over Mitchell in 5A – and in 1970 a 13-2 victory over Las Animas in Class AA.
The Wildcats also lost in the 1989 AAA finals to Air Academy 7-4 and were upended in the 1964 Class A championship 7-6 by Fort Lupton. In 1959, Fruita Monument lost to Cheyenne Mountain 9-6 in the Class A title game.
This season, Fruita Monument has an outstanding .420 team batting average, paced by junior Cuba Bess who has a .600 average with four home runs and 37 RBIs. Senior Sam Graf (.518), junior Sam Schroeder (.467), and seniors Chris Cordova (.473) and Dylan Row (.442) also have been stellar at the plate.
“Honestly, 1 through 9, we don’t have any gaps in our lineup. Pitchers can’t rest,” McLennan said. “It is a good problem to have. My guys do a good job of attacking pitchers.”
Row, who has started at shortstop the past three seasons for Fruita Monument, is thrilled to be a part of this winning streak.
“It has been crazy, and a whole lot of fun,” the 6-foot, 160-pound Row said. “We have continued to work hard and we have enjoyed this because it doesn’t happen all that often. I think the biggest difference this season has been our consistency with our pitching and hitting.”
Graf, an outfielder and pitcher, concurred with Row.
“This season has been great,” Graf said. “We all know that we have something special here this year, and we want to take that as far as we can because a lot of us will never get another opportunity to achieve so much, and we realize it and that’s what keeps us motivated.”
In terms of pitching, Schroeder (6-0), junior Devon Canup (4-0), and Graf (4-0) have been the top starters, while senior Conner Harmon (1-0) has been very good in relief.
“Sam is a big strong kid,” McLennan said. “The growth he has made from his sophomore year to his junior year has really been impressive.”
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Schroeder quarterbacked the school’s football team and has 58 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings pitched.
The Wildcats close out the regular season next week with games against Grand Junction, and Grand Junction Central. A sweep will guarantee them the Southwestern League championship.
“That would be huge if we can win league,” Row said.
McLennan is well-versed in the history of prep baseball in Grand Junction. He played for his father, John at Grand Junction Central High School, graduating in 1984. The younger McLennan went on to play baseball at Mesa State College, now known as Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, from 1985-88.
“He is one of my volunteer assistants,” said Ray about his dad. “He’s 74 years old and he had hip replacement surgery and he doesn’t move around real well, but he was out hitting fungoes with me (Wednesday) and he keeps score for us in the dugout and his wisdom and insight is very good.”
In McLennan’s first seven seasons at the helm of Fruita Monument the team made the playoffs five of seven years, but has yet to get past the first round.
“This has been one of those years as a coach, I don’t ever want it to end, it has been fun,” McLennan said. “We are just trying to play one game at a time and worry about that opponent only. We have a long ways to go to get to that point (of winning a state championship this season), but it would certainly be exciting if that happened. It has been a good ride and the community is really rallying around our guys.”