Dakota Ridge junior Bailey Collins (24) is greeted at home plate by some excited teammates after Collins belted a three-run home run in the top of the sixth inning Saturday to give the Eagles a 8-7 lead. Dakota Ridge went on to win 12-7 against Pomona at Bart Mapps Field. (Dennis Pleuss)
ARVADA — The lone hit Saturday afternoon for Dakota Ridge junior Bailey Collins was the most important one in the Class 5A Jeffco League opener.
Collins belted a three-run home run in the top of the sixth inning off Pomona junior John Suyak to give the Eagles an 8-7 lead at Pomona High School’s Bart Mapps Field. Dakota Ridge (6-4, 1-0 in league) went on to a 12-7 victory.
“I had a couple of iffy at-bats. My swing has been off a little bit,” Collins admitted. “I was looking for something I could do my job and hit the ball somewhere. He (Suyak) happened to throw it a little in where I like it. The rest is history.”
The lefty hammered the inside-pitch over the wall in right field to regain the lead for the Eagles. Dakota Ridge took an early 5-0 lead through three innings, but Pomona pushed across seven straight runs to snag a 7-5 lead heading to the sixth inning.
Pomona shortstop Zach Langerak (26) leaps to grab the ball as teammate Carl Martillaro (35) backs up on the play. Dakota Ridge junior Bailey Collins slides into second base on the successful steal in the third inning. (Dennis Pleuss)
The Panthers (1-8-1, 0-1) batted around in their five-run fifth inning to tie the game at 5-5. Suyak had a big two-run double and junior Luke Parsons and sophomore Garret Zanon each knocked in a run for Pomona.
A sacrifice bunt by senior Darrick Watts in the bottom of the fifth inning with the bases loaded resulted in Pomona plating a pair of the runs to give Pomona its first lead.
“The rally is nice, but it’s the other two-thirds of the game where we’ve got to get better,” Pomona coach E.J. Mapps said. “Full credit to Dakota Ridge, the kid (Collins) with the three-run homer is a pretty tough dagger to come back from.”
Dakota Ridge senior Doug Case followed up the blast by Collins with a two-run double later in the top of the sixth inning to push the Eagles’ lead to 10-7. The Eagles scored twice in the top of the seventh inning on RBIs by junior Tyler Carrasco and senior Ryan Morris for a 12-7 lead.
Dakota Ridge junior Thomas Nagel picked up the win in relief for the Eagles.
“That’s a (5A) Jeffco game. Welcome to Jeffco League. That’s how they all are,” Dakota Ridge coach Jeff Legault said of the conference game that featured 23 hits and eight errors. “You have to fight to the last out.”
Dakota Ridge joined Columbine, Lakewood and Chatfield as 5A Jeffco teams who got out to a 1-0 conference start Saturday.
“It’s a whole new season for everybody,” Legault said with the start of league play. “I think we are all equal in our league. There is no standout in our league. All of us are going to have to scratch to get into the playoffs.”
Morris was a key for Dakota Ridge offensively against Pomona. The Eagles’ leadoff batter went 3-for-5 with three runs scored.
“He (Morris) is big when he gets on because of his speed and is dangerous on the bases,” Legault said. “We’ve got to get him more consistent. He is either on and gets us three runs or he is going 0-for-4.”
Dakota Ridge returns to its home field were it faces Ralston Valley on Tuesday and Lakewood on Thursday. Both are scheduled for 4 p.m. first pitch.
“It’s huge for us,” Collins said of Dakota Ridge battling back after falling behind against Pomona. “At the beginning of the season we had trouble dealing with adversity. Today was just a great team win.”
Pomona hits the road next week as it continues its stretch of facing south Jeffco squads. The Panthers travel to Columbine on Tuesday and Chatfield on Thursday. Both games are scheduled for 4 p.m. starts.
“We are giving too much away. That is our theme,” Mapps said. “We’ve shown some flashes, but just giving too much away. That’s got to be corrected.”
Dakota Ridge second baseman Ty Lightley waits for a throw as Pomona sophomore Garret Zanon (31) slides in safely during the Panthers’ five-run fourth inning Saturday. Pomona took a 7-5 lead, but Dakota Ridge rallied for a 12-7 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
Dakota Ridge senior Ryan Morris rips a single into left field for the Eagles on Saturday against Pomona. Morris was 3-for-5 from the plate with three runs scored in Dakota Ridge’s 12-7 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)