DENVER — D’Evelyn senior Christion Cedillo did whatever it took to produce at the plate Tuesday.
In Cedillo’s first at-bat, he produced an RBI after the plate umpire ruled catcher interference on the senior’s swing. Senior Dylan Aurich scored from third base to start the scoring in the Class 4A non-league baseball game at D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School.
“It’s another day at the ballpark. A fun day with my team,” Cedillo said after the 11-1 victory against Berthoud. “We’ve put in the effort during the off-season. It’s paying off and we are bonding as a team. That is what wins games.”
Cedillo finished 3-for-3 from the plate with four RBIs. The Jaguars (2-0 record) actually held a narrow lead for most of the game against the Spartans. D’Evelyn’s offense exploded for a 7-run bottom of the sixth inning to induced the 10-run mercy rule and end the game.
“This is a team that doesn’t have a lot of power like we’ve had in the past,” D’Evelyn coach Dan Porreco said. “We’ve got to make things happen.”
With two outs — Willie Gordon, Andrew Helmreich, Cedillo, Tyler Hobbs, Tanner Robberson and Justin Fritchie all reached safely in the sixth inning to pile up the seven runs needed to end the game.
“We did a good job of seeing the ball at the end of the game,” Fritchie said after hitting the game-ending 2-run double. “It was important to put it into play.”
Fritchie, 6-foot-4 sophomore, had a pair of hits. However, his complete-game performance on the mound was even more impressive. The righty gave up just two hits over six innings.
Berthoud’s lone run was an RBI groundout by Spartans’ Brogan Sontag to third base in the top of the third inning to tie the game a 1-1. Fritchie proceeded to retire 10 straight batters after the lone Berthoud run.
“He (Fritchie) did an exceptional job. He trusted us with defense and we trusted him,” Cedillo said. “It was a good balance. You couldn’t ask more for a sophomore.”
It was the second varsity start for Fritchie. He got one start on the mound last year as a freshman. He finished with four strikeouts and nine groundouts.
“Fritchie did a nice job pitching,” Porreco said. “It’s nice to get that early in the season because of the pitch counts.”
D’Evelyn has two more non-league games before heading to Vero Beach, Florida for spring break. The Jaguars will play a trio of games and get in plenty of practice at the former Los Angeles Dodgers spring training facility.
The Jaguars should be in the mix for the 4A Jeffco League title that features defending state champion Valor Christian.
“We really need nine guys to do something during the game. We can’t have guys do absolutely nothing when we get into our league,” Porreco said. “Everyone has to chip in and our pitching has got to be good.”
