Ideally, this is the one Dan Ochs and Pueblo County have been seeking.
“We’ve been waiting for a turning point in our program,” the coach said, smiling.
The Hornets, who operate out of a southern city crazy about baseball on all levels, may have finally run into it — they earned a one-run victory over rival Pueblo East on Tuesday night, then came north to Denver on Wednesday to take out D’Evelyn, top-ranked in The Associated Press’ Class 4A media poll, 9-1.
“It’s big for us,” said Ochs, whose team improved to 6-6 and is eager to join the classification’s elite.
Consider it a start. Pueblo County jumped on the Jaguars immediately with a five-run first inning and coasted. The Hornets rode the efficient pitching of Evan Bensko and solid defense behind him, which he appreciated.
“The way I pitch I rely on my fielders,” the senior said. “I’m not overpowering, so I let the guys do the work, and it definitely was a team effort today.”
Six of nine starting Hornets either drove home a run or scored one. Colton Talton was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a run batted in. Sophomore Jace Fillmore smacked a two-run home run in the sixth to put it out of reach. And Colton McCabe scored twice,.
“We swung it well, and (the Jaguars) did, too, but we just competed better,” Bensko said.
D’Evelyn managed seven hits and stranded seven runners as it never was able to piece anything together at the plate. The Jags had their leadoff batters on base in four of the five middle innings but scratched out only one run, and it was aided by the Hornets’ lone error.
“We were flat,” D’Evelyn coach Dan Porreco said.
It was D’Evelyn’s first game in 11 days and just its second since March 25.
“We hit a lot of flyballs today, and (the Hornets) were playing us deep and we hit them right at them,” Porreco added. “And the intensity wasn’t there for us. (The Hornets) played well.”
Neil H. Devlin: @neildevlin or ndevlin@denverpost.com
