DOLORES – The rest of the state may not realize it yet, but one of the 2A classification’s best-kept secrets resides in the southwest corner.
The Bears baseball team would prefer to keep it that way – at least until the regional round of the postseason.
After starting the season 0-5 and spending most of the first half of the year adrift outside the top 40 in the CHSAA rankings, the Bears have gone on a tear. Seven straight victories at Joe Rowell Park and six wins in their last eight overall kept rolling on Tuesday afternoon, as DHS throttled Del Norte 19-4 and 13-1 in their doubleheader to all-but-assure the Bears a spot in the 2A playoffs.
Their twin bill against the visiting Tigers carried the atmosphere of a playoff environment – both teams entered action in the low 30s in the state rankings, meaning neither could afford to slip up with the regular season winding down to its final days.
All the potential drama flew out the window in the opening inning of game one, where Dolores (10-11) batted around and scored 10 times to set the tone in their four-inning mercy-rule trouncing.
From there, the Bears dominated every phase of the game, controlling the Tigers at the plate with two sterling performances on the mound from juniors Gus Vaughn and Levi Hampton.
“I’ve been moving my fastball around the zone, getting them to swing at something, then see if they’ll chase after my slider,” said Vaughn, who struck out four Tigers in his mercy-rule shortened complete game.
DHS steadily pulled away in the second contest, scoring four runs in the second and adding six more in the fourth to sweep the Tigers in just nine combined innings. The formula’s been simple for Vaughn – “We’ve just been putting the ball in play, and moving guys around the bases,” said the junior shortstop. “When the top of the order gets going, it’s a domino effect for the rest of the team.”
Getting back to .500 signaled the resilience of a young Bears squad, while also sending DHS into the postseason as a dangerous opponent for whoever the Bears travel to face in the opening rounds.
“We’ve gotten the confidence to believe that we can play at this level,” Hampton said. “After our slow start, we’ve flipped everything around – the morale, the energy, we’ve cleaned up the errors – everything’s different.”
Every starter had at least one hit, led by junior Orin Samulski’s five of their combined 27 knocks. Classmate Hayden Lancaster drove in five runs alongside Vaughn and Hampton’s five RBI days, and the Bears played clean defense behind their starting pitchers to douse out the rare Tigers threats.
Sophomore Branson Lee added five runs scored and reached safely six times on the afternoon. Lee is one of the Bears adopting a new role this spring, blossoming as the team’s catcher and table-setter at the top of the batting order. “When the coaches asked me to move from middle infield to catcher, it was something that I embraced,” Lee said.
Fans would be hard-pressed to find too many catchers at any level who bat in the leadoff spot, but Lee’s speed and ability to make contact have him tailor-made for the role.
“We’re reading the ball out of the pitcher’s hand a lot better,” said Lee, “and I’ll adjust based on the pitcher, the count, and what I’ve seen them throw earlier in the game – and I’ll try to sit for my pitch.”
With almost their entire roster set to return next spring, the Bears have a chance to set the foundation for a 2A powerhouse, much like the program enjoyed in the early 2000s. “Our class didn’t have the role models when we restarted the program, so we had to learn on our own to be good leaders for the underclassmen,” added Hampton. “But now I feel like we’re in a good spot.”
Dolores sent off their seniors with a 14-4 loss against Cedaredge, snapping their sizable home winning streak. Now, the Bears await their regional assignment as they get set to travel for the opening rounds of 2A postseason play on May 15-16.
The season’s accomplishments to this point aren’t lost on Hampton, recognizing how far DHS baseball has come since the program disbanded after the 2019 season. That squad from seven years ago advanced to the round of 16, joining the 2026 Bears as the only two DHS teams to win double-digit games in the past 15 years.
“It’s been special to be a part of this – to have a chance to play in the playoffs,” said Hampton, “it just shows how much we’ve grown.”
