Two Southwestern League foes are set to clash in a non-conference game on the biggest stage in Four Corners baseball.
Durango High School and Fruita Monument High School will square off in the championship game of the Piedra Vista baseball Invitational at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Ricketts Park in Farmington. The DHS Demons (3-2) advanced to the tournament title game after beating the host Piedra Vista Panthers (6-2) 14-12 in the semifinals Friday.
“Really big win for our guys. A bit of a dogfight, but we were able to come out of it with a very big win,” DHS head coach Eric Baker said. “Farmington, in general, is a good baseball town, and PV particularly over the last six years has been really tough. They don’t give anything away. To go down there and take it from them is a big deal for our kids.”
The hotly-contested game saw plenty of big moments, including a grand slam off the bat of junior Kyle Duran. Using a wood bat, Duran put a shot over the left-field fence at Ricketts.
“I thought he was going to be arrested, because he murdered that ball,” Baker said of Duran’s homer.
Duran was 3-for-4 at the plate with six runs batted in. Hayden Sill was 3-for-4 with three RBIs, and Casey Dunlap was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, Baker said.
“We had a lot of hits, both teams did,” Baker said. “The top of our lineup is really swinging the bat well right now.”
After pulling starting pitcher Jordan McKnight in the first inning following two hit batsmen and a walk. Sill came on and pitched a few innings in relief before giving way to Chris Jaworsky. A senior, Jaworsky pitched a couple of innings and was credited with the win. Junior Dylan Carlson closed the game out with two scoreless innings of work to earn a two-inning save.
DHS went up 2-1 after one inning and 6-3 after two. Piedra Vista scored five runs in the third to take an 8-6 lead, but the Demons fought back to tie it in the top of the fourth before scoring six in the fifth to go up 14-9.
DHS will face the Fruita Monument Wildcats for the tournament title as two Colorado teams are featured in the New Mexico tournament’s championship.
Lawrence Mayberry is expected to start on the mound for DHS. He has plenty of experience pitching at Ricketts Park after playing Connie Mack baseball there last summer.
“That’s one of our league foes, so it will be fun to see what they have here early,” Baker said.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
