It was far from a perfect day for baseball, but area fans packed the stands at Durango High School to see two rivals duke it out as the Demons hosted Bayfield in the 2016 Strikeout Childhood Cancer game.
Durango received a solid pitching performance from starter Tyler Ruetschle and a near flawless effort in relief from Dylan Carlson, as the Demons beat Bayfield 6-4.
The Demons’ three-run first inning and two-run third off Bayfield starter Taed Heydinger was enough run support in what was a very difficult day to hit.
“That’s a heck of a team we just beat from Bayfield,” Durango head coach Eric Baker said. “They swing the bats as well as any team we play no matter what size school it is, so we’re happy with this win. Our guys challenged their hitters and threw strikes and we got some timely hitting to go with it so that usually leads to a good outcome.”
The win served as a bit of revenge for the Demons, who fell 7-4 at Bayfield a year ago.
The Demons (8-6, 4-1 4A/5A Southwestern League) got to Heydinger early, and it was a good thing they did because the Bayfield starter settled in nicely after giving up three runs in a shaky first inning for the entire defense.
Durango leadoff hitter Gavin Mestas greeted the Wolverines’ hurler with a sharp single to right. An error on the following play set the table for Durango senior Lawrence Mayberry, who hit a line drive up the middle to drive in the first two runs of the game. The senior went 1-for-2 at the plate with a walk and was hit by a pitch in the win.
“We’ve been thinking about this game for awhile, and we really wanted to come out and play hard,” said Mayberry, son of George and Tonya Mayberry. “The lineup is starting to really show up, and, man, the pitchers are coming after guys and throwing strikes. We’re playing good ball.”
Ruetschle gave up a run in the second and a run in the third but kept the high-powered Bayfield offense from putting together a big inning. With a 3-2 lead in the third, the starter handed the duties over to Carlson, and the senior was dominant.
“I felt great out there (Tuesday), and it means a lot because I had a tough outing last time,” said Carlson, son of Leslie and Rich Carlson. “My curveball was working and I had good command. I knew I’d be coming in, and I was ready to go.”
Carlson struck out the side in the fourth before Demons’ catcher Max Hyson and Ruetschle both drove in runs with singles in the fourth inning to give the pitcher a nice cushion. The senior did the rest from there. He mowed down the heart of the Wolverines’ order in the fifth and worked a perfect sixth before Bayfield relief pitcher Kelton McCoy walked in a run to give Durango a 6-2 lead heading into the final inning. McCoy, a University of New Mexico commit, was 1-for-4 at the plate with a double and an RBI.
“This is the type of game we’ll get when we get deeper into the season and the playoffs,” said McCoy, son of Derek and Loresa McCoy. “Some little things like errors, walks and missed execution cost us this game, and, if we don’t figure those things out, it’ll cost us down the road.”
He and his fellow seniors have a winning pedigree, and it was no surprise that they put up a fight in the last at-bat. With Carlson’s adrenaline running in the final frame, some pitches got up in the zone and the Wolverines made him pay. Heydinger nearly took the Demons’ pitcher into center field with a rocket up the middle to start the inning, and Zane Phelps followed with a home run to left that hugged the foul line and stayed fair to pull his team to within two. Phelps was a hammer at the plate as usual. He went 2-for-4 with the homer, two RBIs and two runs scored.
Carlson buckled down, however, and forced McCoy into a ground ball to Mayberry that ended the game.
“All of these guys have played together for a lot of years, so it’ll probably hurt for a bit, but these games are good for us,” Bayfield head coach Jonathon Qualls said. “Durango is a good team, and that’s what we’ll be seeing as these games get more important, so it’s good to face a team of this caliber.”
Next for Durango is a 4 p.m. Friday game, as the Demons will host Grand Junction. The teams will meet again at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. The Class 3A No. 4 Wolverines (9-4, 2-0 3A Intermountain League) will look to get back on track against Monte Vista at 11 a.m. Saturday in Bayfield.
jfries@durangoherald.com
