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Durango baseball goes down early, loses to Grand Junction

Durango falls to Grand Junction 9-4

A tough weekend for Durango High School baseball got even tougher Saturday afternoon, as students, parents and fans gathered to watch the Demons play Grand Junction and say goodbye to the seniors.

Whether it was a lingering bad taste from Friday’s one-run loss or the emotions of the final home game, nothing went Durango’s way on senior day. Grand Junction jumped out to a big lead and showed no mercy, as the Tigers cruised to a 9-4 win.

“Everyone, even the toughest kids, get emotional on senior day,” Durango head coach Eric Baker said. “These five guys came in, worked really hard, and it’s neat to see everyone honor them. Nothing went our way (Saturday), but baseball can be that way. Lucky for our seniors and the rest of us, we have more games.”

After getting the win in Tuesday’s game against Bayfield, senior pitcher Dylan Carlson took the ball on limited rest, and Grand Junction jumped on the senior right-hander early. The Tigers scored two runs in each of the first three innings to build a 6-0 lead.

Peyton Woolverton’s ground-rule double helped the Demons (8-8, 4-3 4A/5A Southwestern League) cut the deficit in half. He hit the ball hard in each at-bat, as he went 2-for-3 with a single, double, walk and a run batted in. Aside from the dialed-in Woolverton, Tigers’ starter Kaden Heinsma was tough to get to for the DHS lineup.

Grand Junction (11-6, 6-2 SWL) got the three runs back in the fifth inning on a play that was representative of the Demons’ weekend. Carlson induced a sinking line drive that right fielder Jake Bourdon hustled in to make a play on. The ball skipped past his diving attempt and went to the wall and allowed each of the three runs to cross home.

Carlson left the game in the fifth after he allowed eight hits and nine runs with five strikeouts and four walks. It was his last outing at Durango High School and the final home game for seniors Kyle Duran, Lawrence Mayberry, Andrew Selser and Zach Szura.

“When I look around this place, it feels like home because I’m so comfortable here,” said Mayberry, son of George and Tonya Mayberry. “It doesn’t feel good. I don’t want to leave, but at the same time, we did a lot of good here. We wanted to set an example for the younger guys, and to see how they’ve all grown makes me feel like we did a good job.”

Durango will need some wins in the final week to boost its playoff chances. The Demons will get their first chance at 4 p.m. Friday at Fruita Monument.

jfries@durangoherald.com

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