The Durango High School baseball team didn’t allow a slow start against Farmington on Tuesday afternoon to stop its offense all night as the Demons’ hot bats in the middle of the game propelled them to a 9-4 win.
Farmington struck first with consistent hitting early, and Durango wasn’t seeing the ball well. But Durango’s aggressive style of play changed the momentum. Senior Ollie Peterson stole third and eventually got home to get Durango on the board.
After the Demons were down 3-2 after Peterson and Romero got home, Durango dominated with its bats and pitching. The Farmington pitchers couldn’t find the strike zone, and when they did, those pitches were blasted all over the field.
Sophomore Coen Anderson finished strongly on the mound for the Demons, and senior Dawson McInnes did enough in replacing Anderson as the Demons cruised to victory after seven runs in the third and fourth innings.
“We took great at-bats the whole game, and we got unlucky early,” Durango head coach Masen Hibbeler said. “We were still getting guys on base, but the difference was our at-bats this game. We were awesome top to bottom.”
Durango improved to 5-2 overall with the win, despite Farmington outhitting Durango, 13-8. After losing their first two games to Cleveland and Piedra Vista, who have a combined record of 27-0, the Demons have won five consecutive games.
McInnes led the Demons at the plate, going 2-3 at bat with two hits, two runs and three RBIs after a three-run homer. Seniors Landin “Bubba” Padilla and Brady Hoerl each went 1-1 at bat.
Anderson pitched five innings for the Demons, finishing with four strikeouts, 10 hits and three runs. McInnes pitched the other two innings, finishing with a strikeout, one run allowed and three hits.
Farmington dropped to 7-7 overall after the loss. The Scorpions are 5-2 in their last seven games, with the two losses coming to Durango.
“It was a complete game on both sides, and they outpitched us,” Farmington head coach Kary King said. “They executed their pitches when it counted most.”
The Scorpions struck first to start the game. With a 2-2 count, Farmington senior Danny Hagstrom drilled a hit over left field, resulting in a home run and a 1-0 lead. Fellow senior Gabe Matamoros followed that up with a nicely struck hit into center field, but Durango senior Dylan Burns made a fantastic diving catch for the first out. Farmington senior Adam Wiese responded with a hit on the next pitch, resulting in a single.
Anderson responded with two strikeouts to end the inning, and Durango escaped the top of the first only down 1-0.
“He was great,” Hibbeler said about Anderson. “He got back in there; he gave us a chance … It was really fun to watch, and that’s not enough runs to beat our offense. We know that, so as long as Coen keeps filling it up, or any of our pitchers, our offense is going to take care of business.”
McInnes started the bottom of the first with a nice grounder to right field; junior Duncan Walsh was walked, but the Scorpions responded with a triple play off a line-drive hit from senior Austin Romero to end the inning up 1-0.
“We didn't give them really any extra outs, so we played clean defensively,” King said. “We turned a triple play. That was kind of cool, too.”
Farmington continued its strong defensive play in the second, not allowing the Demons to score despite Durango getting two runners on base. The Scorpions increased their lead to 2-0 at the top of the third after two errors by the Demons.
Farmington’s strong start vanished in the bottom of the third. The Scorpions’ pitching couldn’t find the strike zone, allowing Durango to get on base with two walks. Demons senior Ollie Peterson advanced to third via steal, and Peterson got home after tagging up. McInnes then got home on a nice Romero grounder to tie the game at two going into the fourth.
After escaping the top of the fourth down 3-2 despite allowing four hits, the Demons’ bats exploded with power at the bottom of the fourth.
Junior Grady Feeney had the most beautiful hit of the day to that point, a perfect driven hit over the third baseman that rolled just inside the line to the fence and bringing Padilla home to tie the game. That hit was contagious as Hoerl hit a similar ball down the right side, bringing Feeney home and giving the Demons their first lead of the game, 4-3.
Then, McInnes showed his power that everyone saw on the football field in the fall. He smashed a three-run homer over center field to give the Demons a 7-3 lead. Anderson kept the good momentum going with a few strikeouts to end the top of the fifth.
“Balls started finding holes,” Hibbeler said. “We were having great at-bats. We had some matchups where we got some guys in. Brady Hoerl comes in, breaks it open. Grady Feeney's a guy that's been awesome in practice, breaks it open for us.”
The Demons added a run in the fifth and the sixth, with Padilla smashing one to center field to bring home Anderson in the sixth for Durango’s ninth run. Farmington loaded the bases in the fifth, but the Demons didn’t allow the Scorpions to score.
Durango plays at Falcon on Friday at 3:30 p.m. Hibbeler feels really good about his squad. He knows his team needs to continue to mesh, figure some things out and handle business this weekend.
Farmington plays a doubleheader at Rio Grande on Saturday.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
