Several area high school baseball players received postseason awards after impressive seasons on the diamond.
Bayfield High School senior catcher Austin Bushnell was honored for his season’s work with a Colorado High School Activities Association 3A All-State Honorable Mention selection.
The catcher played in each of the Wolverines’ 21 games this season. He hit for a .387 average and led the Wolverines with 27 runs batted in. He was second on the BHS team with five triples, fourth on with 24 hits and tied for the team lead with two home runs in the Colorado High School Activities Association’s 3A Intermountain League. He also had two home runs in the regional round of the playoffs.
The senior was efficient at the plate, as he finished second on the team with 15 walks and struck out only seven times. The ratio was tops on the Wolverines’ team. Bushnell finished the season on a roll. He hit safely in the team’s final seven games of the regular season and drove in runs in the last six.
Valley’s Jose Mercado earned 3A Player of the Year honors and Valley coach Steve Kissler was the Coach of the Year.
Montezuma-Cortez’s Jasen Engel was also received an All-State Honorable Mention in the Class 3A. The junior shortstop and pitcher led the Panthers with a .509 batting average and drove in a team-high 27 runs. He was second on the team in hits (28), third in runs scored (18), first in doubles (9) and second in triples (2).
He was also dominant on the mound. Engel led the Panthers with 67 strikeouts in 52 innings pitched en route to a 5-3 record.
Durango High School landed four players on the 5A/4A All-Southwestern League team. Gavin Mestas, Tyler Ruetschle and Peyton Woolverton took home First Team All-SWL honors, and Mark Lamoreaux made the Second Team.
Mestas, a junior shortstop and pitcher, hit .312 with a team-leading 14 runs batted in and four triples. He was 2-2 on the mound a registered the only save of the year for the 6-13 Demons.
Ruetschle pitched more innings than anyone on the DHS squad. He finished the season with 48 innings pitched, 48 strikeouts and a 3.62 earned run average. He also hit .357 and racked up 15 hits in 42 at bats.
Woolverton had an impressive season on the mound and at the plate. The senior hit a team-high .371 and led the team in hits (23) and doubles (6). He was second behind Mestas with 13 runs batted in and third with 12 runs scored.
Lamoreaux led the Demons with 20 runs scored in his senior season. He also led the team with eight stolen bases He was second behind Woolverton with 22 hits and tied Mestas for the team lead with four triples.
Fruita’s Trey Morrill is the SWL Player of the Year and Wildcats’ coach Ray McLennan earned Coach of the Year honors.
All-league information was not made available for Bayfield and Ignacio.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
