For the first time since 2012, the Durango High School baseball team swept Fruita Monument after a 9-3 home win on Friday and a 4-3 home win on Saturday.
The Demons continue to look like the team to beat in the 4A/5A Southwestern League with a three-game lead over Fruita in second. Durango and Palisade look like they are on a collision course for the league title when they play at Durango in May to finish the regular season.
Durango’s defense has been superb in the last six games, allowing three runs or less in four of those six games. The Demons have a deep bullpen and an experienced defense in the outfield that make it hard to score on them.
Head coach Masen Hibbeler’s crew improved to 11-5 overall and 5-1 in the 4A/5A Southwestern League. The Demons have already matched their league win total from last season with four league games left.
Fruita dropped to 9-9 overall and 3-3 in the 4A/5A Southwestern League.
On Friday, the Demons and the Wildcats were locked into a close battle, with the Demons leading 2-1 through two innings. Then, Durango outscored Fruita, 4-1, to take a 6-2 lead into the fourth inning. The exclamation point on the win was Durango outscoring Fruita, 3-0, in the sixth. Durango outhit Fruita, 14-8, for the Demons’ first win against the Wildcats since 2017.
Junior Coen Anderson was the star of Game 1 for Durango. He led the Demons in hitting, going 3-3 at bat with two RBIs and a home run. On the mound, Anderson pitched all seven innings and finished with a season-high nine strikeouts.
Game 2 was a defensive showdown. Five of the seven innings were scoreless. One of the two innings with runs was the third when the Wildcats took a 3-0 lead. The Demons responded in the fifth inning with four runs to take the lead all the way to the finish despite being outhit, 8-4.
Senior Dawson McInnes led the Demons with two hits. On the mound, sophomore Cole Clark pitched four innings, and senior Austin Romero pitched two innings and had a strikeout.
The Demons play at Bayfield on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
