Durango High School lost a doubleheader in the Demons’ home debut Friday at Aspen Field on the Fort Lewis College campus.
Fruita Monument swept DHS (2-7) with 6-2 and 14-4 wins.
“When it comes to the big play, the other team is making the plays,” DHS head coach Mike Cioppa said. “We’re not making the plays.”
Fruita Monument scored two runs in the first inning of Game 1, then added three in the fourth and one in the seventh.
DHS rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh.
The Wildcats, who committed two errors, outhit Durango 9-8. The Demons made three errors in the loss.
Alexys Vidunas was 2-for-2 in the Demons’ leadoff role with a run scored and one run batted in and “pitched a great game” in the circle, too, her coach said.
Demons’ second baseman Rebekah Ford was 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.
Fruita Monument scored three runs in the third in Game 2, then added one in the fourth, five in the fifth, three in the sixth and two in the seventh.
DHS scored a run in the fifth and three in the sixth.
The Wildcats, who committed another two errors in the victory, outhit DHS 12-3. The Demons committed eight errors in the loss and 11 in the doubleheader defeat.
“In practice, we make plays,” Cioppa said. “I don’t know what it is? The kids get nervous? I can’t explain it; I wish I could because then I’d fix it.”
Vidunas added another two hits in the loss, and Ford, a freshman, was 3-for-3 with a run scored for the Demons and her first home run – “that was really exciting,” said Cioppa, who praised his freshman’s play.
DHS will host Montrose at 10 a.m. and noon Saturday at Aspen Field.
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