Fresh off a big road doubleheader sweep of league rival Montrose, the Demons had to get up again Tuesday for a rematch with Aztec.
The two key wins at previously 10th-ranked Montrose saw the Durango High School baseball team jump 15 spots in the latest Colorado High School Activities Association Class 4A coaches poll, as the Demons went from 19th a week earlier the No. 4 in the state with a perfect 9-0 record.
In a rematch with an Aztec Tigers team it beat 15-0 in New Mexico in the season opener, the Demons were tested with a chance to improve to 10-0 on the line.
“We have that target on our back,” Durango senior Elias Fiddler said. “We’re going to get everyone’s best, but that’s good for us. We want to beat everyone’s best to be the best.”
After DHS went down 2-0 going to the bottom of the third inning in a bit of an odd contest that saw plenty of talking between coaches and umpires, the Demon bats came to life with a four-run inning.
The Demons would hold that lead and build on it to secure a 7-3 victory and improve to 10-0 overall with a 4-0 mark so far in the 5A/4A Southwestern League.
“It was good to see us fight through everything and come out on top,” Fiddler said. “We made the adjustments we needed to, and I love seeing that from our guys.”
The big third inning started with Jack Benner leading off with a walk to bring up the top of the lineup. Gage Mestas then reached on an error before Cal Walsh drew a free pass. Elias Fiddler then batted in a run with a single, and Jordan Stanley followed with an RBI single of his own in an inning marred by errors and wild pitches.
In the fourth inning, Fiddler would belt a two-run homer for his sixth round-tripper of the season.
“We saw that pitcher (Ryan Ray) in the first game we played against them, and I hit a few balls hard off him. I was sitting fastball and got one,” Fiddler said. “It was pretty cool; I’ve never hit one over the swing set back there like that. That was sweet.”
DHS added one more run in the sixth for some insurance. Ty Martinez hit a deep shot to the left field fence. He saw the throw come in late from the outfield and to second base as he was already about to round second, so he put his head down and sprinted to third to stretch it into a triple. Two batters later, he scored on a sacrifice fly from Walsh.
Martinez was the winning pitcher for DHS. He went four innings, as he struck out six, walked one and allowed two hits.
The Demons turned to Jordan Stanley to pitch the fifth, but he walked the bases loaded without recording an out, and DHS head coach Rob Coddington took the ball and gave it to Walsh, who has excelled in a closer role this year.
Walsh hit the first batter he faced, Kenny Hill, but he would strike out the next two and induce a fly out to center field by Jacob Johnson to get out of the inning with just the one run scored by Ray charged to Stanley.
“I was just trying to throw strikes and stay ahead in the count,” Walsh said. “I know I have a good defense behind me, and that gives me a lot of confidence on the mound.
“I’ve had arm problems in the past, so I like this relief role being able to come in and not throw a lot of pitches but help the guys out.”
It was Hill who scored the game’s first run in the top of the second. He singled and advanced to second on a sacrifice, and he scored on Johnson’s double.
After reaching on a fielder’s choice, Ray would score the second run in the third for Aztec (5-5) on a tough inning for DHS with passed balls and wild pitches.
Doing a bit of everything, Fiddler went from catcher to pitcher in the seventh inning for DHS. Elijah Wyatt worked a tough at-bat and came through with a two-strike single, but Fiddler got a groundball out, a fly out to left and then a strikeout of Johnson to end the game.
“Whatever coach asks for, I can come in and do it,” Fiddler said.
Now, the Demons will get ready to host Grand Junction Central (2-6, 1-2 SWL) in a doubleheader Saturday. A sweep will put DHS in position to win the league championship with a split against Fruita Monument on the road a week later.
“Central has a big kid. I don’t know how much they have behind him yet, but it’s going to be important for us to jump out early with the bats,” Fiddler said.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
