The Durango Demons left Montrose feeling pretty good about picking up two wins in their first three games of the season.
Durango High School baseball (2-1) defeated Bear Creek 6-5 on a walk-off suicide squeeze bunt by Bryce VonTersch that scored Zac Gasaway, who led off the bottom of the seventh with a double.
The celebration was short-lived, though, as the Demons fell 8-3 to Delta in a five-inning game that was called because of darkness. DHS finished the two-day series in Montrose 2-1 after beating Fort Collins 11-7 on Friday.
“We are happy to leave with a couple of wins, for sure. We felt like we should be leaving with three, but we lacked the intensity we normally have in the last game,” DHS head coach Rob Coddington said.
Hayden Sill started the game on the mound for DHS against Bear Creek. He lasted six innings and gave up three runs, none of which were earned as the Demons struggled with errors. He struck out five Bear Creek batters in the game. Sill also had an RBI double.
“Sill did an exceptional job keeping it simple and throwing strikes. He had a good day all the way through with a few hits in the Delta game, too.”
Blake Dunlap led off the game against Bear Creek with a home run. He also pitched one inning and recorded two strikeouts while walking away with the win.
Bear Creek tied the game 5-5 in the top of the seventh. Gasaway led off with a double, and Sill reached on an error, giving the Demons runners on second and third. Dane Rowley grounded out to second base, but VonTersch laid down a perfect bunt to squeeze home Gasaway for the winning run.
“It was cool to execute that and end a game that way,” Coddington said.
The Demons battled defensive miscues in the second game of the day against Delta as the sun quickly set behind the mountains.
“We made errors, and, to Delta’s credit, they hit the ball pretty well,” Coddington said. “We definitely handed them a lot of outs, and they took advantage.”
Rowley pitched four innings and took the loss for DHS.
Delta scored four runs in the first inning.
The Demons trailed 4-3 after three innings, but Delta tacked on three runs in the bottom of the fourth to regain separation.
DHS is back in action with a three-day tournament beginning Thursday in Farmington, N.M. The Demons will open the Piedra Vista Panther Invitational against Miyamura High School from Gallup, N.M.
“We have already talked about things to work on through the week. The biggest thing is picking up the intensity,” Coddington said. “If we do that, we can be competitive.”
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