The Durango High School baseball team concluded its season with a pair of games at Grand Junction Central over the weekend. The Demons started strong on Friday, but let a five-run lead get away from them late in 13-12 loss on Friday.
The Demons, however, came back on Saturday and played clean defense and got some big hits to end their season with a 13-1 win over Central.
“The kids played well Saturday,” said DHS head coach Rob Coddington. “They don’t give up and wanted to make a statement at the end of the season.”
The Demons turned a pair of double plays in the win. Tanner Coddington pitched six innings for the win, giving up one earned run and six walks while striking out four. AJ Folk threw the seventh, giving up one hit and no runs.
Michael Benner had a big day at the plate, going 2-2 with an inside-the-park home run to finish with four RBIs and four runs.
“Michael hit well, for sure,” coach Coddington said. Matt Pane also scored three runs. Jordan Stanley drove in two and scored once. Tagert Bardin scored twice, and Ian Szura, JJ Hoerl and Brady Hansen all scored once.
“It was a great team effort,” coach Coddington said. “There was a lot of energy in the dugout. The infield played really hard, and the outfield made some great catches. It was a great way to end a challenging season.”
In Friday’s loss, nine Demons scored at least one run, led by Brenner with three runs and Stanley with four RBIs.
The Demons, however, won three of their last four games to finish 6-17 overall and go 2-6 in the 5A/4A Southwestern League. Central finished 11-12, 2-6.
“They improved,” Coddington said. “There were a lot of parts in each game when they were playing well, but in the last couple of weeks they put it together.”
With summer ball starting this week for Durango and more ball planned in the fall, DHS will look to improve during the offseason.
“There are some things I can do different to get them prepared, but I know the kids are eager to work out,” the coach said. “Any extra baseball helps. We have a lot of multisport athletes and knowing how competitive the kids are is something we can build on, for sure.”
Stanley ended up leading DHS this spring with a .345 batting average, driving in 22 runs while hitting six home runs. Brenner hit .323 and scored a team-high 21 runs. Stanley, Pane and Gavin Hamlin all scored 18 runs. Tanner Coddington led the team’s pitchers with a 4.14 ERA and 40 strikeouts.
