The Demons needed a boost.
Down 5-3 in the fifth inning, the Durango High School baseball team was nine outs away from a loss that would’ve dealt a serious blow to its postseason hopes.
The Demons, however, opted to emphatically break down the floodgates.
DHS scored nine runs in the fifth inning to go up 12-5 before topping Montezuma-Cortez 14-7 on Thursday at DHS.
The victory stopped a three-game losing streak for the Demons (7-7, 2-4 Southwestern League) and provided a much-needed lift for a team looking to make a late-season run at its third consecutive playoff berth.
“We’ve been looking for that inning late in the game for a few weeks,” DHS head coach Rob Coddington said. “The kids did a good job wearing their pitcher down. ... We were able to get to him finally there in the fifth. The kids swung the bats like they’re capable of.”
The Dunlap brothers set the tone for DHS in a big way:
Blake Dunlap went 4-for-4, finishing a single short of the cycle. He doubled twice, homered, tripled, drove in three runs and scored three times.
Casey Dunlap anchored a strong effort from the bottom of the lineup, going 3-for-4, finishing a homer short of the cycle and scoring twice.
“If the bottom of the lineup can get some hits and get on bags, it’ll help the top of the lineup drive us in,” said Casey Dunlap, son of Aaron and Julie Dunlap.
Blake Dunlap’s RBI triple plated Ty Worley to start the big fifth inning. After a hit-by-pitch and a walk, Cole Dunegan drove home two runs with a single, and Ty Elliott plated another with a sacrifice fly. A throwing error kept the inning alive with two outs, plating two more runs, and hits by Dunlap and Jeremy Szura scored two more runs.
“Like we’ve done the whole season, we battle through all seven. ... Came out on top this time,” Blake Dunlap said. Szura (2-1) threw five innings, allowing five runs on nine hits while striking out five and walking one to pick up the victory.
Elliott threw two innings of relief in his first pitching performance of the season after suffering a back injury before the season. His return adds another experienced arm to the DHS staff.
“Jeremy always gives us a chance to win, and it’s nice to see Ty back here,” Coddington said.
Dunegan was 2-for-4, drove in two runs and scored twice for DHS, which had 16 total hits. Sean Blanchard was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored, and Szura had a pair of hits.
The Demons will travel to Montrose for a nonconference game against Valor Christian at 3:30 p.m. today.
rowens@durangoherald.com
