The Durango High School baseball team had a thrilling finish to its home opener Tuesday, as the Demons scored a walk-off win against Aztec at DHS.
Down 8-3 in the third inning, the Demons rallied back to tie the game at 8-8 and force extra innings. In the bottom of the eighth, with runners on first and second and two outs, DHS senior Keegan D’Aleo hit a single to shallow right field that scored Cody Nightingale to lift the Demons to a 9-8 victory.
“At the start of the at-bat, I was really looking for a fastball to drive,” D’Aleo said. “I was looking to hit it middle-away because they were playing a shift in the outfield to the left side, so I knew there was a big hole in the right side. I was looking for a fastball to hit to the right side but got down to that 2-2 count, so I floated a curveball that was low and away. I was a little out in front of it, but it dropped.”
D’Aleo’s game-winning hit was the second piece of heroics from the senior, who came on in relief of starting pitcher Al Hurworth in the third inning to earn the win.
D’Aleo gave up two runs in the top of the third, both earned on three hits and a walk, then held Aztec to two hits and walked two batters during the next five innings.
The performance was reminiscent of the first meeting between the two teams when D’Aleo recorded the final four outs of the game to earn a save in the Demons’ 6-5 victory on March 15 in Aztec.
“Keegan was dealing,” DHS catcher Max Hyson said. “He has these guys’ numbers. He shut them down in the opener, too. He came in and closed them down. He was throwing gas, hitting his spots and it all just came together.”
Aztec (5-10) didn’t waste any time getting on base in the first inning, sending nine batters to the plate. Cody Smith got the Tigers started with a triple that drove in two runs. Smith later scored on an error to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead after the top of the inning.
The Demons (5-2) responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. Gage Mestas led off the inning by being hit by a pitch, then a Ryan Genualdi single and an intentional walk for Max Hyson loaded the bases with one out. After Gus Kidd struck out swinging, D’Aleo cleared the bases with a double to left-center field.
The Tigers put together a two-out rally in the top of the second inning with RBI singles from Smith, Chad Hill and Levi Cole that gave them a 6-3 lead.
The first Aztec run off D’Aleo in the third came when Dustin Sipe got a hit to center that advanced Zach Taylor from second base, but as he rounded third base, Taylor hesitated and was caught in a pickle. After retreating to third, then cutting back to home, Taylor slipped under the tag of Hyson and slid into home for the run.
The second run came on an RBI single from Hill that scored Sipe and made it 8-3.
“That’s a good hitting team, especially the top part of their lineup,” DHS head coach Eric Baker said of Aztec. “They put some wood on the ball. ... In baseball, being five runs down, it’s easy to feel like it’s not your day. They had some hits that were pretty hard and had a couple bounce over our head, but I think this says our team is pretty resilient.”
Durango got its offense going again in the fourth inning with a two-RBI double from Genualdi.
Aztec made a pitching change after the Genualdi double and brought Kaden Adcock in from center field to pitch and Hill went to center field.
The Demons got runners on second and third with no outs, but Adcock handled the next three batters to get out of the jam.
Durango added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI sacrifice bunt from Jayce Baruch that scored Dawson Marcum from third, then an RBI single from Genualdi scored Fynn Hyson to make it an 8-7 game.
Max Hyson tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning with a lead-off home run that was gone the instant it connected with the bat.
“That ball was tattooed. Lord,” Baker said of Hyson’s homer.
Aztec had a chance to take the lead in the top of the seventh after Taylor singled then stole second base, but D’Aleo struck out the final batter to send the game to extra innings.
“We left a lot of runners on,” said Aztec head coach Wes Leplatt, whose Tigers stranded 11 base runners. “That hurt, and we couldn’t get that big hit to extend the inning. ... Once we get up like that, we have to pitch and play better defense. Eight runs should be enough.”
D’Aleo earned the win for the Demons, while Taylor, who moved from shortstop to pitcher in the seventh inning, took the loss.
Genualdi finished the day 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, three RBIs, one run scored and a stolen base. D’Aleo went 2-for-4 with a double and four RBIs, and Max Hyson finished 1-for-3 with two walks to go with his home run and two runs scored.
Smith led Aztec at the plate with a 3-for-4 performance. He drew one walk, drove in three runs and scored twice, and Hill went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
Durango will begin play in the 5A/4A Southwestern League with a pair of games against Class 5A Grand Junction (4-6) on Friday and Saturday at DHS.
“It’s a great feeling going into league,” Max Hyson said. “We have to take two from Junction this weekend, and I’m excited. I think we have a real shot at winning the league this year. There’s always things we can do to get better, but this is a fun baseball team to play on. I haven’t played on a team like this in three or four years.
“The energy is awesome, we have fun with each other, and we’re looking forward to the rest of the season.”
kschneider@durangoherald.com
