The Durango baseball team’s season came to an end Saturday with a 11-5 loss against Delta in the first round of the Colorado High School Activities Association 4A District 8 Tournament.

The No. 27 Demons (9-11) got off to a great start at the host Panthers’ field, but a 4-1 lead disappeared, as No. 6 Delta (17-3) posted four runs in the third and four more in the sixth inning to break the game open.

Durango starter Andrew Selser allowed six runs in three innings and was charged with the loss. None of the six runs that crossed with Selser on the mound were earned, as the Durango defense imploded behind the senior pitcher and finished the game with six errors.

Jacob Bourdon was 2-for-3 with a double and a run batted in. Gavin Mestas and Mark Lamoreaux each had two hits for Durango in the season ending loss.

“We had some defensive lapses, and it’s hard to win that way,” Durango head coach Eric Baker said. “I don’t feel like we gave the game away, though. Their lineup hit the ball hard all day and, while we should have made those plays, they were still hard-hit balls. We were right in it for awhile against a really good team.”

The Demons weren’t just in it, they were in control at one point. They scored two runs in the second inning and two more in the third to build a 4-1 lead. However, Jasper Carmichael’s three-run home run in the bottom of the third inning gave the Panthers a 5-4 lead and turned the tables on the underdog Durango squad.

“We had the pressure on them, and the home run was just a clutch hit that really changed the flow of the game,” Baker said.

The gritty Demons answered back and the teams exchanged runs in a tight game until the Panthers busted it wide open in the sixth with four more. The late-inning deficit was too much for the Demons to overcome and Delta moved on to play in the title game.

The District 8 title game saw the Panthers face No. 11 Pueblo South, Delta prevailed to win 7-3 to advance to the state tournament.

jfries@durangoherald.com