The Durango High School baseball team has aspirations of competing at the top of the state in Colorado, but after facing some top teams in New Mexico in the Piedra Vista Invitational on Thursday and Friday, the Demons still have room to improve.
Host Piedra Vista easily took care of Durango with a 9-1 victory on Thursday, and Cleveland beat Durango 13-3 on Friday. The Demons faced Farmington on Saturday at 4 p.m., but the results weren’t available at press time.
Tournament host Piedra Vista used a dominant pitching performance from senior Alexis Hernandez to cruise past the Durango Demons 9-1.
Hernandez threw a complete game, allowing just one run on six hits while striking out five.
The Panthers’ bats stayed hot early despite heavy winds. Senior Mason Courtney hit a triple to open the scoring, and Elyas Barton drove in two runs with a single to cap a three-run first inning.
Durango junior Coen Anderson provided the Demons' lone highlight with a solo home run in the second to make it 3-1. Piedra Vista answered immediately, as Courtney doubled and Barton added another RBI single to push the lead to 8-1 by the end of the second.
“I think we got a little complacent with the lead and realized we had to keep grinding,” said Piedra Vista head coach Jeff Kiraly.
JW Bayless added an RBI double in the late innings to provide the final margin. Durango senior Dawson McInnes took the loss despite striking out five in his start.
Behind a relentless offensive attack and a commanding performance on the mound from Xavier Vasquez, Cleveland rolled to a 13-3 victory over the Durango Demons in a game ended after five innings due to the run rule.
Cleveland broke the game open early and never looked back, punctuating the win with a seven-run explosion in the third inning.
Cleveland established control in the second inning when Anthony Del Angel cleared the bases with a three-run home run to left field, scoring Santino Williams and Peyton Noel. The blast extended the lead to 5-0 and set the tone for a night where the Cleveland bats rarely went quiet.
Durango attempted a comeback in the top of the third. After Austin Romero singled and advanced on an error, Duncan Walsh launched a two-run home run to right field, cutting the deficit to 5-2. However, the momentum was short-lived.
Cleveland responded immediately in the bottom half the third, getting RBI base hits from Noah Segura, Sandoval, Del Angel and with Ben Herman. Treven. Polanco added an RBI single, while an error by the Durango center fielder allowed a second run to cross on the same play.
By the time the third out was recorded, Cleveland held a commanding 12-2 advantage.
Vasquez remained sharp for Cleveland, racking up strikeouts to stifle any Durango threats. In the top of the fifth, Durango managed one final run when Ollie Peterson scored on a catcher’s error following a strikeout.
Cleveland ended the contest in the bottom half the frame when Williams hammered a double to right field, scoring Sandoval to finish the contest.
