The Durango High School baseball team went into the weekend looking for some much needed wins to bolster its playoff hopes, but Friday’s game didn’t deliver for Durango.
The Demons had their work cut out for them against one of the top pitchers in the 4A/5ASouthwestern League in Fruita Monument’s Sam Schroeder. Though the ace got off to a rough start, he went the distance as Fruita’s offense provided the punch to get the job done in a 9-2 Wildcats win.
Lawrence Mayberry led Durango with a 2-for-3 showing at the plate with one run scored. Senior Zach Szura was 1-for-3 with a run batted in, and Andrew Selser was 0-for-2 with a walk and a RBI.
Durango grabbed a lead in the first as Schroeder walked in a run, but that’s all the support Demons’ starter Tyler Ruetschle received when he was in the game. Ruetschle pitched 4 1/3 innings and allowed seven hits and five runs, three of which were earned. He also had three strikeouts and four walks in the loss.
The Demons cut a four-run Fruita lead to 5-2 in the top of the sixth, but the Wildcats (13-4, 8-1 SWL) put any comeback hopes to bed with four in the bottom half of the inning.
The win extended Fruita’s winning streak to seven games and allows the Wildcats to control their own fate. If they win the 11:30 a.m. Saturday game against Durango, Fruita will claim the regular-season league title outright.
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