The Durango High School baseball team snapped a two-game losing skid and had effective pitching in a 5-1 win over Kirtland Central on Saturday at DHS.
Sophomore pitcher Gage Mestas went five innings and struck out nine with one earned run to get the win for Durango.
“I thought I did exceptionally well,” Mestas said. “I had great defense behind me to help keep it at just the one run, and I’m very thankful for that. I just tried pounding the zone so our defense could make plays. I felt a lot more confident in my pitches compared to the last time I went out there against them.”
Mestas was on the wrong end of a 13-1 lopsided loss to the Broncos two weeks ago.
“Gage had a pretty good outing for him,” DHS head coach Eric Baker said. “He was pretty solid and was pretty composed up there and did a decent job for five innings and was getting a little tired, so we brought Al (Hurworth) in to finish up, and he did a great job.”
Durango (3-6) got on the board in the bottom of the second inning when junior Sten Joyner hit a single to right field that drove in the game’s opening run. Freshman Jordan Stanley scored Joyner later in the inning on a fielder’s choice to make it 2-0.
The Demons added two more in the bottom of the third inning when senior captain Gus Kidd ripped an RBI-double to make it 3-0, and sophomore Cal Walsh drove in the fourth run of the game on an RBI-single.
“We actually swung the bat a lot better today,” Baker said. “I’d still like to see more hits connected together, but I think it’s coming. The biggest thing was that we cut down on a lot of the strikeouts. The biggest thing is if you don’t have enough balls in play to put any pressure on the defense, it’s really tough. The kids are swinging the bats alright, but we just have to feel a little bit more confident and I think we’ll have an explosion, that’s what I keep telling them.”
Kirtland Central (7-3) was held to just five hits and, despite applying pressure in the top half of the fourth, the Broncos were unable to add more runs.
“We did have a long layoff of 10 days between games, so we were a bit rusty at the plate,” said Kirtland Central head coach Joshua Nacki. “We struggled to see the ball a little bit and we haven’t seen a live arm in a little while. We put some runners on, but we couldn’t bring ‘em in when it counted.”
In the bottom of the fifth, Elias Fiddler connected on a hard hit single up the middle to drive in Durango’s fifth and final run.
Hurworth came on in relief in the sixth and allowed just one hit, as he had a perfect sixth.
“I think it was a big win for us today just to get that first home win of the season,” Mestas said. “Once we figure out the whole execution process and the philosophy comes together, I’m sure we could end up as a very good team. We just have to take off the training wheels now, and I think we’ll be able to string together some wins.”
Durango will have one week of preparation before hosting Glenwood Springs in a doubleheader Friday at 2 and 4 p.m.
Perfection is a rarity at any level of baseball, but Nucla High School accomplished it Saturday at Ignacio High School behind a five-inning perfect game from sophomore pitcher Tyler Wytulka.
Wytulka gave up no hits, walks, hit batters or runs and struck out 13 of the 15 batters he faced in five innings in an 11-0 win over IHS.
Nucla (6-2, 2-0 SJBL) didn’t let down its ace on defense despite Ignacio threatening to break up perfection on more than one occasion. The best opportunity for the Bobcats (0-7, 0-4 SJBL) came in the bottom of the fourth inning when each batter came within a step or two of being called safe.
Lawrence Toledo was tagged out by the first baseman after an almost errant throw, while Isabela Torres was thrown out by the catcher on a dropped third strike.
Wytulka also tore up the Bobcats as he went 2-for-3, had a sacrifice fly and had a triple to go along with five RBIs.
Josh Flint went 3-for-3 with a double, three runs scored and an RBI, while Logan Weimer went 1-for-3, had two runs scored and added an RBI.
Ignacio will travel to Dolores for another conference matchup at 2 p.m. Monday.
bploen@durangoherald.com
