They say hitting is contagious. That was certainly the case for the Durango High School softball team on Friday afternoon.
The Demons hosted Alamosa High School for a varsity softball doubleheader on Friday. Originally scheduled for Thursday, the games were pushed back because of heavy rain in Durango on Wednesday as well as snow on Wolf Creek Pass.
Alamosa (2-7) made the trip Friday, and Durango (5-6) made the most of the chance to play two games with wins of 16-1 in three innings in the opener and an 18-7 win in a full seven innings in Game 2.
“The girls came out fired up,” DHS head coach John Bernazzani said. “We didn’t commit any errors in the first game but didn’t get that to carry over the second game. But we hit the ball hard and did an excellent job building confidence at the plate.”
Teagan Kehm was a superstar for DHS on Friday. In the first game, she went 3-for-3 at the plate with two home runs and a double. She had nine runs batted in.
In the second game, Kehm was 2-for-3 with two more doubles. She drove in one run and scored twice. She also was the winning pitcher in the circle. In five innings pitched, she allowed five hits and five walks but struck out eight. She gave up five runs, but only one was earned. Macey Moore closed the game and allowed only one hit and two walks and two earned runs. She struck out two.
In Game 1, Durango’s Sydney Flores and Sylvia Reyes combined to no-hit the Mean Moose. Flores got the win in two innings of work. She walked two and struck out two and gave up one earned run. Reyes struck out one and didn’t allow a base runner.
The top of the batting order set the tone for DHS in both games. Reyes was 3-for-3 in Game 1 with three runs scored and an RBI. Alaysia Kremer went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Further down the lineup, Meah Mordacai hit her first career high school homer, a three-run shot.
Reyes kept it going in Game 2, as she went 2-for-3 with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored. Kremer had three more RBIs, as she went 2-for-4. Flores also went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Bernazzani was especially thrilled to see senior Maddie Ostrander go a perfect 3-for-3 hitting on the day. The lefty has worked hard on bunting and slap hitting, and Bernazzani said she had two slaps and a pull hit into right field.
“We have wanted to be a patient team at the plate this year,” Bernazzani said. “Our focus is to reach base, and the girls did an excellent job of that today and then put a good swing on good pitches. We’ve made adjustments at the plate, and that’s been big for us.”
DHS (1-5 5A/4A Southwestern League) will play a crucial league doubleheader Friday at Montrose (2-7, 1-2 SWL). Bernazzani is hoping to still add two more games to the DHS schedule during this short season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The girls had a nice break in the middle of this week because of the weather,” he said. “They came out fresh and ready to play against a well-coached team that plays fundamentally sound. The girls refocused and really played well.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
