A young Bayfield High School baseball team entered Saturday tied atop the league standings with Intermountain League newcomer Montezuma-Cortez. The Wolverines traveled home with a two-game lead.
Bayfield High School picked up wins of 8-2 and 12-0 at Cortez behind the pitching efforts of Fred Edwards and Andrew Morgan and a 7-for-8 showing at the plate by Michael Gettman.
The Wolverines (7-2, 4-0 IML) also played clean defense to help their pitchers escape the limited trouble they faced.
“To get ahead in the division here and beat who was tied for the division lead with us is really good,” BHS head coach Danny Petrie said. “We did all the little things, and that bats were really going. When we did make a mistake, we made up for it and kept coming.”
Edwards was the winning pitcher in the 8-2 win in Game 1. The lefty pitched five innings and allowed seven hits and two runs, but none were earned. He issued one walk and struck out three.
“Fred is very quiet and casual up there,” Petrie said. “He always surprises us with how well he does because he’s just so casual.”
Morgan went four innings in the 12-0 win in Game 2. He allowed two hits and struck out and walked three.
Gettman was a combined 7-for-8 at the plate with a double, three runs scored and two runs batted in. He also walked once. Edwards was 3-for-4 in Game 1 with three runs scored. He added a double in Game 2.
Austin Bushnell was a combined 3-for-5 at the plate with two doubles, two walks, two runs scored and three RBIs.
The Wolverines drew plenty of walks and took advantage of opportunities on the basepaths. Max McGhehey used his speed for a triple and scored three times in Game 2. Kaleb Heck also went 3-for-4 with three singles, one run and two RBIs in the second game in which seven Wolverines had at least one RBI and all nine in the starting lineup scored.
Next up for BHS is a 4 p.m. Friday home game against Paonia (9-0), which boasts one of the top pitchers in the state in Kayden Seriani. The Eagles face Grand Junction on Tuesday, but the Wolverines hope they get a chance to see Seriani on Friday.
“We want to face him,” Petrie said. “We’re hoping they don’t use him against Grand Junction. We want to see better pitching and be able to hit against someone of a better caliber.”
The Warriors’ baseball team completed a 5A/4A Southwestern League sweep of the Demons.
After Durango High School’s baseball team (3-9, 0-2 SWL) fell 5-2 at Grand Junction Central (10-2, 2-0 SWL) on Friday, the same team beat the Demons 7-3 on Saturday.
A five-run third inning gave the Warriors a 7-0 lead the Demons couldn’t come back from in the loss.
Gavin Mestas, Dakota Padoven and Tyler Ruetschle had the three RBIs for Durango, which had nine hits to the Warriors’ four. Both teams finished with two errors.
Peyton Woolverton started on the mound and allowed only two hits but gave up eight walks. He struck out five and was charged for five of the seven runs allowed. Mestas finished the final 4 2/3 innings and allowed only one hit and struck out four without issuing a walk.
Hunter Kelchner was the winning pitcher for the Warriors. He pitched six innings and struck out six and walked four. He earned one run and allowed seven hits. Ryan Weller was 2-for-2 at the plate for Central with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Durango will host Montrose for a doubleheader beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Boys Lacrosse
Boys LacrosseKyle Robinette had the best offensive day in Demons history and led his team to a big bounce-back win on the road.
A day after falling 14-12 to Fruita Monument, Durango’s boys lacrosse team 5-2, 3-2 Mountain League) worked until the final buzzer in an 18-9 win against the Grand Junction Tigers (3-5, 3-1 ML).
Robinette poured in eight goals and assisted four others. The 12 points was the most in a single game in Durango history. He leads all of Class 4A with 43 goals this season.
“Kyle is impressing me every game,” DHS head coach John Robinette said of his senior star and son. “He does everything we ask. He’s drawing the best players constantly who are trying everything to shut him down, but he manages to get open and teammates find him the ball.”
Durango led 4-2 after one quarter and 9-4 at halftime. A few man-down goals allowed helped the Tigers stay in the game, but Durango goalie Dylan Gaver made 18 saves to preserve the Demons’ lead.
TJ Rifkin had another outstanding game with three goals and four assists. Without Cullen Robinette, who is nursing a knee injury, in the lineup, Rifkin stepped up again in a big way.
“I didn’t expect him to contribute as much as he is doing,” coach Robinette said. “He’s a very pleasant surprise for us. He worked really hard in the offseason. He’s a good kid who has put the time in, and he’s a solid presence on the team as a vocal leader out there.”
Tommy Rodgers also had three goals and four assists. Collin Barkley, Coltin Gallegos and Jackson Steigelman all had one goal and one assist for DHS. Corbin Randle added a goal, and Jeb Steigelman had an assist.
Easton Verduzco won 16-of-20 faceoffs and had seven ground balls.
Coach Robinette also credited the defense of seniors Connor and Dillon Coleman as well as freshman Evan Berridge, who filled in for injured captain Connor Collins.
Durango will make a trip to Colorado Springs next week for games at St. Mary’s and Fountain Valley, a pair of 4A teams from the Pikes Peak League.
“We’ve got some tired bodies, we we’re gonna geel it out this next week in practice and see what we can accomplish up there,” coach Robinette said.
Girls Soccer
Girls SoccerSavannah Kaufmann scored four goals, as she helped the Wolverines end a losing streak.
Bayfield’s girls soccer team led Buena Vista 2-0 and added two more Kaufmann goals in the second half. Makenna Cowan, Misty Helton, Caibri Schaefer and Sophie Turner had the assists.
‘We changed things up quite a bit today,” head coach Jen Zelinski said coming off a 2-0 loss to Salida on Friday. “We walked about position during warmups. We have so many new girls struggling with that during this slump. We also have a lot of injuries. So we talked about position, and it helped us get a win.”
BHS will travel to play Pagosa Springs on Tuesday. It’s a big league game against a team that owns a win against Salida.
“Hopefully the girls play hard,” Zelinski said. “Win or lose, with all the injuries we have, we can be happy if the effort is there.”
Also Saturday, the Ignacio girls soccer team fell to Center 3-0 in Alamosa.
Girls Tennis
Girls TennisThe Durango High School girls tennis team lost its first dual match of the season Saturday to Fruita Monument 4-3.
No. 1 singles player Mavis Edwards suffered a rare loss for Durango, 6-1, 6-4, to Wildcats’ Sarah Fleming. Demons’ No. 2 Maggie Hackett defeated opponent Tayvia Voytilla 6-2, 6-2 and No. 3 Emma Hackett won 6-2, 3-6, 6-0.
Though the Demons won two of three singles matches, the doubles teams couldn’t duplicate the success.
The DHS No. 3 team of Emma Jaber and Ruby DeCora was the only pair that came out on top as they made quick work of Madi Marshall and Sierra Lastine 6-2, 6-2.
The No. 1 doubles team of Jenna Engelken and Rebecca Bowers lost 6-1, 6-2. The No. 2 team of Lily Chick and Emily West lost a heartbreaker 7-5, 6-7 (6-8), 7-5. Demons’ No. 4 doubles team of Jasmine Herrera and Ryann Daly lost 6-2, 6-2.
Durango will try to get back to winning form at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Montezuma-Cortez.
