The Durango High School girls tennis team had a strong showing at the Class 4A Region 7 tournament this weekend in Pueblo and will send nearly a full team to the state tournament next week in Pueblo.
The top two singles players and top two doubles teams in each position at regionals qualified for the state tournament, with the third player or team named an alternate.
The Demons advanced their Nos. 1, 2 and 3 singles players, along with their top-three doubles teams to the state tournament next week in Pueblo.
Sophomore Mavis Edwards, last year’s 4A No. 1 singles state runner-up, went 9-1 during the two-day regional to win the regional. DHS junior Emma Hackett was first in No. 2 singles with a 6-3 record, and junior Lily Chick won No. 3 singles with a 6-3 record.
The No. 2 doubles team of Camille Jacobs and Emma Vogel was first with a 7-4 record, and the No. 3 doubles team of Laura Clark and Mira Joyner went 6-4 to finish first.
DHS’ No. 1 doubles team of Rebecca Bowers and Emma Jaber placed second with a 6-3 record.
The Demons’ No. 4 doubles team of Mia Boughton and Celia Chick were named alternates for the state tournament with a 3-7 record at the tournament.
The region was made up of Canon City, Durango, Pueblo Centennial, Pueblo East, Pueblo South and Pueblo West.
The state tournament will be held May 10-12 at Pueblo City Park.
Girls Soccer
Girls SoccerBayfield High School’s girls soccer team ended the regular season with a key 2-2 draw against Crested Butte on Saturday in Crested Butte, which could secure the Wolverines a spot in the Class 3A state playoffs.
“We played really, really well,” BHS head coach Jen Moore said. “Crested Butte, the thing with them is they’re very good at being first to the ball. We came very close several times, think we dominated the game, we just couldn’t get it in the net.”
Savannah Kaufmann scored both goals for BHS (8-6-2), with one in the first half and the other in the second. Sophie Turner and Misty Helton recorded an assist each.
Crested Butte (11-2-1) had averaged 4.15 goals per match entering Saturday. Moore said the Wolverines did a great job negating the Titans’ speed and frustrating them with a strong defensive effort.
Prior to the match, BHS sat No. 22 in the 3A RPI standings, and Moore is hopeful the draw will bump the team into the top 20 of the final standings for the 24-team playoff field. The bracket will be released Sunday.
“We were No. 22 this morning, and Pagosa Springs was 21 after they lost to Crested Butte (Friday night), so I’m hoping a tie with Crested Butte should jump us ahead of them. We’ll have to wait and see what happens around the state and with the RPI, you know how that goes. It depends on what happens with those other team and we’ll see what happens.”
Boys Lacrosse
Boys LacrosseThe Durango High School boys lacrosse team closed out the regular season with a 13-3 loss at Aspen.
The Skiers (12-2, 10-0 5A/4A Mountain League) jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first quarter and took a 5-1 advantage into halftime. They outscored the Demons (8-6, 3-6 ML) 4-1 in both the third and fourth quarters to get the victory.
Sophomore Liam Farkas and seniors Tommy Rodgers and Ryan Smith scored one goal each for DHS. Rodgers and Cullen Robinette each had one assist, and Robinette had a team high nine groundballs. The Demons had 10 shots on goal.
DHS senior Harrison Kairalla was 3-for-10 in faceoffs.
Dylan Gaver started in goal for the Demons and faced 33 shots on goal. He allowed 11 goals and made 22 saves. Ramon Perez played two minutes in goal and allowed the other two goals to go with four saves.
The Demons season is likely done. Prior to the loss, the Demons were in the No. 19 spot in the latest RPI standings for a 16-team playoff field. Earlier this week, DHS head coach John Robinette said he believed the Demons needed to win out to have a chance at the postseason.
Baseball
BaseballFruita Monument’s boys baseball team wrapped up an unblemished record in 5A/4A Southwestern League play with an 11-1 win against Durango on Saturday in Fruita.
The loss moves the Demons to 10-8 overall and 3-5 in league play at the end of the league schedule. DHS has one game left in the regular season, a rivalry showdown at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Bayfield. DHS beat Bayfield 8-7 last Tuesday. Even if Durango wins Tuesday, head coach Eric Baker isn’t sure the Demons will have the RPI needed to make a regional tournament this year, so Tuesday is a must-win for DHS to have any chance.
“We dropped quite a bit in the RPI,” Baker said. “We are going to be right on the edge. Even with a win Tuesday it could be a little tight for us.”
Durango was held to three hits Saturday, and its lone run came in the second inning when Gus Kidd nailed a solo home run.
Gage Mestas provided the Demons’ other two hits in the game. He went 2-for-3 with two singles.
The Wildcats (15-4, 8-0 SWL) scored three runs in the first inning, four in the third, one in the fourth and three in the sixth.
Fynn Hyson started for DHS. He pitched 5 1/3 innings and gave up 11 runs, but only four were earned, as the Demons committed four errors in the field. He allowed nine hits and walked three batters to go with two strikeouts.
Kegan D’Aleo pitched 2/3 of an inning, and didn’t allow either of the two batters he faced to reach base safely.
“Fruita looked really good against us,” Baker said. “Trey Morrill came out and dealt 9Friday) and quieted some bats down and hit a couple of home runs against us (Saturday). They look every bit like a league champion.”
Jasen Engle pitched a five inning no-hitter, as the Panthers (4-12) rolled past the Ignacio Bobcats (4-15) at home Saturday.
Engle struck out eight and walked one. He allowed one unearned run in the bottom of the third as the result of back-to-back fielding errors. Engle also went 3-for-4 at the plate with a three-run home run and a two-run double. He scored three times.
Cordell Baer was 3-for-3 for Montezuma-Cortez, as he also hit a three-run homer, a triple and a ground-rule double to finish a single shy of the cycle.
Kai Roubideaux took the loss on the mound for IHS. He pitched 3 1/3 innings and allowed six hits and walked four. He struck out seven and was charged with seven earned runs. Marcus Chapman scored the one run for the Bobcats, who will face Dolores on Thursday.
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