A pitcher’s duel was broken up in the fourth inning, and the Aztec Tigers wouldn’t be stopped once they got going.
In the rubber-match of a three-game early-season slate against Aztec, the Durango High School baseball team came up short 10-3 in its home opener Tuesday.
The 10-3 loss came after Aztec beat Durango 16-7 in the first game of the season at the Farmington High School tournament March 7. The Demons (2-5) picked up the first win of their season March 16 at Aztec with a 16-11 win in eight innings.
Tuesday, it was the Tigers (9-5) who claimed the series behind the starting pitching of Garrett Parker.
“One thing is he’s left handed,” DHS head coach Eric Baker said of Parker. “We don’t see a lot of left handers, and it throws us off balance a little bit. He’s a pretty good pitcher, mixing up speeds well and preventing us from getting much rhythm with him.”
Durango received a strong start on the mound from sophomore Elias Fiddler, but coach Baker had to make a change after his pitch count was elevated.
“He was throwing pretty well,” Baker said. “(Aztec) had a few hits but no real damage through three innings. With a couple of walks, the pitch count was getting up there, and it was time to see if we could move on and find another pitcher.”
Aztec scored two in the fourth, three in the fifth, two in the sixth and another three in the seventh. DHS scored two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh.
Hitting statistics were unavailable.
Next up, DHS will host Delta (7-2), the third-ranked team in the CHSAA Class 3A poll. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday.
Ty Smith pitched a complete-game two-hitter, and the Bulldogs rolled past the Ignacio Bobcats in five innings Tuesday in Dove Creek.
JD Dennison went 2-for-3 with four runs batted in and two runs scored to lead Dove Creek (5-3, 1-1 1A District 1) at the plate in the 14-3 victory.
IHS fell to 0-5 this season and is 0-3 in the 2A District 3/5 league standings.
Gabriel Tucson was the losing pitcher for IHS. He went 1/3 of an inning and allowed four hits and a walk. He struck out one and was charged with four of the six runs that crossed the plate. Dyan LaBarthe was the third pitcher IHS used, and he went three innings and allowed only one hit. He walked two and struck out one. Of the three runs that crossed, only one was earned.
Holland Roukema went 1-for-3 at the plate for IHS, and Mike Archuleta was 1-for-1. Cesar Pedregon went 0-for-1 with a walk and scored twice.
IHS is back Saturday at home against Nucla at noon.
Pine River Times sports writer Joel Priest contributed to this report.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
