Durango High School baseball’s hitting in the sixth inning allowed the Demons to pull away from Montrose for a 14-7 win on Friday afternoon.
However, the Demons’ aggressiveness kept them in the game early.
Durango struggled to hit early against the Montrose pitchers and fell behind. But when the Demons did get a rare hit in the first part of the game, they made the most of it. Durango was constantly stealing bases, putting itself in a better position and was within striking distance despite being outhit.
Then, the Demons finally started connecting at the plate in the sixth inning; the Demons exploded for seven runs in the sixth. The hitting, combined with junior Austin Romero’s pitching, allowed Durango to pull away at the end of the game.
“It wasn’t our prettiest performance, but we got the job done,” Durango head coach Masen Hibbeler said. “We’re in the playoff hunt right now and a win is a win, so we’ll take it.”
Durango improved to 12-6 overall and 4-3 in the 4A/5A Southwestern League. Montrose fell to 4-16 overall and 0-7 in the 4A/5A Southwestern League. Montrose outhit Durango 11-9.
Demons juniors Dawson McInnes and Ollie Peterson led the team with two hits each. Romero led the Demons with four innings pitched and four hits allowed, one run allowed and he struck out four batters.
Junior Sam Clark got the start on the mound for the Demons and the Red Hawks started the game up 3-0 after the top of the second inning. The Demons couldn’t get any power on Montrose’s Jack Pankey’s pitches.
Montrose’s Ryan Pankey crushed a line drive over the head of Durango’s center fielder that bounced off the fence for an easy double to start the second inning. The hitting continued for Montrose, with Jayce England hitting a grounder right down the third base line that just stayed in. Ryan Pankey got home and England advanced to second as the Red Hawks led 2-0 with 0 outs.
Next, Isiah Coley hit a grounder down the first baseline to bring England home and stretch Montrose’s lead to 3-0.
Durango was very aggressive in the bottom of the second, with junior Landin Padilla stealing two bases and senior Cully Feeney stealing one. Padilla put the first run on the board for the Demons off an Englund pop fly. Padilla tagged up and came home.
The next at bat, the Red Hawks made an error, bouncing a throw to first base. This allowed senior Ethan White to advance to second and Cully Feeney got home to cut the deficit to 3-2 with an out on the board.
Montrose had more trouble fielding in the bottom of the second, with another poor throw to first. This allowed White to come home to tie the game 3-3 instead of a double play to end the inning. The Red Hawks eventually connected on a throw to first to end the inning tied.
In the top of the third, the Demons faced a precarious situation. Ryan Plankey was walked and brought up a situation every team dreads: bases loaded with zero outs.
Demons sophomore Coen Anderson got one of the first strikeouts of the game for Durango, but he hit the next batter, bringing a runner home to increase Montrose’s lead to 5-3. Montrose ended the top of the third up 6-3.
More fielding issues allowed the Demons to tie the game 6-6 in the bottom of the third. With bases loaded, Peterson hit a grounder that couldn’t be handled by the Montrose fielders. The Red Hawks tried to get White out at second but failed, allowing two Demons to get home and tie the game.
“There’s certain guys you want in there and Ollie is definitely one of those guys,” Hibbeler said about the bases loaded opportunity. “His numbers don’t show the best this year, as a whole, batting-wise, but he’s come through for us in some big situations.”
Romero got on the mound for the Demons to start the fourth and proceeded to get through the top of the fourth with three relatively quick outs. He found a rhythm and despite not throwing many strikeouts, Romero produced a lot of poor hits from Montrose and some easy outs.
“He’s a leader,” Hibbeler said about Romero. “We switched it up; he was a starter last year. But now he plays a role where whenever we need him, we go to him and he always gets the job done.”
Peterson came up with another big hit in the bottom of the fifth. He hit a grounder to the left that trickled past the shortstop. This brought White home and the Demons led 7-6 after five innings.
Grady Feeney might’ve made the play of the game at the top of the sixth. A Red Hawk hit one into center field with two outs. Grady Feeney made a perfect throw from center field to sophomore catcher Duncan Walsh, who tagged out a Montrose runner at home for the final out and to preserve the 7-6 lead. Hibbeler said Feeney’s play really turned the game and gave Durango the momentum to finish strong.
McInnes gave the Demons some breathing room with a beautiful hit down the third base line that brought Grady Feeney home for an 8-6 lead with zero outs in the bottom of the sixth.
The Demons loaded the bases with zero outs and it paid off. Padilla hit a grounder to the left and Montrose made a poor throw home, allowing three runners to score. Montrose switched pitchers and it didn’t pay off, with the Demons making constant contact.
Englund hit a bomb to center field that was so close to a homer and was caught. Padilla tagged up and scored for a 12-6 lead. Durango ended the sixth inning up 14-6.
The Red Hawks scored a run in the top of the seventh, but Romero ended the game strong with two strikeouts.
Durango plays Montrose on Saturday at 11 a.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
