Returning to action for the first time in a week, it was a mixed bag for the Durant High School baseball team last week during Spring Break action in the Broken Bow Festival.
The Lions rolled past Keene, TX (10-0), won a thriller with Victory Christian (11-9) and then couldn’t get anything going in a loss to Latta (9-0).
Durant will be back in tournament action this weekend at Pryor.
Facing Keene, the Lion bats wasted little time against the Chargers as they scored once in the first inning, four times in the second, three in the third and two in the fourth to end it early on the run rule.
That was plenty of run support for Jackson Williams, who got the start and fired three shutout frames for the pitching win as he yielded only two hits and struck out three. Ashton Cook worked the final frame recording three strikeouts and allowing one hit.
Cole Robbins spurred the offensive production with a double and triple in his two at bats, drove in one and scored twice.
Maddox Arnold also drove in two with a triple with Stephen Manhard adding a single and two RBI. Holdan Robinson, Eli Mc-Clure, Colton Poore, Williams and Coy McCauley notched one hit apiece.
The Victory Christian contest was a back-and-forth affair with massive knockout blows offensively by each squad. After a pair of scoreless innings, Victory Christian erupted for seven runs and looked to take command as the Conquerors pushed it to a 9-1 edge in the fourth.
Durant refused to fold however, exploding for nine runs as they sent 13 batters to the plate in the bottom half of the frame. Two walks and an error ignited the spark, and the Lions took it from there. Jared Avalos singled in a run before the second out of the inning and that’s when the merry go round began.
Lucas McClure tripled, Graham McIlvoy was hit by a pitch and Arnold reached on a dropped third strike. Jacob Jones then belted a three-run homer that knotted the score and one pitch later Eli Mc-Clure put Durant ahead for good with a solo blast. McIlvoy capped the run production an inning later with a double to knock in the final tally of the day.
The big flurry made a pitching winner of Blaine Clark in relief as he tossed one scoreless stanza, yielding one hit with one strikeout. Robinson came on for the save with a perfect final frame on the mound.
Avalos, Lucas McClure and Mc-Ilvoy all notched two hits in leading the offensive charge. Robbins, Robinson, Jones and Eli McClure contributed a hit each.
Durant’s offense went silent against Latta in the festival finale as they were no hit in the six-inning affair and were also hurt by seven defensive errors that led to eight unearned runs by the Panthers.
