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Lion Lucas McClure swings at the ball. Matt Swearengin | Durant Democrat
The Durant baseball winning streak reached six in a row before a loss to Class A top-ranked Rattan last week, but the Lions bounced back to close the strong week with a 14-13 victory over Hugo.
Coach J.W. Parsons’ club continued its recent surge with 10-0 and 11-6 district triumphs over Del City and then rallied past Antlers, 6-4, before the 7-5 setback to Rattan.
Sporting a 10-15 record heading into this week, the Lions will be back home for a non-district game with Sulphur on Thursday ahead of road trips to Ardmore and Broken Bow to close the week’s action. Their final home game is slated for Monday at 5 p.m. against Tulsa Edison.
In the Del City opener, the Lions rode a stellar pitching effort from sophomore Cole Robbins as the DHS ace struck out 10 and walked none while firing a one-hit shutout.
Durant plated one run in the first, three in the second, two in the third and four more in the fifth inning to end it early on the run rule. Ryder Jones and Holden Robinson each posted two hits to spur the offensive charge.
The nightcap saw the Lions explode for 12 hits with three apiece from Robbins and Aiden Diviney, who notched a double and triple on the way to scoring three runs.
Kaden Neill was stellar with four and one-third frames of scoreless relief to pick up the mound win. He fanned five and walked a pair.
Reid Thompson got the pitching assignment against a solid Antlers squad and went the distance, scattering four runs on six hits with six strikeouts to post the victory.
The Lions trailed 4-2 in the sixth inning when Maddox Arnold provided a pinch hit three-run double that gave Durant the lead for good.
Against powerful Rattan, Parsons’ unit actually held a 4-2 advantage in the fifth stanza thanks largely to a Kolton Mason two RBI double in the second.
The Rams, however, responded with five tallies in the fifth frame and held off a late DHS charge that was highlighted by a Diviney double. Mason finished with a teamhigh two hits and also drove in a pair.
In the finale of the week, offense was contagious as Durant built a 10-5 lead in the fourth inning before the Buffaloes came storming back to tie the game twice.
Durant came up with the eventual game winner in the eighth inning, capitalizing on a pair of Hugo errors on well executed bunts from Jared Avalos and Robinson.
Diviney had a huge performance at the plate with three hits, including a pair of doubles, and drove in a whopping six runs. Neill also tallied three hits with Robbins and Lucas McClure contributing two apiece.
The Lions used five pitchers with scoreless appearances from Max Airington and Diviney before Mc-Clure secured the victory in the final two and one-third frames, allowing two unearned runs on three hits.