The Durango High School softball team took a 2-0 lead into the fourth inning on Tuesday while playing Montezuma-Cortez at DHS.
The Panthers, however, clawed back and took the lead with a six-run fourth and extended it with three runs in the fifth and seven more in the seventh inning as they rallied by Durango, 16-3.
Avery Clair singled for Durango in the bottom of the first and scored when Cori Davis smacked a homer over the left-center fence to give DHS the early 2-0 advantage.
Pitcher Jenna Glueck, meanwhile, retired the first six Panthers she faced. Two Cortez batters reached base in the third, but Glueck got out of the jam with a strikeout on a full count followed by a ground out.
In the fourth inning, however, Cortez broke through. Cortez loaded the bases with a hit-by-pitch and two singles. Devyn Cornett, the team’s starting pitcher, then helped herself out and singled in two runs to tie the game. Later in the inning, Aubrey Rutherford doubled in to more runs to make it 6-2.
Mya Trujillo and Alexa Bedonie singled for Durango in the bottom of the fourth, but were both stranded.
Saylor Martinez then blasted a home run for MCHS in the fifth. Jayden White and Cornett followed with RBIs and Cortez went up 9-2.
Durango got one run back in the bottom of the fifth. Molly Best led off with a single and later scored on a base hit off the bat of Davis, making it a 9-3 ballgame.
The Panthers, however, had their biggest inning at the end, plating seven runs in the sixth and then blanking Durango in the bottom of the inning to score the 16-3 win.
Best had three hits, including a double, while Davis had two hits and three RBIs to lead Durango.
Cornett drove in five runs and also threw a complete game to get the win for Cortez. Martinez and Whipple both scored three runs while Reagan Veach, Julia West and White scored twice each. White and Rutherford also had two RBIs each.
DHS, now 1-2 overall, will next compete at Ponderosa High School’s tournament this weekend in Parker.
Cortez improved to 3-2 with the win and will next host Alamosa for a doubleheader on Tuesday.
