Durango continues run in legion baseball tourney

Spencer Patterson

Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2000 | 10:36 a.m.

Expected to be a competitive eight-team battle when it opened four days ago, this week's American Legion State Baseball Tournament is looking more like a two-horse race with every passing minute.

One night after No. 2 seed Cimarron-Memorial remained unbeaten in the event to move within a win of Saturday's championship game, top-seeded Durango did likewise on Tuesday, posting an impressive 11-5 victory over No. 4 Basic at UNLV's Wilson Stadium.

The Trailblazers (58-17), the area's regular-season Legion champions, can claim a spot in the final with a victory Thursday against the winner of tonight's Basic-Green Valley contest. Cimarron (38-8) can advance with a win over tonight's Palo Verde-Cheyenne victor.

Despite his team's apparent collision course with the Spartans, however, Durango Legion coach Tom Appleyard refused to look past his next opponent.

"I still think this is the best tournament I've been in in 21 years," Appleyard said. "If you don't come ready to play, someone can jump up and get you. Thursday's going to be a tough game. It's always tough to beat teams twice."

On Tuesday, the Blazers won by overcoming Wolves ace Matt Elliott (7-1), one of the few area pitchers to defeat the regular-season champs this summer. Durango got to the junior-to-be for four runs in the first inning, three of them on Nate Bumstead's double to left-center.

"I thought (Elliott) was sharp, but we were being aggressive against him tonight," Bumstead said. "We came out swinging, and we were adjusting to him pretty well. When we got up 4-0, we had total momentum against them."

After falling behind 5-1, Basic (30-14) got back into the contest in the third, taking advantage of Durango's lone error to score two runs off starter E.J. Shanks (11-1) and pull within 5-3.

But Bumstead soon quieted the Wolves' rally, blasting a two-run homer in the fourth inning to help the Blazers build a 9-3 lead. The 2000 graduate went 3-for-4 on the night and ran his RBI total for the tournament to eight.

"My coaches and I have made my swing a little better," Bumstead said. "I'm staying shorter to the baseball, and it's paying off. I'm seeing the ball real well."

Bumstead also picked up a save with three shutout innings on the mound, relieving Shanks to open the seventh and striking out six of the 13 batters he faced -- including three in the ninth.

Coltyn Simmons finished 3-for-5 with an RBI for Durango, while Jeff Jacobsen went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs.

For Basic, Mark Rose was 4-for-5 with a run scored, and teammates Zackary Hammond and Monty Coon contributed two hits apiece.

In Tuesday's early game, Green Valley staved off elimination and sent northern representative Reno packing with a wild 13-11 victory.

The Gators (22-12) led 7-1 before committing four errors to pave the way for a six-run Reno fourth.

"Defensively, we just lacked focus," Gators coach Ron Sufana said. "We just got done telling them, 'Stay away from the big inning and you can play with anyone.' "

Green Valley ultimately hung on, thanks largely to a pair of solo homers by shortstop Zeke Parraz and a grand slam from catcher John Grose. The Gators also got five solid innings from reliever Paul Vignola (5-1), who limited the Knights to a pair of earned runs en route to the victory.

Graduated senior Brice Sells also played a significant role in the win, coming on in the bottom of the ninth to close out the contest with a pair of critical strikeouts with the winning run at the plate.

"I think these kids like pressure," Safan said. "They seem to play harder when the pressure is on."

Eric Durante finished 4-for-5 with a triple and two RBIs for the Gators, while teammate Qaadir Amin went 2-for-4 with a double and a triple.

Reno starter Darrick Cummings (3-5) had a strong night at the plate, going 3-for-4 and drawing a pair of walks, but he was tagged for six earned runs in the loss.