Lower seeds Durango, Coronado win Legion openers

Durango relies on Jacob Dismont and Cameron Coombs for offensive firepower, and the duo did not disappoint in the first round of the American Legion state baseball tournament.

Dismont homered twice, and Coombs supplied a solo shot among his four hits as fifth-seeded Durango pounded No. 4 Bonanza 9-4 on Saturday at UNLV.

Durango (51-22) advanced to an 8 p.m. Monday game against surprising No. 8 Coronado (13-10), a 9-6 winner over top-seeded Bishop Gorman in Saturday’s late game. Gorman (36-10) will play Bonanza (16-12) at 5 Monday.

The tournament continues Sunday when third-seeded Las Vegas faces No. 6 Reno at 5 p.m. and No. 2 Liberty plays No. 7 Cimarron-Memorial at 8.

Coombs got Durango rolling in the second inning with his 15th homer, and it never gave up the lead, rapping 15 hits.

“It’s great having two big hitters in our lineup like Cameron and Jacob,” Durango coach Tom Appleyard said. “We were concerned about Bonanza, because they have a solid ballclub and they play very hard. I have coached this game a long time, and I couldn’t be more happy to be around a group of players like this team.”

After the teams traded two-run innings in the third, Durango pulled away on Jacob Skipper’s RBI single in the fourth and RBI hits by Cole Crosby and Billy Santiwan in the sixth. Then Dismont took over, hitting a solo homer in the seventh and a two-run shot in the ninth, giving him a team-leading 17 home runs.

Brandon Sherrier (6-1) scattered six hits in 6 2/3 innings to get the win.

Daniel Romero had three hits and Austin Taft drove in three runs for Bonanza.

Coronado 9, Bishop Gorman 6 — Keyed by Miles Bice’s bases-clearing triple, the Cougars used a seven-run eighth inning to stun the defending state champions.

Cody Howard and Chandler Blanchard added home runs for Coronado, which handed Gorman starter Cody Roper (5-1) his first defeat.

Gorman tried to answer in the bottom of the eighth, loading the bases with no outs. Coronado reliever Kenny Oakley got two strikeouts and a flyout.

Gorman again threatened in the ninth when Oakley walked Michael Blasko and Kenny Meimerstorf. After Cole Krzmarzick struck out, Roper and Nick Gates flied out to end the game.