The Montrose and Durango softball teams opened Southwestern League play against one another on Saturday, splitting a doubleheader at Montrose. The Montrose Red Hawks won Game 1, 7-5, and the Durango Demons won Game 2, 8-4.

“Durango could of been better defensively,” Durango coach John Bernazzani said. “Montrose pitcher did a great job. We figured out how to get on base, but couldn't bring them home. Montrose did a good job a the plate. Too many defensive misques.”

In Game 1, Cori Davis had a two-run triple to put the Demons (1-3, 1-1) ahead 2-0 early. Andy Blowers hit a home run and the Red Hawks (2-1, 2-2) added one more run to lead 4-2 after the first inning. Baeli Minerich sttruck out the side in the top of the second and finished with eight strikeouts in the game.

The Red Hawks added two more runs in the bottom of the second to make it 6-2 after two innings. They added one in the bottom of the fourth, and Tenya Barnes had a two-run double that pushed the lead to 7-4. The score stayed that way until the top of the seventh, when the Demons scored one to make the final 7-5.

"Young team, made some mistakes, but we will keep getting better with each game,” Montrose coach Joe Bollinger said.

In Game 2, the Red Hawks led 2-1 after the first inning but Durango had a five-run third and led 6-3 on the way to an 8-4 victory. Alysia Kremer and Ellie Casias each drove in a pair of runs for Durango and freshman Jenna Glueck struck out 10 batters.