LOVELOCK - After playing for a number of years to start the season, the Lowry High School baseball team changed up the scenery for its opener, playing in the Lovelock Invitational this past weekend. With nine new players on the roster, the Buckaroos went 2-2 in their four games.
Lowry took on host Pershing County on Thursday, with the Mustangs coming away with a 5-3 win. The Buckaroos left six runners of base and found it tough to get the base hit they needed late in the game.
"All the little things that we didn't do, added up to one big thing," said LHS coach Ron Espinola. "The good thing is if they are little things those are fixable. Getting a bunt down or fielding a ground ball are things that we can fix. For the most part we played pretty clean, but when you have timely mistakes and put yourself in a hole, its going to bite you."
The Mustangs took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning off a two-RBI single by Rhett King with two outs in the frame. Pershing County held that advantage until the top of the third, when Lowry countered with three runs to go in front 3-2.
Brian Shettler started the rally as he reached base on catcher's interference. Mickey Donovan followed with a walk to put two runners on base. The next two Buckaroos struck out, but Kyle Schultz kick started the rally with a RBI single. Jared Taylor followed with a double that plated Donovan and Schultz.
That turned out to be all the scoring for Lowry, as Pershing County tied the game in the bottom of the third off a Lowry error. The Buckaroos had three errors that led to three unearned runs.
Pershing County used a two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead for good, as King drove in his third run. The Mustangs added another run in the sixth off another error by the Buckaroos.
Colin Doyle started for Lowry had received a no-decision. He pitched 2.2 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on three walks and one hit. Jake Barnes suffered the loss, but had a strong 2.1 innings, where he gave up one run and one hit.
"Colin struggled a little bit, which is expected for the first start of the year but battle back to give us three good innings," Espinola said. "Jake came in and threw and was able to get the ball in play."
Schultz led Lowry with three hits and Donovan had two.
Lowry picked up its first win of the season on Friday, beating Carlin 11-4. Roberto Rodriguez picked up the win, as the sophomore threw four innings. He allowed three runs (nine earned) on six hits. He struck out six and walked three. Jayson Smith and Donovan Brumm each threw one inning.
The Buckaroos picked up a 2-0 advantage in the first off the bat of Trey Marriott. Lowry added to the lead in the second with four straight base hits by Schultz, Donovan, Taylor and Marriott. The hits by Taylor and Marriott were doubles that drove in two runs each, giving Lowry a 6-0 lead.
Brumm drove in the seventh run in the third inning, when Carlin bounced back for three runs in the third inning. That was as close as the Railroaders got, with the Buckaroos adding three insurance runs in the fourth inning. Once again, Lowry strung together four consecutive hits to account for the runs.
Donovan, Taylor and Marriott each had two hits and Schultz, Brumm, Barnes and Sterling Dennis each had one.
Lowry met up with Battle Mountain on Saturday morning for the first time since the pods were eliminated three years ago. The closely contested match-up went to the final inning with the Buckaroos winning 6-5.
Lowry used a two-out rally in the first inning to go in front 1-0 off a single by Donovan and a run-scoring double by Schultz.
"Kyle had a good weekend," Espinola said. "He is one of the most improved players on the team. He has put a lot of work in."
Battle Mountain jumped in front 2-1 in the bottom of the second inning after back-to-back hits by Frank Peters and Malik Delrio. Lowry took advantage of three Battle Mountain errors with two outs in the third inning to go back in front 4-2. Marriott began the rally with a double and scored after Donovan reached base on a throwing error. Schultz reached base on another error, allowing Donovan to score and Brumm closed out the inning with a double.
Battle Mountain cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the third inning, but Lowry prevented any further damage, using a double play to get out of the jam.
Lowry increased the margin to 5-3 in the top of the fourth after catching a break. Battle Mountain's catcher dropped a third strike, allowing Dennis to reach first base. The Buckaroos took advantage of the miscue and scored a run off a base hit by Marriott to plate Dennis.
The back-and-forth contest continued, as Battle Mountain picked up a run in the bottom of the fourth on a RBI-single by Truxton Price. After a scoreless fifth and sixth inning, the Buckaroos picked up a much-needed insurance run, as Donovan doubled home Marriott to make the score 6-4.
Battle Mountain attempted a rally in the seventh inning, but Silva was able to allow just one run and pick up the save. Smith pitched in to the sixth inning and picked up the win. Marriott, Donovan and Schultz each had two hits.
"That was a good win for us," Espinola said. "Battle Mountain is a good team. I thought our pitching was good again with Jayson and Anthony giving us good innings."
Lowry finished out the tournament with a 13-5 loss to Sparks. The Railroaders used a five-run first inning and never looked back. Sparks also scored three times in the second.
"You could see it maybe as a throw away game," said the coach. "This game didn't mean anything. It will matter when we see them this week. It was a good chance to put guys at different places, where we could see where they could play at. We lost nine guys from last year, and guys are stepping in to new roles. We are going to ask the younger guys to adjust their positions in a short amount of time. It was good to see that we have some flexibility. Now, we can create our own depth."
Lowry opens league play this weekend at Sparks, starting Friday with one game at 4 p.m. The two schools will play a doubleheader on Saturday at 11 a.m.
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