WINNEMUCCA - A season ago the Lowry High School baseball team dropped all five of its games in Reno as head coach Ron Espinola was less than impressed with the outcome.
The Buckaroos were back in Reno to begin this year on Thursday, March 7, for five games in three days. Lowry left the Biggest Little City in the World without a victory once again, but a much better outlook.
Lowry held a lead throughout its contest against Reed on Saturday, March 7, only to see the Raiders come back for an 11-10 win. The Buckaroos played twice on Friday, March 8, where they lost 17-5 to Enochs (Modesto, Calif.) and 6-2 to Wooster. Lowry closed out the tournament on Saturday with losses to Reno (14-0) and McQueen (13-11).
"We definitely had worse opening weekends in Reno," Espinola said. "There are different ways to lose. Last year we did not compete at all. This year we went in and competed. Looking back I thought we could have easily gone 3-2. We had three significant leads that we had and gave away. I was encouraged with the way we came out and played."
Reed sent 10 batters to the plate in the first inning and scored five runs to jump out to an early 5-0 advantage. The Raiders used a hit batter, walk and single in the bottom of the second to extend the lead to 6-0.
Lowry left four runners on base through the first four innings but could not plate a run. The Buckaroos broke on to the scoreboard in the top of the fifth when Daniel Pollock singled with one out. As the lineup went back to the top of the order, Calvin Connors doubled to put runners on second and third base with one out.
The next Buckaroo batter popped out, but Tyler Brumm kept the inning alive with a single to drive in two runs. Jesse Studebaker followed with a single to score Brumm and cut the deficit in half to 6-3.
Lowry grabbed the advantage in the top of the sixth inning, scoring six runs as 11 batters came to the plate. Christian Dawson and Donovan Brumm began the rally with walks. Pollock singled to load the bases and Connors followed with a two-run single to close the Reed lead to 6-5. On a 3-0 count, Brandon Okuma singled home Pollock and Connors to give Lowry its first lead at 7-6. Okuma and Tyler Brumm later scored in the frame to push the Buckaroo advantage to 9-6.
Lowry could not hold the lead as Reed countered with six runs in the bottom of the sixth to go back in front at 11-9. With two outs in the top of the seventh, Connors kept the game going with a double. The junior eventually scored on Tyler Brumm's single to close the gap to 11-10. However, the rally ended with two runners on base.
Jalen Formby took the loss for Lowry as he started on the mound and went four innings. He gave up six runs (three earned) on four hits. He walked four and struck out one. Tanner Lecumberry and Dusty Bryan threw the final two innings.
Lowry pounded out 15 hits, with Connors leading the way with four. Tyler Brumm had three hits and Okuma, Lecumberry and Pollock each had two.
In the loss to Enochs, Lowry jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings of play. Studebaker and Tyler Brumm each had RBIs in the opening frame, scoring Connors and Okuma, respectively. Tyler Brumm helped himself out with a RBI single in the second inning to plate Pollock.
Meanwhile, Tyler Brumm was dominant on the mound as he allowed no runs and two hits in the first four innings.
However, it was all Enochs from there, as the California school countered with seven runs in the top of the fifth inning and added seven more in the seventh.
"We had the one inning in every game that hurt us," Espinola said. "It was the one inning where we did everything wrong. We could not stop the bleeding. It just snowballed in all aspects of the game. It is hard to fix those things on the fly. Things go wrong for a stretch, but you have to play through it. That is what we did not do."
Tyler Brumm was tagged with the loss as he gave up nine runs (two earned) in 5.1 innings of work. Lowry's offense was strong once again with Connors, Okuma, Tyler Brumm and Studebaker each picking up two hits.
Wooster did all of its damage in one inning against Lowry, scoring six runs on five hits in the third inning. The Colts did not have a hit in any other inning.
"Once again, it was just one inning," added the coach. "They just small-balled us to death. Wooster likes to bunt and that is all they did in the inning. They did what worked for them."
The Buckaroos got on the board in the top of the sixth inning when Pollock scored after an Okuma single. Pollock added a RBI single in the sixth to score Dawson but that was all the offense for Lowry.
Aaron Nelson started for Lowry and took the loss as he pitched six innings. He allowed six runs (one earned) on five hits. Nelson struck out two and walked three. Pollock paced Lowry with two hits.
In their first game on Saturday, the Buckaroos faced tournament host Reno. The Huskies scored three runs in the opening inning and two more in the second to lead 5-0. Reno broke the contest open with an eight-run third inning.
Troy Hardy had the only hit for the Buckaroos. Studebaker suffered the loss as he gave up 13 runs on 12 hits.
"That was the only game we were not in," said the coach. "They were just the better team. They made one mistake and we got one hit. It wasn't like we played bad. Reno is just a good team."
Lowry looked to be in control of its tournament finale, leading McQueen 10-0 after three innings of play. Connors, Okuma, Studebaker, Lecumberry, Hardy, Michal Arenas and Dawson each had hits and scored on the frame. Okuma and Studebaker scored twice in the inning.
McQueen began to cut into the lead, scoring twice in the third inning. The Lancers turned the blowout into a close battle by plating seven players in the lineup in the fourth to close the gap to 10-9.
McQueen took the lead for the first time at 13-10 with four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Lowry rallied in the top of the sixth and cut the deficit to 13-11 when Studebaker scored but the Buckaroos left the bases loaded.
"We were hitting the ball everywhere," Espinola said. "You could sense the momentum changing. People always say baseball isn't about momentum but it definitely is. You start running through pitchers trying to stop the momentum, I probably left Okuma in too long but he was pitching well. That was my fault."
Okuma started and took the loss for Lowry, going 3.2 innings and allowing nine runs (five earned) on 12 hits. Connors, Okuma, Studebaker and Arenas each had two hits in the loss.
Lowry (3-5 overall, 3-0 Ruby Mountain League) hosts Pershing County today at 4 p.m.
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