WINNEMUCCA - Everything up until last weekend did not matter for the Lowry High School baseball team.
After dropping its first five games of the season at a tournament in Reno, the Buckaroos bounced back with four consecutive wins against other Division III teams.
Lowry began the serious part of its schedule this past weekend in Elko and Spring Creek with crossover games against schools in the Lahontan League. The games were the starting point of a 12-game run in the Division I-A North.
The Buckaroos (7-5 overall, 3-0 Division I-A, 3-0 Ruby Mountain) claimed three victories, beginning with an 8-7 triumph over Dayton on Friday, March 22. Lowry swept two games on Saturday, beating Churchill County 8-6 and Fernley 16-5.
"The conditions were just miserable for the Dayton game," said LHS head coach Ron Espinola. "We committed seven errors and still got the win. It was bitterly cold and we had squalls of snow at the end. I am surprised our pitchers threw the ball as well as they did."
Dayton grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but the Buckaroos quickly countered with a single run in the bottom of the second on a ground out by Michal Arenas that scored Troy Hardy. With one out, Hardy doubled and advanced to third on a stolen base.
The Dust Devils took advantage of three Lowry errors in the top of the third inning to score four runs and lead 5-1. Dayton had just one hit in the inning.
Lowry battled back to cut the deficit to 5-4 in the fourth inning as Tyler Brumm was hit by a pitch and Tanner Lecumberry singled to put two runners on base. Lecumberry's base hit knocked in Brumm and Lecumberry later scored when Hardy reached base on an error. Arenas cut the gap to one run when he scored on a fielder's choice by Christian Dawson.
Dayton erased most of the Lowry comeback, scoring two runs in the fifth inning to extend the margin back to three runs, at 7-4, as Lowry committed three more errors.
The Buckaroos had one rally left in them, with Brandon Okuma and Brumm reaching base in the bottom of the fifth inning on walks. With two outs in the frame, Hardy singled to centerfield to score Okuma and Brumm. Arenas followed with a triple to score Hardy and tie the game at 7-7. Dawson, the next batter in the lineup, provided the game-winning RBI with a single to right field.
With the aid of a double play in the top of the seventh inning, Lowry held on for the 8-7 victory.
"You never want to blame to the weather, but the conditions were horrible," Espinola said. "They would have been bad for football, let alone baseball. You can try to keep your hand in your glove or pocket; it still is not going to get warm."
Hardy and Arenas each had two hits and combined for five RBIs. Brumm was the starting pitcher for the Buckaroos and received a no-decision in his four innings of work. He allowed five runs (none earned) on two hits. He struck out two and walked four. Jalen Formby threw the final three innings to collect the win. He gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits.
"Tyler struggled because you just could not feel the ball," added the coach. "You really can't fault him. He worked hard and kept us in it. Jalen came in and threw the ball well. He threw strikes and was able to have Dayton put the ball into play."
After two years of frustrations against Churchill County, Lowry came away with an 8-6 victory over the Greenwave on Saturday.
"It was a win that we needed," Espinola said. "I could care less about revenge over the last two years. We are different teams now. If Fallon had some of the same guys from the last two years, maybe it would mean something. All we were looking for was to win and we did that."
The Buckaroos grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, when Calvin Connors led
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off with a single and later scored on a passed ball. The advantage was short-lived as the Greenwave countered with a pair of runs in the top of the second on a two-RBI single.
Lowry tied the game in the bottom of the second on a RBI single by Okuma to score Dawson. Churchill County reclaimed the lead in the top of the third after back-to-back base hits. Once again, Lowry had an answer in the bottom of the third, when Hardy singled home Brumm, who led off the frame with a double.
The Buckaroos were able to pull away in the fourth and fifth innings, scoring pair of runs in each frame. Okuma and Lecumberry each had base hits in the fourth that scored Dawson and Tytin Johnson, respectively, to make the score 7-3. Dawson and Johnson also scored in the fifth inning to push the Lowry lead back to 7-5 after Churchill County tied the game at 5-5 in the top of the fifth. Johnson drove in Dawson for the first run in the fifth and Connors' single plated Johnson.
Churchill County closed the margin to 7-6 in the top of the sixth, when Lowry picked up an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth on a RBI single by Johnson.
"We were hitting the ball well," Espinola said. "Troy has been hot all season and Tytin came up with some timely hits for us."
Aaron Nelson pitched a complete game and earned the victory. He allowed six runs (four earned) on 10 hits. Nelson struck out two and walked none.
"I didn't think Aaron was as sharp as he can be, but he still battled through the game and got us a win," added the coach. "He let Fallon put the ball into play and our defense made plays behind him. He didn't walk anybody and made the opponent put the ball in play."
Lowry pounded out 15 hits, with Dawson and Johnson collecting three each. Connors, Hardy and Okuma had two hits apiece.
The offensive onslaught continued into the final game of the weekend against Fernley as the Buckaroos scored nine runs in the first two innings and pounded out 14 hits, including a home run by Brumm.
"That might be our most complete game of the year," Espinola said. "Up and down the lineup, we hit the ball all over the place."
Pollock and Arenas each had three hits, while Dawson and Lecumberry finished with two hits apiece.
Okuma earned the win with a complete game performance that saw him give five runs (three earned) on four hits. The junior struck out two and walked four.
Lowry travels to Sparks this weekend for games against the Mount Rose Schools. The Buckaroos play South Tahoe today at 1 p.m. Lowry faces Sparks at noon on Saturday and Truckee at 3 p.m. The matchup with the Wolverines will be played at Governors Field.
"It was a pretty good weekend and we are where we want to be with three wins in league play," Espinola said. "The most important game ahead of us is South Tahoe. Right now, I care about playing South Tahoe. We have not seen them since we were in the 4A. Then we worry about Sparks and Truckee. Every time we go out it counts and we got away from that a little bit last year."
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