WINNEMUCCA - What looked like a weekend to forget turned into a productive one for the Lowry High School varsity baseball team.
The Buckaroos entered their games at Spring Creek last Friday and Saturday undefeated in the Division I-A North. Meanwhile, the Spartans were just 1-5, but a number of those losses were by one or two runs.
Another plot to the three-game series was that the two schools are familiar with each other. Lowry and Spring Creek combine to put summer teams on the field yearly.
The records didn't matter in the opener on Friday, April 5, as Spring Creek ran away with a 13-3 victory. Lowry was able to come back on Saturday and sweep a doubleheader 13-12 and 8-2. With the wins, the Buckaroos have clinched a playoff spot in the first round of the playoffs. Lowry is guaranteed a home playoff series with a win over Elko next week, or one loss by Truckee.
"It was a weekend that could have been bad," said LHS head coach Ron Espinola. "It certainly didn't start in a good way. It is not a surprise to lose to Spring Creek, but it was in the way we did and even to them. The last thing I was expecting was us losing by 10 runs. You never go into a game and think that."
After throwing a 73-pitch, complete-game gem a week earlier against South Tahoe, Spring Creek knocked around Buckaroo starter Aaron Nelson in the opening game of the series.
The Spartans scored six runs in the first inning on three hits and were aided by two Lowry errors. The big blow of the first inning was a grand slam home run by Lane Newman.
Nelson took the loss, throwing just the first inning. He allowed six runs (two earned) on four hits.
"It was a rare off day for Aaron," Espinola said. "He did struggle and that happens very rarely. The way he has pitched over the last year and half, it was an aberration. It happens to the best of them. You chalk it up to it being one of those days and he will be back right where he was. Lane had been struggling at the plate for Spring Creek, but he got pretty healthy in that first game."
The Spartans sent 10 more batters to the plate in a four-run, second inning and added three more runs in the fourth to lead 13-1.
The Buckaroos picked up two runs in the fifth inning on a RBI-double by Brandon Okuma to score Calvin Connors and a base hit by Tanner Lecumberry to plate Okuma. However, the rally quickly fizzled as the next three batters were retired, ending the game on the 10-run mercy rule.
Lowry (12-6 overall, 8-1 Division I-A North, 5-1 Ruby Mountain League) did collect nine hits, including two from Okuma. Seven other Buckaroos had one hit.
It looked as if the Buckaroos' luck was going to change in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader. Connors, Okuma and Tyler Brumm all reached base in the top of the first inning, but a 1-2-3 double play by the Spartans ended any rally.
Spring Creek responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning to take the early lead, but Lowry quickly answered.
The Buckaroos sent 11 batters to the plate in the second inning, scoring six runs on six hits. Michal Arenas began the frame with a single and after a sacrifice bunt by Christian Dawson, Troy Hardy, Daniel Pollock and Connors followed with base hits. Brumm capped off the inning with a grand slam to give the Buckaroos a 6-2 advantage. The senior finished the game 4-for-5 with eight RBIs.
The lead did not last long as Spring Creek countered with five runs in the bottom of the second to reclaim the lead at 7-6. However, Brumm did his best to help himself out on the mound, adding his fifth and sixth RBIs of the game in the third inning to put Lowry back in front at 8-7.
"It was a game that nobody wanted to win," Espinola said. "We never had the shut-down inning after having a big inning of our own. Our pitching struggled a bit again, but Tyler made up for it at the plate with four hits and eight RBIs."
However, in the back and forth battle, Spring Creek fought back with a single run in the third and three more runs in the bottom of the fourth to lead 11-8.
Lowry cut the deficit to 11-10 in the top of the fifth inning on a two-RBI single by Studebaker that scored Pollock and Connors. Spring Creek answered back once again in the bottom of the fifth with a single run, but the Spartans were shut down from there. Okuma stepped onto the pitching mound in the bottom of the fifth with one out in relief of Brumm. Okuma was able to induce a double-play to get out of the inning and did not allow a run in his 2.1 innings of work. He struck out three and walked two, eventually earning the win in the Buckaroo comeback.
"Brandon was able to come in and settle things down for us," added the coach. "I feel comfortable throwing any one of our pitchers in that situation."
Down to its final six outs, Lowry rallied for three runs in the sixth inning, starting with a RBI-single by Hardy that scored Connors. Brumm capped off his day with two more RBIs, which turned out to be the game-winning runs.
Lowry pounded out 18 hits in the game, including four from Connors and three from Pollock. Lecumberry and Hardy each had two hits.
In the series finale, Lowry jumped on the board with two runs in the top of the first on a double by Studebaker that scored Connors and Okuma.
The Buckaroos never trailed as they added two runs in the third inning and one each in the fourth and fifth to lead 6-0.
"Spring Creek is a good team," Espinola said. "It's not like we went up there and beat up on bad team. We took two out of three and it was close. It could have gone either way. We controlled the third game from the onset, but you are still thinking: is Spring Creek going to do what they did in the first inning on Friday and when is that coming? It never happened."
Lowry closed out the game with a solo home run by Studebaker in the seventh inning and Dawson had a RBI-double to score Hardy.
In addition to his three hits and four RBIs, Studebaker earned the complete-game win on the mound. The senior allowed two runs and five hits and struck out three while walking six.
"If you sat there and watched the game, Jesse looked dominant," Espinola said. "You look at the numbers and it was weird. The numbers don't match the performance. He had six walks, but he was never in any trouble."
Lowry is off this week, due to West Wendover cancelling its season. The Buckaroos will play just their second home game of the season when they host league-leading Elko on Friday, April 19, at 4 p.m. The two rivals play a doubleheader on Saturday, April 20, at 11 a.m.
"All I know is we are in the playoffs and that is all that matters right now," Espinola said. "Now our goal is to host. All it comes down to hosting is winning. We have to beat Elko and that is it. Elko still has to play Spring Creek and that is a rivalry thing. You never know what is going to happen and this why you play the games."
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