RENO - It was a tough start to the season for the Lowry High School varsity baseball team at the Mike Bearman Memorial Tournament, but the Buckaroos showed flashes of the team they can be in the finale over the three days.
The Buckaroos (0-5) went winless over the weekend, losing 5-0 to North Valleys on Thursday, 18-0 to Bishop Manogue and 11-1 against Reno on Friday and 10-0 to Wooster and 15-5 to Damonte Ranch on Saturday.
The Buckaroos led the Mustangs 5-2 going into the bottom of the third, but Damonte Ranch scored 13 times in the next three innings to win the game in five innings.
"We showed flashes of how we should play the game, how they want to play the game," said LHS head coach Ron Espinola of the finale at Damonte Ranch. "But we saw in each of the five games when we got down we stayed down. Everything is great when you are winning, but it seemed like the world was ending when we were down. The kids that have been around for three or four years know better than that. It is early in the season but still at the same time you want to carry in what these kids have done and they know that."
In the opener against North Valleys, Bryan Noble pitched 4.1 innings and struck out six while walking one but was hung with the loss. He gave up five runs but only one was earned as the Buckaroos committed four errors.
The Panthers scored single runs in each of the first three innings to gain a 3-0 advantage. Lowry left runners on base in each of the first three innings but could not push a run past home plate. North Valleys added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to stretch out the lead.
The Buckaroos loaded the bases in the sixth, as Brandon Okuma reached base with a single. Jace Billingsley walked and Johnny Hernandez was hit by a pitch, but the rally fizzled out from there.
Tyler Brumm, Hernandez, Noble and Okuma had the base hits for Lowry. Okuma pitched the final 1.2 innings, striking out one and walking two.
"If you look down the road our starting pitching is going to be fine and I have no doubt in my mind that the defense will come along," Espinola said. "We just have to get the bats going and get better approaches at the plate. We have kids that haven seen reps and now they will have time to devote to get those reps in."
Lowry did not have a runner reach base against Bishop Manogue on Friday afternoon until a fourth inning walk by Okuma. Connors followed with the only Buckaroo hit and Billingsley reached on a walk, but the next two batters struck out. Bishop Manogue struck out 13 Lowry batters in the game.
The Miners scored five runs in the first and second innings and added six more in the fifth to close out the game early due to the 10-run rule. Hernandez started for the Buckaroos and suffered the loss. Nimmick also saw time on the mound.
Lowry scored its first run of the season in the top of the third inning later Friday night against Reno on a RBI-triple by Okuma that plated Tyler Brumm, who led off the frame with a triple. That cut the Huskies' advantage in half at 2-1, but Reno fired back with nine runs in the bottom of the third, on the strength of seven hits, including a home run, four doubles and two triples.
The Buckaroos put together singles by Billingsley and Jesse Studebaker in the top of the fourth but could not sustain the rally.
Tyler Brumm started for Lowry and took the loss after throwing three innings. The senior struck out one and walked four in giving up 11 runs (10 earned). Gus Duncan came out from behind the plate to throw one inning, allowing one walk.
Lowry's bats never got going on a chilly and cold Saturday morning at Wooster. Eastman had the only hit of the game for the Buckaroos in the top of the third. Lowry had its chances to score, leaving seven runners on base, including leaving the bases loaded in the top of the fifth inning.
The Colts used the small-ball approach for the first few innings and capitalized on two Buckaroos errors in the first inning to take a 3-0 lead. With the aid of two hit batters and two hits, Wooster strung together a four-run second inning to increase the margin to 7-0. After a rough start, Billingsley settled down in the next two innings, allowing no runs but the senior was still tagged with the loss after giving up seven runs. Okuma threw the final innings, allowing the final three runs in the bottom of the fifth that ended the game.
After scoring just one run in its first four games, Lowry tripled that output in the first inning against Damonte Ranch. Billingsley opened the game with a double off the left-centerfield fence and later scored. Noble and Okuma were hit by pitches in the opening frame, with Connors scoring after Okuma was hit by the pitcher. That chased the Mustangs' starting pitcher and Duncan welcomed the new thrower with a single to score Noble for a 3-0 lead.
Damonte Ranch scored single runs in the first and second innings to cut the deficit to a run at 3-2, when Lowry answered with two runs in the top of the third. Tyler Brumm started off the inning with a double over the third base bag, later scoring on a ground out by Duncan. Okuma, who singled after the double by Tyler Brumm, later scored on a close play at the plate on a sacrifice fly by Arenas. However, that was all the scoring for the Buckaroos, who had just one batter reach base in the final two innings.
The Mustangs rallied for four runs in the bottom of the third to take the lead for good and closed out the game with a six-run fifth inning, which included a two-run home run.
Luis Cardenas pitched the first three innings for Lowry and took the loss. Lecumberry threw the final two innings. Billingsley led Lowry with two hits.
"The one thing you can take out of the weekend is that we pitched pretty effectively," said the coach. "We got some good starts and then we had to throw a couple of kids that we didn't necessarily want to, but they came out and threw the ball well. On the last day we were probably down to 11 healthy kids. We had to move some things around."
Lowry begins play in the Ruby Mountain League this weekend with a road trip to West Wendover. Friday's single game is set for 4 p.m., with Saturday's doubleheader at 11 a.m.
"We know that we are better than what we showed this weekend and now we have to go back out there and prove that," Espinola said. "We have four days of practice and we can't remedy everything in that time because there is a lot to work on. It is a good thing that the kids are aware of what is ahead of them."
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