Three weeks into the Division I-A North schedule, the Lowry High School baseball team is finding itself in a similar position to last year - behind the 8-ball when it comes to the playoffs.
The Buckaroos were on the road last week in Dayton and won the series opener 19-10 on Friday, March 27. However, Lowry could not build off that momentum, as Dayton came back to sweep a doubleheader 9-6 and 13-9 on Saturday. The Buckaroos dropped to 2-7 in league play and 4-9 overall.
"The best thing of the weekend was our pitchers were throwing strikes," said LHS coach Ron Espinola. "We have to refine those a little more that those are not good strikes. We want the ball in play. We are not strike out guys - never have and never will. But, at the same time you tell your pitchers to throw to contact and we need to do a heck of a lot better job of supporting them. We had 15 or 16 errors on the weekend. I don't care how many runs you put up, you aren't going to win games, giving up that many errors. It's not going to get it done. They are coming at key times."
In the series opener, Lowry used a single from Trey Marriott in the first inning and a triple by Sterling Dennis in the second to take a 2-1 lead. The Dust Devils tied the contest in the bottom of the second, when the Buckaroos answered with five runs in the top of the third.
Jared Taylor started the rally by reaching base on an error and Donovan Brumm followed with a single. With one out, Jake Barnes doubled home both runners to give Lowry a 4-2 lead. Jayson Smith added a single and Sterling Dennis followed with a single to make the score 6-2. Dennis eventually scored on an error to finish off the five-run frame.
Dayton turned the tables on Lowry, scoring three runs apiece in the third and fourth innings to go in front 8-7, but it was all Buckaroos after that. Lowry scored the next 12 runs, starting with five in the fifth inning. Dennis, Marriott and Mickey Donovan were hot by pitches in the fifth inning and Colin Doyle and Barnes had base hits.
After scoring twice in the sixth inning, Lowry put the game out of reach with six runs in the seventh inning. Dennis, Kyle Schultz, Marriott, Brumm and Doyle all had hits in the frame.
Doyle went the distance on the mound for the Buckaroos, allowing 10 runs (eight earned) on 13 hits. He struck out four and walked one in the 98-pitch performance.
Marriott was 4-for-4 at the plate with four runs scored, while Doyle and Dennis each had three hits. Dennis scored four times and drove home three runs.
"It was nice to see the kids bring to the game what we did in practice," Espinola said. "You saw that throughout the weekend. Right now, we are inconsistent and it's usually the routine. I have seen what this team is capable of doing."
In Saturday's first game, Lowry used back-to-back singles by Donovan and Taylor to lead 1-0 in the first inning. The Dust Devils got that run back in the bottom of the first and took a 5-1 lead with four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Lowry cut the deficit to 5-4 in the top of the fifth inning after picking up base hits from Taylor, Brumm and Dennis. However, that was as close as Lowry got, with Dayton scoring three times in the bottom of the fifth and once more in the sixth.
The Buckaroos attempted a rally in the seventh and scored twice on the strength of hits by Brumm and Doyle, but the rally ended after that.
Lowry got another complete-game on the mound, this time from Barnes. He allowed nine runs (six earned) on 11 hits. He struck out one and walked none. Lowry hurt itself with three errors.
"The mistakes start innings and even though the pitchers are throwing well, they think I have to get this guy out on my own," Espinola said. "You get to fine and mistakes and you are going to pay for it. We got two complete games in the first two outings and that is all you can ask for."
Taylor, Brumm, Barnes and Noble each had two hits and Doyle had two RBI.
The nightcap was a back-and forth affair, with Lowry taking a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Brumm singled home Schultz for the first run and Donovan closed out the rally with a two-RBI single.
The Buckaroos kept a three-run lead, after scoring once in the top of the second, but the Dust Devils countered with five runs in the bottom of the second.
Dayton added three runs in the bottom of the fourth to go in front, but Lowry came back to tie the game. The Buckaroos plated four runs in the fifth inning on the strength of singles by Brumm, Doyle and Dennis and a double by Brian Shettler.
Lowry tied the game in the top of the sixth after a single by Donovan that scored Taylor. However, Dayton battled back with four runs in the sixth inning, ending the Buckaroo comeback. Dennis reached base via walk in the seventh, but Lowry could not rally from there.
Shettler started for Lowry and received a no decision in 3.2 innings of work. He allowed nine runs (four earned) on 11 hits. Schultz threw the final 2.1 innings and suffered the loss. He allowed four runs (one earned) on five hits.
"Both guys threw the ball well," Espinola said. "Kyle's performance was better than his line looked. He pitched much better than what the stats show."
Lowry looks to get back on the winning track this weekend when it hosts South Tahoe, beginning today at 3 p.m. The two schools play a doubleheader on Saturday at 11 a.m.
"We have to find a way to fix our mistakes," Espinola said. "We are going to continue with what we do, but make some modifications and that has shown on the offensive side. We want up the level of intensity. It's so hard in baseball mimic games in practice. You don't get a lot done. Hopefully, the kids respond and I think they will. We want to keep it simple and limit our mistakes. I know we are much better than we are showing right now. You see the glimpses."
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