It appeared the Lowry High School baseball team was set for a dominant weekend as it hosted Dayton in a three-game series.
The Buckaroos picked up a dominating pitching performance from senior Aaron Nelson in an 8-1 victory on Friday, setting the table for the rest of the series.
That turned out to be the only good news for Lowry over the two days, as Dayton came back to win twice on Saturday 11-2 and 10-6. The losses proved to be costly for the Buckaroos, who are now 5-4 in league play. The Dust Devils entered the weekend 0-7 in the Division I-A North.
"To say the least is frustrating and disappointing," said LHS coach Ron Espinola. "We were not able to come through at any point at anytime all day long. You have credit Dayton, we were outplayed plain and simple. There is a little bit of momentum and you would think we would have some after that Friday game. But, it depends on the day and mindset."
Friday, Nelson allowed just one hit through the first three innings of the game. Dayton struck for a single run in the fourth after stringing three consecutive singles together, but never threatened after that.
Lowry secured a 1-0 lead in the second inning after Mickey Donovan led off with a triple and eventually scored. After seeing the Dust Devils tie the game in the fourth, the Buckaroos pulled away with four runs in the bottom of the fourth. Tytin Johnson led off with a single and Nelson helped himself with a single to right field that scored Donovan and Jared Taylor.
Lowry added three runs, with Nelson picking up his third RBI on a single. In his seven innings of work on the mound, Nelson struck out two and walked none, while giving up five hits.
"That was nice to see," Espinola said. "The best thing was just letting them get the ball in play. Our defense went out and made the plays to help him. Aaron is not a guy that is going to strike a lot of guys out. He got Dayton to hit into routine plays. You have to trust your defense. He didn't make it out of the first inning when he pitched in Elko. But he came back in the third game to get a save. That was a big confidence booster for him. If there were any doubts he answered him. He made the coaches look good."
Lowry quickly found itself in trouble in Saturday's opener, as Dayton jumped out to a 5-0 lead after two innings. The Buckaroos had their chances throughout the contest, but couldn't get the timely hit when they needed to. Lowry left 13 runners on base, including two each in the first six innings.
"That has been a problem all season," Espinola said. "It was a little bit of everything. What was disappointing was the offense. We dug (a hole) by taking pitches we should swing at. If you get down in the count, you will not hit well. That goes for a high school player or someone in the major league's. We are leaving way too many runners on base and in scoring position."
The Buckaroos cut the deficit to 5-1 in the third as Tanner Lecumberry scored on a fielder's choice by Colin Doyle. Lowry added another run in the fourth, but was held hitless the rest of the way.
Dayton scored twice in the fifth to go up 7-2 and sealed the victory with four runs in the top of the seventh.
The Dust Devils grabbed the momentum in game two, with single runs in the first and third innings to lead 2-0. The Buckaroos tied the game in the bottom of the third, as Nelson led off with a single. He was erased as Calvin Connors reached on a fielder's choice. The rally continued when Brandon Okuma doubled, scoring Connors. Okuma came around to score and tie the game.
Dayton countered with three runs in the top of the fourth inning to go back in front 5-2. However, that was short-lived with Lowry tying the game once again. A single by Connors drove in Donovan Brumm and Christian Dawson evened the contest at 5-5, with a two-RBI single that scored Nelson and Connors.
Each squad scored once in the sixth, but Lowry left two runners on base in the frame and eight for the game. Dayton broke the game open with four runs in the top of the seventh and sent Lowry down in order in the bottom of the seventh.
The Buckaroos go on the road this weekend to play South Tahoe, beginning Friday at 3 p.m. The two schools play a doubleheader on Saturday at 11 a.m.
"We will just go into practice and see what we can do," Espinola said. "We will talk to the kids and see if they have any ideas that I am not seeing. We have it figure it out and get ready for South Tahoe. You came in knowing that every game was a must win. We have to realize the pressure on us now. Not even knowing what everyone else is doing. The bottom line is that we have dropped too many games and you can't do that. You can't drop two out of three at home."[[In-content Ad]]
