It may have been just the second three-game series in the Division I-A North for the Lowry High School softball team, but the series the Lady Bucks hosted last weekend was important in the playoff seeding.
Lowry shook off a crushing loss to Sparks the week before, by sweeping Elko in its home debut. The Lady Bucks knocked off the Indians 6-1 on Friday, March. 20 and swept a doubleheader on Saturday 14-4 and 7-6 to improve to 8-2 overall and 5-1 in the Division I-A North.
"It was a solid three games and a positive move for us," said LHS coach Ty Lucas. "It was three games and three wins and we will take it. Elko is improved from last year and with us having a young team, you never know what you are going to get. We are starting to work out some the kinks and inconsistencies."
In the opener, Lowry scored all the runs it would need in the first inning. Shelby McKinnon led off with a single and scored on a passed ball and Stevie DeStout singled home Kylie McClellan, who tripled in the inning.
Alyssa Dendary kept the Elko offense at bay, allowing one run and five hits in the complete-game effort. She walked four and struck out two. The Indians scored their only run in the fifth inning.
The Lady Bucks added two runs in the third inning off the strength of back-to-back hits by McClellan and DeStout. The advantage climbed to 6-0 in the fourth, as Lowry picked up a double from McKinnon and singles by Ashlee Barron and Alyssa Kuskie.
Lowry pounded out 13 hits, with DeStout collecting four to go with two RBI. McKinnon, Barron and McClellan each had two hits.
It was much of the same in Saturday's first game of the doubleheader, as Lowry scored four times in the second inning and never looked back. Barron had the big blast of the frame with a three-RBI double that scored Kyllie Sappington, Alyssa Jones and McKinnon.
The Indians cut the deficit in half, with two runs in the top of the third inning, but the Lady Bucks got one of those runs back in the bottom of the frame on a sacrifice fly by Kuskie that scored McClellan.
Each squad scored once in the fourth inning, when Lowry broke the game open in the fifth inning with six runs. The first five batters of the inning reached base and scored and Jones and McKinnon each had two RBI in the frame.
The Lady Bucks closed out the game by the 10-run rule in the sixth inning as McKinnon doubled home Sappington and Jones with no outs.
Dendary went the distance in the circle once again, allowing four runs on seven hits. The senior struck out five and walked two.
McKinnon, Barron, McClellan and Jones each had two hits as the Lady Bucks had 11 for the game.
Lowry had to come from behind on three occasions in the nightcap to finish off the series sweep. The Indians scored once in the first inning, but the Lady Bucks used a sacrifice fly from McClellan and a double by DeStout to take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second.
Elko went back on top in the fourth inning, scoring four times to lead 5-2, but that was short-lived. Lowry collected a two-RBI double from DeStout and Kuskie later drove home DeStout to tie the game at 5-5 after five innings of play.
Elko grabbed the lead for a third time, scoring a single run in the top of the sixth inning. However, Lowry battled back to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Dendary hit a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Jones.
Lowry set up the walk-off heroics in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Kuskie and Alana Miller walked with one out. After getting the two free bases, Jones doubled to score Kuskie to win the game.
Kuskie started the game in the circle for Lowry and went 4.2 innings and received a no decision. The freshman allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out one. Dendary finished the game and earned the victory to improve to 6-2 on the year. She allowed four runs (two earned) on four hits, while striking out two.
DeStout led Lowry with three hits, while McKinnon and Jones had two each,
"It was a positive weekend," Lucas said. "We are just looking to collect wins. We are hitting the ball well right now and getting good outings out of our pitchers. I was pleased with how we came back in that final game to get the win. That was big for us. We were scrapping and held our composure. It was a step in the right direction for us."
Lowry is back on the road starting today with a single game at 3 p.m. The two schools play twice Saturday at 11 a.m.
"We need to keep on getting wins," Lucas said. "We need to jeep learning and figure out situations we are in. We aren't worried about the name on the jersey. We have to take one game at a time and take care of our own business."
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