WINNEMUCCA - This past weekend figured to be a tune-up for the Lowry High School varsity softball team as it prepared for its most important series of the year with Elko beginning on Friday in Winnemucca.
The Lady Bucks hosted West Wendover of the Division III North in a doubleheader on Saturday and easily took care of the Wolverines 16-1 and 26-0. In its last eight games Lowry has outscored its opponents 123-2, en route to winning them all.
"We came out and did some nice things," said LHS head coach Ty Lucas. "We went back to the faceless opponent aspect and played our game. We were strong in all three phases of the game and I liked how we adjusted at the plate. It all came together for us."
Despite not playing in the Division I-A North this past weekend, Lowry clinched a home playoff series in the first week of May after Churchill County swept Dayton in a three-game series. The Lady Bucks can finish no worse than fourth and, depending on results in the final two weeks of the regular season, they can finish from anywhere from first to fourth in the league.
In the opening game on Saturday, Lowry's Ere Higbee started a two-out rally in the first inning with a single. Kylee McClellan followed with a single of her own and Higbee eventually scored on a wild pitch on called third strike that got away from the West Wendover catcher with Alyssa Dendary at the plate. Two more errors in the frame by the Wolverines allowed McClellan and Dendary to score to put the Lady Bucks up 3-0.
An error by the West Wendover right fielder started an eight-run second inning for Lowry. The Lady Bucks added seven hits in the frame, as Carli Evatz, Higbee and McClellan all singled in consecutive at bats. Dendary was hit by a pitch and after the first out was recorded, Taylor Schwartz tripled to right field to score Dendary and Schwartz scored on the play after a throwing error by the West Wendover second baseman.
Lexie Coleman followed with a double and she scored on a double by Shelby McKinnon and Evatz closed out the scoring, with Evatz singling home McKinnon to increase the advantage to 11-0.
The Lady Bucks strung together five more hits in the third inning and picked up RBIs by Jaecee Munger, McKinnon and Evatz.
Meanwhile, the duo of Jordan Mecham and Schwartz were nearly unhittable in the circle for Lowry. Mecham struck out four and hit one batter in her two innings of work, while Schwartz threw the final three innings and struck out three. She allowed one hit, one walk and a hit batter.
West Wendover scored its only run of the day in the top of the fifth inning, when Bianca Limon walked to lead off the frame and she scored from second on a throwing error by McKinnon on a pickoff attempt at second base. Evatz, the Lady Bucks' centerfielder, was covering the base on the play, leaving no one in the outfield to get the ball.
Three batters later, Karina Correa hit a line drive to the bottom of the fence, ending the no-hit bid for Lowry.
Higbee and McClellan each had three hits for the Lady Bucks, while McKinnon, Evatz and Coleman had two hits apiece.
The nightcap was over quickly as Lowry sent 23 batters to the plate in an 18-run first inning. After McKinnon was barely thrown out at first base to lead off the frame, the next 18 batters reached base and scored. The Lady Bucks ended the frame on their own, having Evatz leave base early.
Evatz and Higbee each had three hits and two RBIs in the first inning, Alyssa Jones added two hits and three RBIs and McClellan added two triples in three RBIs in the monster inning. Each player in the lineup scored two runs in the frame that saw Lowry collect 13 hits.
"It could be tough to stay focused when games get like this," added the coach. "It is just another aspect of mental toughness. You still have to stay sharp, execute and not develop bad habits without rubbing it in to your opponent."
It was much of the same in the second inning as the first three Lady Buckaroos reached base, one on a hit and two more on Wolverines' errors. Lowry added four more runs on five on five hits and ended the inning once again by having Higbee leave base early.
The Lady Bucks (13-8 overall, 8-1 Division I-A North, 6-2 Ruby Mountain) picked up base hits from Munger, Schwartz, Jones, McKinnon and Higbee in a three-run third inning to increase the lead to 26-0. Lowry had two runners leave base early to account for two of the outs.
Dendary and McClellan combined for a one-hitter in the circle for the Lady Bucks. Dendary was perfect in her two innings of work, striking out four of the six batters she faced. McClellan came in relief in the third inning and she gave up one walk and one hit but faced the minimum nine batters.
McClellan walked Limon to start the third inning but a double play later in the frame erased Limon off the bases. Correa led off the fourth with a single to the left side of the field, but recorded an out at second base on a fielder's choice by Tanya Esparza. However, Esparza was wiped off the bases after a strikeout, when McKinnon fired to first base to pick off Esparza.
The two Lowry pitchers faced the minimum 15 batters in the contest.
"It was a good chance to get all four of our pitchers in," Lucas said. "All four of them looked good and that is what we need out of them. They showed us they are ready to take over an inning or two or even a full game. We are anticipating as the games get tougher down the road, we are going to need all that pitching. We have something that a lot of teams don't have. It was nice to see them step up and take advantage of their opportunity."
The Lady Bucks complete their Division I-A slate of games this weekend when they host Elko in a three-game series in Winnemucca. The Indians are on a 10-game winning streak, including a three-game sweep of White Pine this past weekend. Elko is currently 4-2 in the Division I-A North, with losses to Fernley and Churchill County. The two rivals play a single game on Friday at 4 p.m. and a doubleheader on Saturday at 11 a.m.
"We have to come out and be ready to rock and roll," Lucas said. "These are three big games for us that are going to go a long way in seeding. We will go in and take it one game at a time."
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