WINNEMUCCA - After spending the first two weeks of the season on the road, the Lowry High School varsity softball team enjoyed the comforts of its home field for the first time on Tuesday.
Awaiting the Lady Bucks was an undefeated Pershing County squad, but that did not matter as the 2012 Division I-A state runner-up scored six times in the first inning and went on to beat the Mustangs 11-1.
"We wanted to get on it right from the start," said LHS head coach Ty Lucas. "I didn't want us to wait a couple of innings to get going. Our goal is to set the tone early and finish strong."
Jordan Mecham struck out two Pershing County batters in the opening inning and the senior got help from her offense in the bottom of the first.
Shelby McKinnon began the bottom half of the inning with a single and Ere Higbee followed with a triple. The junior scored on an error with the ball getting back into the infield.
Kylee McClellan put the Lady Bucks up 3-0 with her solo home run that cleared the centerfield fence. With two outs, Lexie Coleman kept the rally alive as she singled and Taylor Schwartz reached on a throwing error by the Mustangs' Courtney Cross.
Jorden Raynor made Pershing County pay for the mistake as she singled to drive in both Coleman and Schwartz. Raynor later scored on a passed ball to give the Lady Bucks a 6-0 advantage.
The Lady Mustangs scored their only run in the top of the third inning after Rocio Torres walked to lead off the frame and Briana Garcia added a single. Pershing County would have just one batter reach base the rest of the game as Mecham retired nine of the last 10 batters.
Lowry (2-6 overall, 1-2 Ruby Mountain League) added three runs in the bottom of the fourth on the strength of back-to-back singles by Higbee and Jaecee Munger. Both players scored after Carli Evatz and Coleman each singled, pushing the advantage to 9-1.
The Lady Bucks closed out the game with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs, Higbee doubled for her third hit of the afternoon and scored on Munger's single. On the next at bat, McClellan notched her third of the game, resulting in Munger scoring and giving the Lady Bucks the victory by way of the 10-run rule.
Higbee, McClellan and Coleman each had three hits on the day, while Munger added two. Mecham struck out four on the afternoon, while walking just two. Pershing County had one hit in the contest.
"It was a good way for us to start and finish," Lucas said. "I was happy with the way we played. We don't take anybody lightly. We have the thought of playing faceless opponents every time out. The girls know to go hard until we pull the dogs off. All in all, a good performance for us."
Lowry traveled to Ely this past weekend to begin Ruby Mountain League play against White Pine. The Lady Bobcats swept a doubleheader on Friday, March 15, winning 3-1 and 8-7. Lowry came back to claim the finale on Saturday 15-1.
"We never got off the bus on Friday," Lucas said. "We were up and down. We would hit well and be off defensively. Or we would have trouble at the plate and play good defense. We just shot ourselves in the foot. You can't do that against a quality team like White Pine."
Bailey Moore did all the damage for the Lady Bobcats in the series opener as she went 2-for-3 with two home runs, two RBIs and three runs scored. The senior also pitched for White Pine and threw a no-hitter, while allowing one run.
Lowry scored its lone run of the game in the sixth inning when Alyssa Jones was hit by a pitch. The sophomore advanced to third on a throwing error by the White Pine catcher and later scored on a passed ball.
White Pine scored single runs in each of the second, fourth and sixth innings.
Mecham suffered the loss as she allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits. She struck out 10 and walked none.
In the nightcap on March 15, Lowry jumped to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, when McKinnon tripled to lead off the game and scored on a wild pitch.
White Pine tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first, only to see the Lady Bucks go in front 4-1 on the strength of a three-run third inning. McKinnon led off the frame with a single and used her speed to steal a base and score on a wild pitch. Munger and McClellan later scored after a ground out by Evatz and when Jones reached base on an error.
White Pine countered with six runs in the bottom of the third to go back in front 7-4 and Lowry was forced to play from behind the rest of the way. The Lady Bucks cut the deficit to 7-5 in the top of the fourth when Schwartz scored on a ground out by Higbee.
Lowry tied the game in the top of the seventh when Munger led off the inning by reaching on an error and triple, respectively. A sacrifice fly to centerfield by McClellan scored Munger to tie the game.
In the bottom of the seventh, White Pine put the first three batters on base, when Teal Hussey singled home Jaden Ernest for the winning run.
Mecham started and received a no-decision in her three innings of work. She allowed seven runs (five earned) on five hits. She struck out four and walked one. Schwartz pitched four innings and gave up one run. McKinnon and McClellan led Lowry with three and two hits, respectively.
The Lady Bucks took out their frustrations on Saturday, with 15 runs and 13 hits against the Lady Bobcats. Munger started the onslaught with a two-RBI single in the first inning to score McKinnon and Higbee.
Allison Barron added a three-run home run in the third inning to give Lowry a 6-0 lead. Lowry found the long ball one more time in the fourth inning on a two-run home run by McClellan to make the score 8-0.
McKinnon added to the home run total with a three-run shot in the sixth inning and Schwartz added a two-RBI single as part of the seven-run frame.
White Pine scored its lone run in the bottom of the sixth on a solo home run by Debra Kingston.
Mecham struck out 11 and walked two in her complete-game victory. McClellan had three hits for the Lady Bucks and Alyssa Dendary, McKinnon and Coleman each had two hits.
"I was happy with the way we responded on Saturday," Lucas said. "It was the same lineup we saw on the first day and we just shut them down. We know what they are capable of doing and hopefully this helps with their confidence."
Lowry travels to Elko this weekend for three crossover games with Dayton, Churchill County and Fernley.
"This weekend is where everything starts to matter," Lucas said. "These are the games we have to win. It will be a tough weekend for us, but we are going right after them."
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