BATTLE MOUNTAIN - There were many powers at work this past weekend as the Lowry High School varsity softball team completed its 21-game road trip with three victories in Battle Mountain.
The Lady Bucks (12-9 overall, 8-1 Ruby Mountain League) hit five home runs over the two days, which saw them score 42 runs total. Lowry picked up a no-hitter from Jordan Mecham in Saturday's opening game and Mother Nature made her presence known as well. Saturday's two games were played with off and on rain and hail and at one time play was halted as a lightning strike hit near the field, forcing the teams to scatter quickly to their respective dugouts.
Lowry won the opening game Friday 10-0 and picked up another shutout in Saturday's first game by a 16-0 decision. The Lady Bucks won the final game of the series 16-2 after it was called in the seventh inning as another heavy rainstorm sat over the top of the ballpark.
"We picked up quality wins this weekend," said LHS head coach Ty Lucas. "I liked the way we played on Saturday better than we did on Friday. On Friday we got a couple of breaks and scored a lot of runs with two outs. But we came out and did well in all three phases of the game. We hit the ball well, picked up some solid and dominating pitching performances and played good defense."
In Friday's opener, Kayla Doyle struck out seven Battle Mountain batters and gave up just three hits (two in the final inning) on her way to the win.
Lowry picked up an early break in the opening inning, as Angie Herrera struck out but Battle Mountain catcher McKenzie Huddleston dropped the third strike and committed a throwing error on the same play. After a walk to Madi Gonzalez and a ground out by Hana Etcheverry that scored Herrera, Ere Higbee closed out the inning with a two-run home run for a 3-0 advantage. It was the first of five long balls for the Lady Bucks on the weekend.
Lowry put together a two-out rally in the second, after Sydnie Sundahl reached on a throwing error by Battle Mountain third baseman Daisy Hernandez. The Lady Bucks made the Lady Longhorns pay for that mistake, with four consecutive hits from Shelby McKinnon, Herrera, Gonzalez and Etcheverry. Three of those were run-scoring doubles as part of the five-run inning.
The Lady Bucks added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings on a RBI double by Heather McElvain and a RBI triple by Gonzalez. Higbee and Gonzalez each had two hits for Lowry.
"It was a series that we could not take for granted, especially the way they played against Elko and Spring Creek," Lucas said. "We knew they were a good team and they are not bad at all. When we execute it is tough to beat us."
The Lady Bucks were just as impressive on Saturday, beginning with a no-hitter from Jordan Mecham in the first game of the doubleheader. The junior faced just one batter over the minimum. The only runner reaching base for Battle Mountain was Gabby Penola on an error. She was left on second base after a steal. Mecham struck out six on just a little over 50 pitches.
"She went out there and had a dominant performance," added the coach. "She has been pitching well for us all season. I thought all of our pitchers were dominant this weekend and Shelby was tough behind the plate and did not let anything by her."
Etcheverry provided the power for the Lady Bucks in the first inning, with her home run off the top of the announcing booth on the baseball field to make the score 2-0. Lowry added three runs in the second inning off two doubles by Herrera and Higbee and put up six more in the third inning.
McElvain and Taylor Johnson started the third, as they were hit by pitches and Mecham reached on a throwing error, allowing McElvain to score. McKinnon, Herrera and Higbee followed with hits to extend the margin to 11-0. Higbee's double scored two runs and Cassie Klemish closed out the frame with a run-scoring single.
Herrera added a two-run double in the fourth inning and Taylor Johnson added a RBI double in the fifth. Mecham helped herself out with a RBI groundout to close out the scoring in the fifth.
Herrera led Lowry with three hits, three runs scored and four RBIs, while Higbee had two hits and four RBIs. Johnson also added two hits to go with three runs scored.
The Lady Bucks used the long ball in the nightcap of the doubleheader, as McKinnon led off the game with a home run and Shannon McClellan helped herself out in the circle with a solo home run in the first inning for a 3-0 lead. McKinnon and Herrera provided run-scoring singles in the second. Battle Mountain plated its first run of the series on a single by Huddleston that scored Amber Scovil, who had reached on an error.
Lowry continued to use the long ball, as Klemish powered a two-run home run into the baseball field in the third inning for a 7-1 advantage. The Lady Bucks tagged on two runs in the fourth and one more in the fifth to make the score 10-1 but were a run short of ending the game due to the mercy rule.
McClellan's single that drove in McElvain in the fifth gave Lowry the 10-run lead. But in the bottom of the sixth, the Lady Longhorns' Kalin Nelson hit a home run to left field to keep the game going. Just moments after the homer, lightning hit near the field, causing a short delay. Following the stoppage, McClellan came back to strike out Pooja Bhakta.
The game went on to the seventh inning, where the Lady Bucks tacked on five more runs, including a two-RBI single by Herrera. With one out the game was called official after a heavy rainstorm came over the field.
McClellan picked up the victory in the circle, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits. She struck out three and walked none. Herrera, Etcheverry and McClellan each had three hits to lead Lowry. The trio combined for six RBIs. Carli Evatz, McKinnon and Higbee had two hits apiece.
"It is what I wanted to see this weekend," Lucas said. "We looked good in all three phases of the game."
Lowry makes its home debut this weekend when its hosts Spring Creek in a three-game series, starting Friday at 4 p.m. The teams play a doubleheader on Saturday at 11 a.m.
"These are the three most important games of the year and once again we are going to take it one game at a time," Lucas said. "We know Spring Creek comes with a lot of fight in them and they will be tough. We are going to put a good week of practice in and we will be at home for the first time. That gives the girls a little more incentive to perform, work hard and protect their house."
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