There are very few comforting words you can say to the Lowry High School softball team after suffering a crushing defeat for the second consecutive season in the Division I-A North Regional Championships.
In 2013, the Lady Bucks were defeated with a walk-off home run by Fernley in an elimination game in Winnemucca. It turns out that a home run by Lowry this past weekend at South Tahoe that was called back, was part of another loss to Fernley in an elimination contest.
"It is just disappointing," said LHS head coach Ty Lucas. "This is two years in a row for this group. It's tough to take when you know you are as good as the other two teams going to state. I guess the softball gods are shining on Fallon and Fernley. I am extremely proud of this team this year."
Lowry founds itself in an elimination game last Saturday against Fernley, the defending state champion. The Lady Bucks got off to a quick start, with Ere Higbee doubling with one out in the bottom of the first inning. However, she was called out for missing first base. That turned out to be a big play, as Alyssa Dendary followed with a single. The rally ended with the next batter.
Lowry jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second innings, with Taylor Schwartz hitting a solo home run with one out. Alyssa Jones and Shelby McKinnon added a double and single, respectively, that scored.
The Lady Bucks appeared to have increased the lead to 4-0 in the top of the fifth inning, when Higbee led off with a solo home run. However, once again, she was called out for missing first base and the run was disallowed.
"Fernley came out and appealed it," Lucas said. "They had girls on their bench watching our runners. They went to their coach and she appealed. The umpires called her out. That is a huge play. All the momentum was gone after that."
Lowry was able to extend the lead to 5-0 in the same inning taking advantage of two errors by Fernley. A single by Lexie Coleman drove home Dendary.
Fernley broke through on the scoreboard with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut the deficit in half. The Vaqueros strung together three hits in the sixth inning and were aided by a Lowry error to go in front 5-4. The Lady Bucks were retired in order in the seventh.
"We know Fernley is a team that can score some runs," Lucas said. "We held them down for quite a while. We lost the momentum and they had it at the end."
Schwartz went the distance in the loss, allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits. She struck out two and walked none. McKinnon led Lowry with two hits, while Dendary, Kylee McClellan, Coleman, Schwartz and Jones each had one hit.
Lowry opened the Division I-A North Regional Championships on May 16 against Churchill County. The Lady Bucks beat the Greenwave twice this season.
Churchill County grabbed the early advantage with two runs in the top of the first inning and never trailed. The Greenwave added a single run in the second and the score remained 3-0 until the bottom of the fourth inning.
Lowry struck for two runs in the fourth, as McClellan began the rally with a one-out single. With two outs, Schwartz and Jaecee Munger followed with back-to-back hits to close the gap to 3-2.
Churchill County used three consecutive doubles in the sixth to extend the margin to 5-2. Lowry made a small rally in the bottom of the seventh with McKinnon driving home Munger, but that turned out to be all the scoring for the Lady Bucks.
Schwartz pitched a complete game but suffered the loss. She gave up five runs on nine hits. She struck out three and walked one. McKinnon, McClellan and Munger had two hits apiece.
Later on the first day of the tournament, Lowry faced a first elimination game against Dayton and beat the Dust Devils 4-2. The Lady Bucks grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second inning when Coleman reached base on an error. The senior eventually scored after two passed balls. Barron plated the second run when Alyssa Jones knocked her in with a single.
The Dust Devils cut the deficit in half in the top of the third inning, only to see the Lady Bucks get those runs right back in the bottom of the third. McKinnon led off the frame with a single and scored on a passed ball and Schwartz drove home Higbee for the final run of the game.
Dendary collected the win in her five innings of work. The junior allowed two runs on five hits. She struck out two and walked two. Jones had two of the four hits, while McKinnon and McClellan had one each.
"It wasn't the way we wanted to end the season, but this is a great group," said Lucas. "They were fun to coach and they are extremely hard working. They were receptive to everything we asked of them. They definitely earned some respect from around the state. Not many thought we would be in the spot we were."
Contact Tony Erquiaga at t.erquiaga@winnemuccapublishing.net.[[In-content Ad]]
