WINNEMUCCA - The Lowry High School varsity softball team raised some eyebrows as it split four games at the Idaho Sporting Goods Tournament last weekend at Borah High School in Meridian, Idaho.
The Lady Bucks (7-8 overall, 3-0 Ruby Mountain League) surprised many with a 10-9 win over Timberline (Idaho) in their first game of the tournament on Friday, March 30. The Wolves were the Idaho 5A state runner up last year and won the state championship the previous season. Lowry was defeated 6-1 by Boise (Idaho) later in the day and could not overcome an early deficit on Saturday morning, suffering a 16-8 loss to Hillcrest (Idaho). The Lady Bucks bounced back in their finale to beat Kuna 1-0.
"All in all it was a good weekend and good tournament for us," said LHS head coach Ty Lucas. "We probably should have come out of the weekend with three wins, but we had things just fall apart in the Hillcrest game. We had one bad inning and everything blew up in our face. Coming out 2-2, I am OK with that."
Lowry opened with perennial 5A power Timberline and used two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to knock off the Wolves. Trailing 9-8, Carli Evatz opened the frame with a single and later scored to tie the game. With one out, Ashley Lombardi singled and advanced to third on an error by the Wolves shortstop on the at bat of Shelby McKinnon. One batter later, Angie Herrera grounded out to shortstop, which allowed Lombardi to score the winning run.
"To open with a perennial power in Idaho and beat them, I thought that was impressive," Lucas said. "We surprised a few teams with that win and I had other coaches asking me how we did it."
Lowry grabbed a 2-0 advantage in the first inning on RBI singles by Hana Etcheverry and Ere Higbee. The Wolves countered with a single run in the bottom of the first, only to see the Lady Bucks get it back in the second on a RBI single by McKinnon to score Evatz.
"The top of our line up has done a pretty good job this year," added the coach. "I have been impressed with Shelby and the way she has stepped up as a freshman. She is showing me good things defensively at catcher. Ere has stepped up as a sophomore and has gotten us some timely hits and I am pleased with her play."
Timberline used consecutive four-runs innings in the second and the third to take a 9-4 lead. However, Shannon McClellan shut down the Wolves in the final two innings to get the win, allowing just three hits as the Lady Bucks began their comeback.
With one out in the fourth, Lombardi walked and after a second out, Herrera earned a walk with the count full to continue the frame. Madi Gonzalez, who missed the two previous games due to an injury, followed with a single to score Lombardi. Lowry further cut into the lead when Etcheverry singled home Herrera on the first pitch she saw. Higbee brought Lowry within a run at 9-8 on a two-RBI double, scoring Gonzalez and Etcheverry and setting up the heroics in the fifth inning.
"It is big to have Madi back in the lineup," added the coach. "She brings a bunch of speed to us and we are a different team when she is in the lineup."
Etcheverry led the Lady Bucks with three hits, while Gonzalez and Higbee each had two.
Lowry found it tough going offensively against Boise, as McKinnon picked up the only hit for the Lady Bucks with a single in the fifth inning. Lowry scored its only run of the game in the sixth, as Gonzalez walked and stole third base, scoring on a sacrifice by Higbee.
The Braves scored two runs in the first, third and fifth innings off starter Jordan Mecham, who suffered the loss. The junior allowed six runs (five earned) on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks. McClellan pitched the final two innings, allowing just one hit.
"We played pretty good defensively but just had troubling adjusting to their pitcher," Lucas said. "We figured her out towards the end, but it was just too little too late for us."
Lowry's opening game on Saturday morning proved to be a wild one as Hillcrest took a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The Lady Bucks battled back to score three times in the bottom of the first, which included a two-RBI single by Higbee. The sophomore came around to score on a sacrifice by Cassie Klemish.
Lowry took a 7-5 lead in the third inning on the strength of five straight hits, started by a triple from Higbee. Etcheverry added a double, and Kayla Doyle, Heather McElvain and Klemish all added singles.
The advantage did not last long, as the Knights sent 15 batters to the plate in the fourth inning and scored 11 runs to close out the Lady Bucks. Doyle started for Lowry and took the loss, as she gave up nine runs on six hits, with six walks and two strikeouts. McClellan relieved her but did not get an out, giving up seven runs on seven hits, as Hillcrest had eight hits in the inning. Mecham threw the last two-thirds of the fourth inning for the Lady Bucks.
Higbee, Etcheverry, McElvain and Klemish each had two hits, with Higbee and Klemish driving in a pair of runs.
"It was just one bad inning and when you play good teams, they will make you pay for it and that is what happened," Lucas said.
The tournament finale versus Kuna was the polar opposite of the previous game, which turned into a pitchers' dual. Mecham scattered four hits through seven innings, not allowing a run and striking out six Kaveman batters.
Lowry used a RBI triple by Higbee in the sixth inning to score Herrera for the only run of the game. Kuna put together a small rally in the seventh, putting two runners on base, but Mecham got the next two Kaveman batters to pop up to first base and strike out, respectively.
"I was really happy with the way they responded in playing a quality team in Kuna," said the coach. "It was a tight game and it was a game I wanted to see us win in a close situation like that. It was back and forth with solid defense. Jordan gave us a great outing and Ere came up with a big triple. Something had to give, and we got it done. It was a good test for us as we start league play."
Before making the trip to Idaho, Lowry traveled to Fernley for three crossover games against the 3A schools in the Lahontan League on March 23 - 24. Lowry took on Churchill County, the defending 3A champion, on March 23 and lost 10-3 to the Greenwave. The Lady Bucks bounced back to beat Fernley 3-1 and Dayton 5-4 on March 24.
Churchill County and Lowry each scored a run in the first, with the Lady Bucks tying the game on a RBI single by Etcheverry that scored McKinnon. The Greenwave tacked on three runs in the third inning to lead 4-1. That margin held up until the fifth, when Lowry scored twice off a two-RBI double by Gonzalez that scored Taylor Johnson and Sydnie Sundahl. That turned out to be all the offense for Lowry, as Churchill Country added to its lead with two runs in the sixth and four more in the seventh.
"There is no doubt Fallon is a good team but we were with them again," Lucas said. "It feels like to us that Fallon just keeps slipping through our fingers. We have been in every game with them over the last two years. We do a couple of small things wrong and they take advantage of it."
Doyle started and went the distance for Lowry, taking the loss. She allowed 10 runs on nine hits, with nine walks and three strikeouts. McKinnon led the Lady Bucks with two hits.
Lowry bounced back with an impressive win over Fernley that saw Mecham throw a complete game, one-hitter. She struck out eight and walked five. The Lady Bucks put together a two-out rally in the third innings, as McKinnon, Herrera and Higbee had back-to-back-to-back singles for a 2-0 lead and all the offense Lowry needed. Sundahl gave the Lady Bucks an insurance run in the fifth as she singled, stole second and scored on an error.
"I was happy with the way we played but was a little disappointed we didn't hit their pitcher as well as we should have," said the coach. "We played very well defensively and did enough to get ourselves the win."
Lowry built a 3-0 lead against Dayton but needed extra innings to knock off the Dust Devils. Trailing 4-3 going into the seventh inning, Klemish tied the game on a wild pitch. That was the same way the Lady Bucks eventually won the game, as Etcheverry led off the top of the eighth with a triple and scored on a wild pitch.
Mecham earned the win, pitching the final 3.1 innings in relief of McClellan. Mecham allowed one run on two hits, with two strikeouts and a walk.
"Dayton has a pretty good pitcher and we knew they struggled in other areas and if we could get the ball in play we would be OK," Lucas said. "We made some things happen at the end of the game."
Lowry jumps back into league play this weekend, starting today at 4 p.m. at Elko. The two rivals play a doubleheader on Saturday at 11 a.m. The Indians are coming off two losses to White Pine last weekend and played Battle Mountain in a doubleheader on Wednesday.
"All in all I am happy and it will be nothing but close games the rest of the way in the Ruby Mountain League," Lucas said. "There are no easy games left. The playoff spots are up in the air with White Pine beating Elko twice. I am happy with the way we are progressing. We are taking small steps but they are the right steps."
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