WINNEMUCCA - A season ago White Pine dashed the postseason hopes of the Lowry High School varsity softball team by way of a sweep in the final regular season games of the year.
After going through their first 12 games of the Ruby Mountain League with just loss, the Lady Bucks made sure that was not going to happen this year, already clinching the top seed among 3A schools in the league.
In the final week of the regular season for both schools, the league championship was still up for grabs, with some revenge in mind for the Lady Bucks. Lowry held a 3-1 lead in the first inning of Friday's opener but could not hold the advantage as White Pine scored six runs in the third inning on its way to an 8-3 victory. The Lady Bucks bounced back to win Saturday's first game 3-2, but the Lady Bobcats won the series and league title by winning game two 3-1.
"It's not the way we wanted the weekend to go, but I was happy with the way we fought to the end," said LHS head coach Ty Lucas. "I don't think we lost any momentum going into the playoffs with the last loss. We still played tough defensively. They had two solo home runs and took advantage of an error. You have to give White Pine credit, they are a good team."
The Lady Bobcats' Maa Kingston made her presence known early in the series with a solo home run on Friday afternoon in the first inning to give White Pine a 1-0 lead. The senior hit two more homers on the weekend.
Lowry responded in the bottom of the first, as Shelby McKinnon led off with a double and scored on a throwing error by catcher Sam Rice to tie the game. Ere Higbee and Hana Etcheverry reached on a fielder's choice and single, respectively, and scored on a hit by Heather McElvain and a walk by Ashley Lombardi. However that was all the offense for the Lady Bucks, who picked up three base hits in the final six innings, one each by Angie Herrera, Shannon McClellan and Lombardi.
White Pine took control in the top of the third inning, scoring six runs on no hits and one error. The Lady Bobcats took advantage of eight walks and did not look back the rest of the way.
Kayla Doyle suffered the loss, allowing seven runs on one hit with two strike outs and nine walks. McClellan entered in the third and picked up the final out and went the rest of the way for the Lady Bucks, giving up one run on three hits, with four strikeouts and no walks. Five different players had one hit for Lowry.
In the first of two pitcher's duals on Saturday, the Lady Bucks' Jordan Mecham got the better of the Lady Bobcats' Kylie Britton. Mecham scattered five hits through seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned). She struck out seven and walked none. Her only earned run was a solo home run by Kingston in the sixth inning that closed the gap to 3-2. Mecham allowed a double to the next hitter but retired the final three batters in the sixth and had no trouble in the seventh.
Lowry grabbed a 2-0 advantage in the third inning, with the aid of three errors by White Pine. Mecham reached base with one out on an error by Kingston and Sydnie Sundahl running for her, scored after a bunt by McKinnon and a throwing error by the catcher Rice. McKinnon came around to score when Higbee reached base on an error by Angie Searle.
The Lady Bobcats cut the deficit in half in the top of the fourth when Amanda Allred scored on a single by Rice. Allred started the frame by reaching on an error by Etcheverry. Lowry answered with an insurance run in the fifth on a RBI single by Higbee that scored Herrera.
The nightcap featured strong pitching from Lowry's McClellan and Mecham and White Pine's Bailey Moore, but it was Moore who picked up the win after allowing just one hit. The Lady Bobcats used back-to-back hits from Allred and Kingston to take a 1-0 lead in the third. Kingston used the long ball once again in the sixth for her third home run of the weekend, and Moore helped herself out with an opposite field homer right after Kingston.
Lowry mustered a rally in the bottom of the sixth, as McKinnon led off with a double and later scored, but the rally fizzled from there and the Lady Bucks went in order to close out the game.
McClellan took the loss for Lowry, allowing three runs on six hits.
"White Pine has two prolific hitters and makes that team tough," Lucas said. "They are one of the toughest teams we have seen all year and it was good to see a team like that before we start the playoffs. The biggest thing we have to work on is finding nine or 10 hitters that contribute. We have two, three or four getting it done, but we need all nine to contribute. We need to be more consistent from the top to the bottom of the lineup."
Lowry is off this week and now prepares to host South Tahoe in a best 2-of-3 playoff series to advance to the state tournament in Reno at Damonte Ranch High School and Hixson Park on the campus of the University of Nevada. The first game with the Vikings is set for 4 p.m. on Friday, May 11. The second game will be played at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 12, and if needed a third game at noon.
"We have two weeks to prepare to win two games and make it to state," Lucas said. "This team is bound and determined to accomplish that goal. Our first goal is done and we have set ourselves up to reach state."
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