The Lowry High School baseball team continued a trend this past weekend, one it was hoping to break.
The Buckaroos hosted South Tahoe this past weekend and collected just one win in the three-game series. The only change was the victory came on Saturday, instead of Friday when Lowry beat Elko and Dayton. Lowry dropped to 3-9 in the Division I-A North and 5-11 over, with playoff hopes fading.
"The difference between 1-2, 2-1 or 3-0 in the series came down to a few innings," said LHS coach Ron Espinola. "We had two bad innings on Friday and we had one bad inning in the fourth inning of our second game on Saturday. We just shot ourselves in the foot. We gave South Tahoe five or six outs in an inning and you just can't do that. We know that is our issue."
In Friday's opener, South Tahoe scored seven runs in the first two innings on its way to an 11-6 win. The Vikings sent nine batters to the plate in the first inning and scored five runs on six hits.
South Tahoe added two runs in the second, fifth and sixth innings to go in front 11-0. Garret Hartley started for South Tahoe and allowed just two hits, while striking out four in the first five innings. However, the Vikings took the pitcher out with the 11-0 lead.
Lowry took advantage of the move, scoring six times in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Buckaroos picked up seven of their 11 hits in the sixth inning. Sterling Dennis, Kyle Schultz, Trey Marriott, Mickey Donovan, Donovan Brumm, Jake Barnes and Brian Shettler all had hits in the frame.
Marriott and Donovan started the seventh inning with base hits. Following the two singles, South Tahoe brought Hartley back in and the Vikings closed out the game with a double play.
Colin Doyle started for Lowry and took the loss, allowing nine runs (six earned) on 11 hits.
The senior struck out two and walked one in five innings of work. Anthony Silva threw the final two innings and he gave two runs (none earned) on three hits. He had one strike out.
Lowry played one of its best games of the year in Saturday's opener, beating South Tahoe 3-2. Jake Barnes threw his second straight complete-game, giving up just three hits to the Vikings.
The two runs he gave up were unearned and Barnes had three strikeouts and three walks.
Lowry jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on the strength of a RBI-tripe by Donovan that plated Trey Marriott, who walked. South Tahoe strung together a double and took advantage of a Lowry error in the top of the third inning to go in front 2-1.
Lowry tied the game in the bottom of the third inning, as Jared Taylor grounded out with the bases loaded, allowing Sterling Dennis to cross the plate for the tying run.
The Buckaroos picked up the game-winning run in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Donovan hit his second triple of the game, which scored Marriott. Donovan was 3-for-3 with two RBI in the game.
South Tahoe rallied to put two runners on base in the seventh inning, but Barnes battled out of the frame to get the win.
"That was a outstanding performance by Jake," Espinola said. "He threw the ball well and the defense helped him out. Mickey had a great weekend at the plate and found his swing. When we put everything together, this is what this team is capable of doing."
Lowry could not keep the momentum, as South Tahoe came back to win the nightcap 13-5. The Vikings scored three times in the first inning and never trailed.
The Buckaroos cut the deficit to 3-1 in the bottom of the first inning, as Donovan doubled home Marriott. However, the Vikings scored the next seven runs, including six in the fourth inning, where Lowry committed five errors.
"You could just see the air go out of us after that inning," added the coach. "We should have been out of the inning giving up just one run. We never got anything going and put pressure on them. We left guys on early when we had a chance to get to the pitcher and hopefully get to the bullpen. You want to chase the starter. But, if you keep his pitch count down and let him work out of jams that is not going to happen."
Brian Shettler started for Lowry and took the loss in six innings of work. He allowed 11 runs (five earned) on 12 hits.
He struck out one and walked four. Donovan picked up three more hits and Brumm and Jayson Smith had two each.
Lowry is back home this weekend to play Churchill County, beginning Friday at 3 p.m. The two schools play a doubleheader on Saturday at 11 a.m.
"You see the flashes, but it comes down to consistency," Espinola said. "We just haven't been able to do that for three games in a row. We can work on the little things and you can see that coming through."
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