WINNEMUCCA - Before the Buckaroos went to bat in the bottom of the fourth inning, Lowry High School junior varsity baseball coaches James Williams and Clay Sagers had some simple words for the players: "We need to score some runs if we want to keep playing."
The Buckaroos were down 13-3 and in danger of losing the game by the 10-run rule, but they responded to their coaches' request by scoring 13 runs in the inning to come back and record a 16-13 win in game two of a home doubleheader against Elko on Saturday afternoon. The Indians claimed game one with a 7-1 victory.
"It was a nice little comeback," Williams said. "After a couple weeks of struggling on offense we came back and woke up a little bit. It was a pleasant surprise."
The fourth-inning rally was started by an inside-the-park home run by Tyler Riddle and the runs flowed from there. Christian Dawson followed with a single and Aaron Nelson and Donovan Brumm were hit by pitches in consecutive at bats. Collin Doyle added a run-scoring single and Dusty Bryan was hit in the head by a pitch to plate another run for the Buckaroos.
"We were close to getting beat by the 10-run rule and come back to get the win," Williams said. "Tyler came off the bench for us and he had not had a lot of swings all year and came through with that hit. That was huge for us."
Lowry put the first seven batters of the inning on base before the first out was recorded. But that did not stop the Buckaroos, as Troy Hardy got the rally going with a single, followed by a base hit by Lane Mentaberry.
The Buckaroos turned the lineup over, as Riddle and Dawson reached base for the second time and each eventually scored their second run of the inning. Nelson, Doyle and Bryan also reached base for a second time and scored, with Bryan finishing off the frame with a run-scoring single.
Colton Lacy came on in the seventh inning, allowing the first two runners to reach base before striking out two of the last three batters - including the last - to get the win.
Elko built a 6-0 lead after just a half an inning and increased the advantage to 13-3 headed into the bottom of the fourth, before the Lowry rally.
In the opening game, Lowry struck out the side in the first inning, but Elko responded with five runs in the top of the second inning and that is all the offense the Indians needed. Elko scored the runs on just two base hits, taking advantage of five consecutive walks. The Indians strung together three hits in the third inning to score their final two runs of the game. The Buckaroos left the bases loaded in the first inning after two walks and a hit by pitch, only to see the final two batters strike out, ending the rally.
Bryan collected Lowry's first hit of the game in the third inning but was left stranded, as did Brumm in the fifth inning. The Buckaroos' lone run came in the bottom of the seventh, when Damon Miller scored on a bases-loaded walk to Lacy.
Lowry is back at home Saturday to host Yerington at 11 a.m. in a doubleheader.
"I am hoping that they take the momentum from the win and take it into the Yerington games," Williams said. "We owe them from the first time we played. We had no offense the first time we played them. The win against Elko is going to help us out a lot."
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