The scenario for the Lowry High School softball team to clinch a first-round bye and the second seed in the Northern 3A Regional Championship was simple — beat rival Fernley twice in a three-game series.
The Lady Bucks did just that and took care of business on Friday afternoon in Winnemucca, sweeping the Vaqueros 4-3 and 12-9. Fernley won the finale 3-1 on Saturday, but the game was meaningless in the standings. Lowry finished the regular season at 20-4 in the Northern 3A and 22-7 overall.
“We had a plan on Friday and came out and did what we needed to do,” said LHS coach Ty Lucas. “We were focused and ready to play and we were looking to pick up one the top two seeds.”
Lowry holds off Fernley rally
Lowry scored twice in the second inning and never trailed in Friday’s opening game. The Lady Bucks had to hold off a Vaquero rally in the final two innings to secure the victory.
Madi McClellan and Tiana Herrera started the rally in the second inning with back-to-back singles with one out. The Lady Bucks climbed on the scoreboard a batter later on a two-RBI double by Kaity Sample.
Sophomore Sydney Connors extended the advantage to 3-0 in the bottom of the third inning and McClellan added a RBI-sacrifice fly in the fifth inning that scored Kyllie Sappington.
Fernley put together four consecutive hits in the sixth inning to cut the deficit in half at 4-2, but Lowry used a double play to get out of the jam.
The bats kept going for the Vaqueros in the sixth inning, as the first two batters reached on base hits and a third on an error. Hailey Edgar provided the third hit of the inning to bring Fernley within a run at 4-3. However, Lowry got out of a bases loaded jam with no outs. Sylvie Prokasky struck out the next batter and got two ground outs to give the Lady Bucks the one-run win. Prokasky went the distance in the circle and allowed three runs on 12 hits. She struck out two and walked none.
Connors and Sample had two hits apiece for Lowry. Kuskie, Sappington, McClellan and Herrera each had one hit.
Lady Bucks win shootout
The nightcap on Friday afternoon was a different story as the offenses stepped up in a big way. Fernley jumped in front 1-0 in the first inning, but that was short-lived as Lowry plated four runs in the opening frame.
The first four batters in the lineup reached base and scored. Kuskie led off with a single, which was followed by a sac bunt that Kelcey Cooper reached base on an error. Sappington loaded the bases with a single and the Lady Bucks tied the game when Connors walked to bring in Kuskie. Alanna Miller followed with a single to put Lowry up 2-1 and McClellan added a ground out to score a run and Herrera had a sac fly to make the score 4-1.
Lowry held the lead for a short time, as Fernley used a two-run home run as part of a six-run second inning to re take the advantage at 7-4. The Lady Bucks got one of the runs back in the bottom of the second inning on a solo home run by Cooper.
Lowry trimmed the deficit to 7-6 in the bottom of the third inning on a RBI-double that scored Herrera. Cooper reached base for a third time, starting the fourth inning with a lead off triple. She scored moments later on a double by Connors. The Lady Bucks went back in front 8-7, as Connors scored on a ground out by Miller.
Fernley did not go away, tying the game at 8-8 with a single run in the top of the fifth inning, but that was countered by a pair of runs by Lowry in the bottom of the fifth. Herrera led off with a walk and eventually scored on a fielders choice off the bat of Kuskie. Connors gave Lowry a 10-8 lead when she singled home Kuskie.
The Lady Bucks tacked on two more runs in the sixth inning, off dingles by McClellan and Kuskie and two hit batters. The Vaqueros scored once in the seventh but could not rally any further.
Macey Katzenmeyer started and received a no-decision. She allowed seven runs (four earned) on eight hits in two innings of work. Prokasky threw the final five innings to get the win. She gave up two runs on six hits.
Kuskie, Cooper, McClellan and Connors each had two hits for the Lady Bucks.
Fernley captures series finale
The two schools closed out the series with a pitching dual, with the teams combining for just four hits on a blustery day with the wind blowing in.
Fernley scored twice in the first inning and did not look back. The Lady Bucks had just one hit, a double by Connors in the fourth inning that scored Sappington.
“We changed some things up and worked on some different things to see if it would work for next week,” Lucas said. “The offense left us a little, but it is nothing to worry about.”
Katzenmeyer went the distance in the circle, but suffered the loss. She allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits.
Lowry finished second in the Northern 3A at 20-4 and will go into the Northern 3A Regional Championships this weekend in South Tahoe Calif., as the No. 2 seed. The Lady Bucks, along with regular season champions, Churchill County have first-round byes.
The tournament starts Thursday at South Tahoe High School, with South Tahoe and Elko playing at 9 a.m. The winner of that game plays Churchill County at 2 p.m. Fernley takes on Dayton at 11:30 a.m. and that winner plays Lowry at 4:30 p.m.
If the Lady Bucks win they will play their first game on Friday at 2 p.m. A loss puts Lowry in the losers bracket at 9 a.m. The championship game is set for 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.
The top two teams advance to the state tournament at Faith Lutheran High School in Las Vegas from May 18-20.
“It is a clean slate,” Lucas said. “Right now everyone is 0-0. We are not going to worry about the name on the front of the jersey for who we have to play. Whoever we get Thursday, we will be ready to go.”
