The Battle Mountain High School softball team took down the West Wendover High School Wolverines in the opening league game of the year on Friday in Battle Mountain. The final two games in the series called due to heavy snowfall.
The Lady Longhorn took to the muddy field in Battle Mountain hoping to send the Wolverines to the hotel with two losses on the day. The first game started with the Kira Smith taking the mound for the Longhorns and she shut the Wolverines down early in the top of the first. She struck out the first batter in three pitches then got the second batter to ground out before striking out the third batter.
When Battle Mountain picked up its bats in the bottom of the first inning, the ladies' patient approach led to a significant scoring inning. The Wolverines’ starting pitcher struggled to grip the ball in the cold and wet weather resulting in the first two batter getting on base after getting hit by the pitch. The Longhorns scored the first run in the game following two wild pitches, which allowed Sruti Bhakta to take third base then advance to home plate for the score.
Battle Mountain scored 12 runs in the inning, with Smith earning the only hit in the frame. Runs scored in the inning came off of a series of walks and nine batters getting hit by the pitch. In the top of the second inning, Smith walked the first Wolverine batter but recovered quickly to get the next three batters out adding another strikeout to her total.
In the bottom half of the second inning, Adriana Robles reached first base after drawing a walk. Then Bhakta smacked a deep fly ball resulting in an RBI-triple scoring Robles. The Longhorns would add another four runs in the inning extending the Longhorn lead to 17-0. With the 17 run lead Longhorn pitcher, Smith completed the complete game no-hitter, after striking out the final three batters for the Wolverines.
Smith ended the game facing 11 hitters with six strikeouts, walked one batter and hit another with the pitch in three innings. The Longhorns started the second game of the day and led the Wolverines 4-0 in the bottom of the first inning, but the heavy snowfall forced the umpire to call the game.
The snow continued to fall throughout the evening, canceling the Saturday contest as well. The Lady Longhorns may make up the contest with the Wolverines if the games could impact the playoff seeding later in the season. For now, the teams are not planning on making up the games anytime soon.
The Longhorn softball team record now stands at 3-2 on the season and 1-0 in league play. The ladies host the Yerington Lions on Friday and Saturday.
