The Lowry High School varsity softball squad came into its game against Churchill County (Fallon) last Tuesday sitting in third place with a 7-2 league record just ahead of Fallon at 5-3.
The Lady Bucks got out to a slow start and couldn’t make up enough ground as the game wore on, as they went down 9-7 to the Greenwave.
“We didn’t play our best," said LHS coach Austin Mayo. "Mac (Salas-Begay) threw pretty well. She was pretty sharp. Defensively we played a little tight, and when you play this game tight you are going to make errors. We finished with six or seven errors and were still in a two-run ballgame. These girls don’t quit. They keep their heads up and battle the whole way through, and that says a lot about our team.”
The Lady Bucks gave up a run to Fallon in the first inning on two errors and two more in the third inning before Lowry got on the board with two runs in the bottom of the third.
The Greenwave answered with five runs in the top of the fourth, including a three-run home run.
Churchill County held on for the win, despite the Lady Bucks scoring one in the sixth and two in the seventh while holding Fallon scoreless in those final two innings.
“Syd (Connors) hit the ball really well,” Mayo said. “Lexy Gomez worked hard behind the plate and she had a huge two run RBI double that got us started offensively.”
Connors is leading Lowry this season with a .451 batting average; she has hit four home runs, and she has 14 stolen bases. Kelcey Cooper is hitting .393 with two home runs and seven stolen bases. Sierra Maestrejuan is batting .386 with one home run and five stolen bases on the year. Madi McClellan has a .373 average and has cracked three homers this season.
“In the grand scheme of things, we need to at least split with them (Fallon)," Mayo said. "This loss is not a killer by any means. We are still in contention for the number two seed in the playoffs.”
Salas-Begay is the top pitcher for the Lady Bucks with a 7-6 record and an ERA of 3.88. Lowry has a team batting average of .331 with 12 homers and 33 stolen bases, but they have committed 40 errors on the season.
"We have our make-up game on Thursday against North Valleys," Mayo said. "Then we play two against Sparks this weekend, so we are moving on; putting this one behind us and moving on to those three.”
Currently Fernley is undefeated at 13-0, Elko is 10-2, and Lowry remains in third with a 7-3 record. Fallon is close behind at 6-3, Dayton sits at 5-5, and Sparks is 4-7.
North Valleys (3-6), Spring Creek (4-8), South Tahoe (1-11), and Truckee (0-8) round out the Northern 3A standings. The top six finishers will make the playoffs, with the top two finishers getting a first round bye.
The Lady Bucks played a make-up game against North Valleys on the road Thursday; results of the contest were not available at press time. They also played in Sparks on Friday, April 19, and they will take on Sparks again today (Saturday) in a noon match-up.
The Lady Bucks will have played four games in five days by the time the Saturday series is over.
They will return home for a Tuesday rematch against Churchill County which starts at 2 p.m.
