If you like offense and a lot of it, the Lowry High and Churchill County softball teams provided plenty of it for you this past weekend.
The two rivals played a three-game series to begin the shortened six-week season and runs were aplenty. The two teams combined for 78 runs in the three games, with the Lady Bucks winning two of the three contests.
Lowry hosted Churchill County on Friday afternoon, which was the tamest of the three. The Lady Bucks rallied for a 6-4 victory.
“We came out and played pretty good,” said LHS coach Austin Mayo. “We opened up against a pretty good team with just one scrimmage under our belt. We did some good things and have a good group of girls.”
The series moved to Fallon on Saturday for two games, which resembled football scores. Lowry won the first game 17-16 and Churchill County won the series finale 18-17.
In Friday’s opening game, Lowry’s Mackenzie Salas-Begay cruised through the first three innings, allowing just one hit from the circle.
The Lady Bucks broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the third inning, as Savannah Stoker reached base after a dropped third strike. The freshman scored the first run of the game on an RBI-single by sophomore Shelbie Hoyt. The advantage grew to 3-0 on a 2-run home run by Natalia Zepeda.
The Greenwave got on the board in the fourth inning with a single run but the Lady Bucks answered back with a run of their own in the bottom of the fourth. Kenzie Dowd-Smith led off the frame with a double and scored on a single by freshman Hayden Case.
Churchill County tied the game in the fifth inning with three runs, when Lowry scored the eventual winning run in the bottom of the fifth inning when Zepeda scored a strike out after the Greenwave catcher threw to first base after dropping the third strike.
Kadence Cooney added an insurance run in the sixth after scoring on a double play.
Zepeda and Case each had two its for Lowry. Salas-Begay earned the win in 4.1 innings of work, giving up three runs and five hits. Bree Dunckhorst thew the final 2.1 innings, allowing two hits and one run.
“Bree came in and did as good job of picking up Mackenzie,” Mayo said. “That is what a good team does. “They started seeing Mackenzie a little better, which happens the fourth time in the lineup. We limited our mistakes and got some hits when we needed them. We can do a lot with what we have in our lineup.”
In Saturday’s opening game, the teams combined for 33 hits, as Churchill County jumped out to a 11-2 lead after three inning play.
Lowry rallied for four runs in the top of the fourth inning, all with two outs. Shelbie Hoyt, Zepeda and Dowd-Smith all singled and Greenwave pitching walked four straight batters in Bailey Hayes, Alexus Gomez, Megan Cook and Case to close the gap to 11-6.
The Lady Bucks added three more runs in the fifth inning, on the strength of a two-RBI triple by Hayes. After seeing its lead close two 11-9, Churchill County plated four runs in the bottom of the fifth to go in front 15-9.
Lowry broke loose in the sixth inning, using a pair of doubles by Stoker and Hoyt to score eight runs to lead 17-15. Hoyt also added a single in the inning, as did Gomez and Isabella Zepeda. The Greenwave countered with a run, but the Lady Bucks held on for the win.
Lowry had 19 hits in the contes, including three each from Isabella Zepeda, Natalia Zepeda, Cook and Hoyt. Dowd-Smith, Stoker and Gomez each had two hits.
Lowry used three pitchers in the game, with Kadence Cooney throwing three scoreless innings in relief.
In the series finale, Lowry jumped out to a 4-0 advantage in the first inning on the strength of a lead-off double by Isabella Zepeda and singles by Hayes, Cooney and Cook. The lead was short-lived as Churchill County plated 16 runs in the first two innings of play to go in front 16-4.
Lowry got a run back in the third inning on an RBI-single by Cook that scored Hayes. Seemingly out of the game, the Lady Bucks scored five runs apiece in the fourth and fifth innings to make the score 16-15.
In the fourth inning, Lowry picked up singles from Dowd-Smith, Hayes and Cook. Salas-Begay and Stoker added doubles in the fifth inning.
Churchill County answered back with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to go back in front 18-15. Salas-Begay added a two-RBI double in the sixth inning to close the deficit to 18-17, but that was close as the Lady Bucks got.
Hoyt reached base in the seventh with a two-out single, but the game ended with a ground ball out to third base.
Cook had four of Lowry’s 14 hits, while Hayes had three and Hoyt and Salas-Begay two each.
Isabella Zepeda suffered the loss in .2 innings of work, as Lowry used four pitchers in the contest.
Lowry traveled to Elko on Wednesday and results were not available at press time. The Lady Bucks host the Indians in a doubleheader on Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m.
