The Lowry High School baseball faced a tough test this past week, playing a three-game series in four days against an undefeated Dayton squad.
All three games were played in Dayton, as Lowry hosted a track meet on Saturday and the Dust Devils were not able to travel to Winnemucca on Friday.
The series opened on Wednesday, April 28, with the Buckaroos handing the Dust Devils their first loss of the year — 13-2.
Logan Fettic got the scoring started in the first inning with an RBI-single to score Tristen Schmittel.
Dayton tied the game in the bottom of the first with a single run, when the Buckaroos took over with four runs in the second inning and five more in the third.
Braidyn Anderson led off the second inning with a double and scored on a Zach Fernandez RBI-single. Garette Hinshaw added the big blow with a three-run home run.
The home run derby continued in the third innings, as Anthony Hemp hit a grand slam that gave the Buckaroos a 10-1 lead.
The Buckaroos added three runs in the fourth inning on the strength of base hits by Trenton Domire, Justin Horton and Fernandez.
Schmittel, Hemp, Hinshaw, Anderson and Fernandez each had two hits. Hemp (5) and Hinshaw (3) combined for eight RBI for the Buckaroos.
Schmittel earned the win for Lowry, allowing two runs on two hits in seven innings of work. He walked two and struck out one.
As good as it was for Lowry in the weekday opener, it went south quick in the first game on Saturday.
Dayton plated four runs in the first inning and five more in the second to win 14-3. The Dust Devils hit three-run home run, as part of their five-run second inning.
Trailing 10-0, Lowry scored all three of its runs in the fourth inning on a three-RBI double by Kaden Boyles.
His double was the only extra base hit for the Buckaroos, who had just three hits in the contest. Marcus Montes and Anderson had the other hits.
Hinshaw suffered the loss in 1.2 innings of work. He allowed nine runs (four earned) on seven hits. Boyles finished out the game and gave up five runs (three earned) on four hits. Each pitcher walked a batter.
Lowry built a big lead in the series finale but had to hold to the final moment to pull out a 9-8 win the nightcap.
Fernandez and Montes scored runs in the top of the first for the Buckaroos, only to see the Dust Devils cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the inning.
Lowry used a double by Hinshaw and a single from Anderson to increase the lead to 3-1 in the top of the third inning. But once again, Dayton had an answer in the bottom of the third and scored a run to cut the margin back to a run at 3-2.
Lowry broke the game open with four runs in the top of the fourth inning on an RBI-single by Montes and two-RBI double by Hemp.
After scoring a run in the fifth inning, the Buckaroos added what was to be an important insurance run in the sixth on an RBI-double by Anderson that made the score 9-3.
What was a six-run advantage turned into a nail-biter for the Buckaroos in the seventh inning. A Lowry error kick-started a five-run rally for Dayton.
With two outs and trailing 9-6, the Dust Devils restarted their rally with three straight singles and closed the gap to 9-8.
With the winning run at the plate the game ended with a fly ball to left field and the Buckaroos held on for the win.
Anderson had three hits and two RBI to pace Lowry at the plate. Hemp added to hits and two RBI and Montes had a hit to go with two RBI.
Montes picked up the win in 6.1 innings of work. The freshman allowed four runs (one earned) on four hits.
He struck out seven and walked three. Fettic closed out the final .2 inning sand allowed four runs on three hits.
Lowry is tied for fourth place in the 3A East with Fernley. The two clubs play a three-game series this week. The Buckaroos travel to Fernley on Wednesday for a 3 p.m. first pitch.
The Vaqueros make the return trip back to Winnemucca on Saturday for a doubleheader at 11 a.m.
