After every game and series the Lowry High School softball team turns the page to look forward to it next opponent.
The Lady Bucks don’t have to turn the page any more, they can close the book on a 3A East Regional Championship and a 15-3 record.
The run to the title was not an easy one this past weekend, as Mother Nature proved to be on the rude side and Lowry had to deal with a pesky Spring Creek squad in the semifinals on Saturday.
The Spartans beat the Lady Bucks in Winnemucca a couple of weeks ago. Spring Creek looked to pick the upset again, leading 3-1, when Lowry bounced back and used a walk-off home run by Natalia Zepeda to win 4-3.
The Lady Bucks then cruised to a 13-3 win over Fernley in the championship contest.
“We can close the book on this season,” said LHS coach Austin Mayo. “It doesn’t seem like the season should be over — we just started. The girls came together this year. We had a good weekend. We didn’t commit an error all weekend on defense. We got great pitching from two girls and we came through when we needed to.”
As it did in Winnemucca two weeks ago, Spring Creek jumped ahead 2-0 in the first inning on the strength of a two-run home run.
Lowry hit the ball hard, but the Spring Creek outfield played with their backs to the outfield fence, while infielders made plays throughout the seven innings.
The Lady Bucks closed the gap to 2-1 in the bottom of the first on an RBI-triple by Kenzi Dowd-Smith to score Savannah Stoker. The Spartans added a single run in the fourth inning to go in front 3-1.
Lowry used back-to-back singles from Zepeda and Dowd-Smith and a single by Bailey Hayes to tie the game in the fifth inning.
Stoker, who hit two home runs at Spring Creek to end the regular season, led off the seventh inning with a deep drive to left field but it was caught at the wall. However, the next batter, Zepeda found a pitch to her liking and deposited over the centerfield fence for the 4-3 win.
Zepeda and Dowd-Smith each had three hits. Mackenzie Salas-Begay earned the win in the circle. She allowed three runs on five hits. She struck out nine.
“Spring Creek won just four games but they are scrappy,” Mayo said. “They gave us fits a couple times. They played hard. We finally got the ball on the ground and created some offense.”
Lowry set the tone early in the championship game with a double play in the first inning to end a Fernley rally. The Lady Bucks cored once in the first inning and four more times in the second to build a 5-0 lead. Isabella had the big blow in the second with a two-RBI double.
The Lady Bucks added four runs in the fourth inning to lead 9-1 and closed out the game on the 10-run rule in the sixth after a two-RBI double by Stoker and a single from Natalia Zepeda.
Bree Dunckhorst started and picked up the win in five innings of work. She allowed three runs on three hits. She struck out three and walked four. Salas-Begay, in her final Lowry game threw the final inning and struck out one.
“It started all year with those two in the circle,” Mayo said. “Bree started and didn’t give up a hit in the first four innings. “Mackenzie came in and finished it off for us.”
Lowry had 16 hits in the game, with Isabella Zepeda picking up four of them. Stoker, Dowd-Smith and Salas-Begay each had two. Shelbie Hoyt, Alexus Gomez, Hannah Toth, Megan Cook and Natalia Zepeda had one hit apiece.
“We lose three great seniors and I thank them for everything,” Mayo said. “If we stay together, we have a nice nucleus of players coming back. The future is bright for us.”
