A tight race for one of the six playoff berths for the upcoming Northern 3A Regional Softball championships, got that much tougher for Lowry High School after dropping three games to Churchill County in Fallon this past weekend.
Lowry lost the opening game on Friday 11-1 and were swept in a doubleheader 14-7 and 8-5 on Saturday to fall to 12-12 overall and 4-5 in the Northern 3A East.
Churchill County 11, Lowry 1
The only run for Lowry in Friday’s contest was a solo home run by sophomore Savannah Stoker. That shot gave Lowry a 1-0 lead in the first inning but that proved to be all the offense from there. Kadence Cooney had the only other hit for the Lady Bucks.
The Greenwave answered with two runs in the bottom of the first inning and did not trail again.
Churchill County added two runs in the third inning and broke the contest open with four runs in the fifth inning and three runs in the sixth.
Cooney suffered the loss in the circle, allowing eight runs on nine hits. She struck out three and walked two. Peyton Cassinelli relived her and gave three runs on three hits.
Churchill County 14, Lowry 7
Once again, Lowry grabbed the early lead in the opening game of the doubleheader on Saturday with a pair of runs in the first inning.
Shelbie Hoyt led off the game with a single and scored one batter later on a double by Megan Cook. After a ground out by Stoker, Cook scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Bailey Hayes.
The lead was short-lived, as the Greenwave struck back for a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Lady Bucks regained the advantage in the top of the third with three runs, including a two-run home run by Cambria Tisue. Stoker scored the first run of the third inning when she was doubled home by Hayes.
After Churchill County cut the deficit to 5-3 in the bottom of the third inning, Lowry added a single run in the fourth inning, when Hoyt scored but the Greenwave climbed back within a run after scoring twice in the fourth inning.
Churchill County changed the momentum and broke the contest open off of two three-run home runs. Lydia Bergman had a three-run homer, as part of a five-run fifth inning and Kiley Wallace had a three-run shot in the four-run sixth inning.
Hayes had an RBI-double to score Stoker in the sixth inning but it was not enough to complete the comeback.
Tissue paced the Lady Bucks with three hits and a pair of RBIS, while Hayes had two hits and three RBI. Hoyt also had a pair of hits and Saige Kirchesh, Cook and Stoker each had a hit.
Stoker went the distance in the circle but suffered the loss. The sophomore allowed 14 runs (five earned) on 11 hits. She struck out seven and walked seven.
Churchill County 8, Lowry 5
For the first time in the series, Churchill County go on the scoreboard first with two runs in the bottom of the second inning. After collecting just one hit through three innings — a single by Hayden Case.
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Lowry scored four runs in the top of the fourth inning. Stoker and Tisue each had two, two-run home runs to put the Lady Bucks in front 4-2.
The advantage did not last long, as the Greenwave answered back with four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to lead 6-4. Churchill County did not trail again.
A sacrifice fly by Hayes to score Hoyt in the fifth inning closed the gap to 6-5 but the Lady Bucks couldn’t produce a rally in the sixth or seventh innings, despite a double by Cook in the seventh.
Cook collected three of Lowry’s eight hits, while Stoker had two. Maddison McClure, Stoker and Tisue each had one hit. Stoker was back in the circle and threw a complete game. She allowed eight runs (three earned) on eight hits. She struck out 4 and walked six.
Spring Creek 20, Lowry 17
Last week got off to a sour note for the Lady Bucks, as they traveled back to Spring Creek on Monday, April 25, to make up a game that was originally set for April 22.
The start was a good one for Lowry, who led 14-4 going into the bottom of the sixth inning but it fell apart for the Lady Bucks. The Spartans scored nine runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to close the gap to 14-13 and tied the game in the bottom of the seventh with a single run.
Lowry regrouped with three runs in the top of the eighth inning, but Spring Creek completed the wild comeback and won with a walk-off three run home run.
Kenzi Dowd-Smith and Coney had three hits apiece and Hoyt, Hayes, Stoker and Tisue each had two.
Cooney and Stoker split time in the circle, with Stoker suffering the loss.
Lowry was back home on Monday May 2 and Tuesday May 3, to play Fernley. Results were unavailable at press time. The Lady Bucks close out the regular season on Thursday and Friday against Dayton. Thursday’s first pitch is 3 p.m. and the Friday doubleheader begins at 11 a.m.
The Northern 3A Regional Championships take place in Winnemucca and at Lowry from May 12-14. The top six teams get in the tournament.
