The Lowry High School softball team was looking to get back to the state tournament but saw its run at a trip to Fernley come up short with a 14-4 loss to Churchill County this past Friday night in Winnemucca.
The Lady Bucks ended the season at 19-17.
After trailing 3-1 to Elko in the opening game of the Northern 3A Regional Tournament on Thursday afternoon, Lowry scored 17 runs in the fourth inning to win 18-3.
In its second game on Thursday, Lowry dropped a heartbreaker, as Fernley scored in the bottom of the seventh inning to win 3-2 and send the Lady Bucks into the loser’s bracket.
Lowry found itself in a wild match-up on Friday morning in an elimination game.
The Lady Bucks led 10-4 at one time, lost the lead at 12-11 and came back to win 13-12.
Lowry’s season would end later on Friday with the run-rule loss to Churchill County.
Lowry 18,
Elko 3
Elko grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning off of two hits and two Lowry walks. Lowry got one of those runs back in the bottom of the first after a triple by Kenzi Dowd-Smith and a double by Bailey Hayes.
The Indians used a sacrifice fly in the top of the third inning to go in front 3-1 but it was all Lowry after that.
The Lady Bucks sent 20 batters to the plate in the fourth inning and scored 17 runs.
Aided by nine walks and base hits from Kadence Cooney (two), Shelbie Hoyt, Dowd-Smith and Bailey Hayes, Lowry put up double-digit runs. Sixteen of the 17 runs were scored with one out, and nine of them were scored with two outs, including the game-winning triple by Cooney to end the game on the 15-run rule.
Cooney, who had two hits and three, RBI, also picked up the win. The senior allowed three runs on three hits in four innings of work. She struck out four and walked three.
Dowd-Smith and Hayes also had two hits and combined for five RBI (Hayes, three; Dowd-Smith two). Dowd-Smith also scored three runs. Hoyt, Savannah Stoker and Case each had one hit.
Fernley 3,
Lowry 2
The last time Lowry and Fernley met, they played a 12-inning marathon of a classic on May 3, that the Vaqueros won.
The two rivals provided the fans with another fantastic match-up and finish.
Fernley scored single runs in the first and second innings to lead 2-0 and Lowry had a rally going in the second inning off a single by Cooney and a walk by Cambria Tisue. However, the inning ended on a strikeout.
After being retired in order in the third inning, Lowry broke through with a single run in the fourth inning off a solo home run by Megan Cook to centerfield.
Cook, a junior, got the rally started in the sixth inning, as she led off with a double.
After Case flew out to right field, Cooney tied he game with a single to center field.
Lowry looked to take the lead in the top of the seventh inning, as Stoker singled with one out and stole second base.
The rally ended though with two flyouts to the outfield.
Fernley got the leadoff runner on base off a single by Nadia Velasquez. Lowry recorded the next two outs, when Braylen Birkel walked.
The senior ran hard to first base and rounded the base to second, which got her in a pickoff between the bases. On the play, Velasquez raced home and got under the tag of Lowry catcher Maddison McClure to win the game.
Cooney collected three of Lowry’s seven hits and Cook added a pair of hits. Stoker and McClure each had one hit. Stoker suffered the loss in the circle in the complete-game effort. She allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits. She struck out eight and walked four.
Lowry 13,
Spring Creek 12
It was almost déjà vu for Lowry as it took on Spring Creek on Friday in a loser’s bracket match-up. When the two squads last played, the Lady Bucks gave away a 13-4 lead in a 20-17 loss to the Spartans.
It almost happened again, as Lowry led 10-4, before coming back to win 13-12.
The Lady Bucks led 1-0 in the second inning after singles by Cooney, Bailey Peterson and Hoyt.
Lowry added three more runs, as Stoker cleared the bases with a three-run inside-the park-home run that landed between center and right field.
Spring Creek closed the deficit to 5-4 in the top of the fourth inning, when Lowry got thee of those runs back off a three-run homer by Stoker that easily cleared the fence.
The Lady Bucks added another run to lead 10-4 after a double by Cook that scored Hayes.
Spring Creek closed the gap to 10-8 in the fifth inning, scoring four runs with no hits. The Spartans used five walks and two hit batters to close the gap to two runs.
It went from bad to worse for Lowry, as Spring Creek added four more runs in the sixth inning to lead 12-10.
Lowry regrouped in the bottom of the sixth inning and after a strikeout to lead off the inning, Hayes followed with a single and scored off a double by Cooney to make the score 12-11.
Case followed with a single to put two runners on base when McClure provided the winning runs with a single to the rightfield gap.
Lowry retired Spring Creek in order to secure the victory.
The Lady Bucks had 14 hits in the contest, getting two each from Hoyt, Stoker, Hayes, Cooney and McClure. Dowd-Smith, Cook, Case and Peterson had one hit apiece.
Cooney and Stoker split time in the circle, with Stoker earning the win.
Churchill County 14, Lowry 4
Lowry fell behind 7-0 after two innings and was never able to get back in the game.
The Lady Bucks used back-to-back doubles by Hoyt and Stoker to get on the board, but the Greenwave added three runs in the fourth to lead 10-1.
Lowry used base hits from Dowd-Smith, Cook and Cooney to cut the deficit to 10-4 but got no closer. Churchill County closed out the game with four runs in the fourth to win by the run rule.
Stoker, Cook and Cooney had two hits apiece and Hoy and Dowd-Smith each had one hit.
Stoker suffered the loss for Lowry in the circle.
It was the final game for Lowry seniors Bailey Hayes, Kenzi Dowd-Smith, Peyton Cassinelli, Saige Kirchesh and Kadence Cooney.
