Lowry's Zaq Growcock puts the ball in play during Saturday's doubleheader with Hug in Reno
It wasn’t a complete washout for the Lowry High School baseball team, who saw its crossover match-up with Truckee this past Friday postponed due to weather.
The game was scheduled to be played in Reno but the Tahoe-Truckee School District declared a snow day for the Lake Tahoe school, which prohibited them from traveling.
However, Mother Nature gave the Buckaroos a break on Saturday morning, as Lowry traveled to Reno and swept Hug 15-0 and 18-5 in cold conditions to improve to 5-5 on the season.
The Buckaroos won just six games a season ago.
Bryce Niblack, Aidan Tregellas and Kayd Garner combined for a no-hitter, with Niblack collecting the win. Niblack, a junior, struck out five and walked two in two innings of work.
Lowry's Michael Heikkila rounds second base on his way to home plate.
Tregellas threw two innings as well and Garner struck out all three batters in the one inning he threw.
Lowry scored four runs in each of the first two innings and put the contest away in the fifth with six more runs.
Niblack also helped himself at the plate, finishing 3-for-4 with an RBI and run scored. Lowry pounded out 13 hits in the opener.
Erick Valencia added a pair of hits, including a triple and also scored two runs and Angus Boyles was 2-for-2 at the plate. Connor Peterson, Jake Bauman, Caleb Sanchez, Michael Heikkila, Matthew Casalez and Tregellas each had one hit.
Lowry 18, Hug 5
Lowry junior Connor Peterson took the mound in the start in the nightcap and struck out five of the seven batters he faced in two innings of work to collect the win.
Zaq Growcock entered in the second inning and Heikkila finished out the final 1.2 innings.
The Buckaroos hit .455 in the contest, going 15-for-33 from the plate. Lowry led 14-0 going into the bottom of the second inning, when Hug plated three runs for its first runs of the day.
ReiCyan Grau hit a home run and was 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBI and four runs scored. The senior also had a double. Valencia collected three hits as well, with two runs scored and two RBI.
Heikkila was the third Buckaroo with three hits, as the sophomore scored two runs and drove in two more. Garner added to hits and Peterson, Growcock, Gabe Lange and Eli Lange with one hit apiece.
Lowry's Aidan Tregellas throws a pitch against Hug.
North Valleys 6, Lowry 5
Lowry was scheduled to host North Valleys on Saturday, March 8, but that contest was postponed due to weather. With field conditions still unplayable, the Buckaroos traveled to Reno on Tuesday, March 11,
The Panthers scored a pair of runs in the third inning, when the Buckaroos grabbed a 3-2 advantage in the top of the fourth.
The rally started with a single from Valencia, when he scored when Peterson reached on an error.
With two outs, Heikkila doubled and Garner singled to give Lowry the lead. North Valleys regained the advantage at 4-3 with two runs in the bottom of the fourth, when Lowry tied again in the fifth, as Grau opened the frame with a single and scored on an error off the bat of Valencia. The Panthers added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to go in front 6-4.
With two outs in the top of the seventh, Peterson kept the Buckaroos alive with a double and scored after an RBI-single by Bauman. However, the rally and game ended with a groundout to the shortstop.
Lowry was scheduled to host Elko on Wednesday in the Northern 3A East opener for both teams.
The series concluded on Thursday. Results were not available at press time.