By Moses Leos III
Over the course of six innings Saturday, the Hays Rebels and Lehman Lobos squared off in the baseball equivalent of a staring contest. The Rebels were the first to blink.
A Lehman run scored in the top of the seventh inning lifted the Lobos to a 1-0 win over Hays at the Hays Rebel baseball field.
With the win, Lehman not only notched their first district win of 2016, but also snapped a four game losing streak to the Rebels. That losing streak dated back to April 19, 2013. The Lobos also snapped a nine game skid they had been on since March 8.
Hays (9-11-1 overall) drops into a tie for third place in the 14-6A standings with Bowie and Anderson with five games left to play.
Saturday’s contest featured a pitching duel between Hays High’s Erique Hernandez and Lehman’s Zach Sendejo.
Both pitchers kept the opposing offense at bay, as each pitcher limited the opposition to only one hit through the first six innings.
Defense played a key role in both pitchers’ success on the mound. Hays Head coach James Howard said Hernandez was able to mix speeds on his pitches and kept throwing the ball for strikes.
“He deserved better than the outcome. We needed more support offensively,” Howard said. “Defensively, we made the routine plays when we needed to.”
On the opposite end, Sendejo said the use of fastballs, primarily his two seam fastball and change-up early on, was effective in halting the Rebel offense.
As a result, Hays left a total of four baserunners on base during the course of the game. For Sendejo, ensuring no runs came across was the key.
“I’ve got to keep us in the game. We didn’t score until late, so I had to do what I could to keep it even,” Sendejo said.
Howard commended Sendejo, who “pounded the zone” and consistently threw strikes.
But Howard said the Rebels’ approaches at the plate were “terrible.”
Offensively, we couldn’t get any momentum going,” Howard said. “We struck out at the plate, or we just didn’t have any momentum. You have to tip your hat to [Sendejo].”
It wasn’t until the seventh inning when the Lobos became the first team to take advantage of their opportunities.
Lehman loaded the bases with one out when a passed ball allowed Jonathan Scheckler to score the eventual winning run.
With a 1-0 lead in hand, Lehman worked to maintain its advantage. But the Rebels had a chance in the bottom of the seventh with a runner on first base and one out.
Hays seemed to have runners at the corners after Ryan Manley grounded to third base, and was called safe by an umpire.
The call was reversed, however, by the umpiring crew. It left the Lobos with a runner at third base and two outs, which led to a groundout on the next at bat to end the game.
For Howard, learning from the loss will be priroity as the Rebels move forward.
“We can’t take anyone in our district for granted. Everyone in our district has great ball players,” Howard said. “Every day we have to put in our best game. This loss makes them a little more hungry and humble.”
Sendejo, who missed last season due to Tommy John surgery, said the ability to pitch against Hays during his senior season was “great.”
Robinson said Saturday was a time where all phases of the game aligned.
“It goes to show that these kids work hard all year long, and that one thing that hurts us every game, that didn’t happen today,” Robinson said.
