By Moses Leos III.
Fifty runs scored over 35 innings helped the Lehman baseball team claim the 2014 Bulldawg Tournament championship in Copperas Cove over the weekend.
Lehman completed the tournament with a 4-1 mark, defeating the Little River Academy 18-4 in the championship game. Senior Justin Penney earned All-Tournament MVP honors; junior Micah Tambur and senior Derek Cisneros were selected to the All-Tournament team.
Head coach Toby Robinson put emphasis on offensive production heading into the tournament. Lehman followed through, opening with a 15-9 win over host Copperas Cove.
Torrential run support was not enough in a 12-11 loss to San Angelo Lakeview.
Lehman High infielder Mark Garcia (6) bats off a ball during a 2013 game against Seguin at Lobo Field. Over the weekend, torrid offense from Garcia, senior Justin Penney and junior Micah Tambur assisted the Lobos to the Coppers Cove Bulldawg Tournament Championship. (Hays Free Press file photo) |
Lehman led Lakeview 11-3 heading into the sixth inning. Robinson said he then turned his focus on distributing playing time to his entire team.
However, Lakeview exploded for a nine-run sixth inning. It included a go-ahead two-run home run that proved to be the difference.
“We didn’t finish good enough to pull out the win,” Robinson said.
In the pool play finale, Leh-man bested Pflugerville Connally 1-0 in a pitching duel. It allowed the Lobos to play Cove again on Saturday in the tournament semifinals.
Lehman switched gears in bracket play, taking a much more aggressive approach toward offense and defense.
With ace pitcher Penney on the hill, Lehman built a 5-0 lead over Cove in the semifinal. But Cove rallied late, scoring five runs in the final three innings, ending the game in a 5-5 stalemate.
But due to the Lobos’ tiebreaker over the Bulldawgs, they advanced to the tournament final.
The Little River Bumblebees were no match for the Lobos’ offense. Lehman scored all 18 runs in three innings, en route to claiming the title. Penney led the team with a .667 batting average, with Tambur hitting .481 and Cisneros batting .350.
Robinson now eyes the remainder of the non-district schedule, which leads up to the district opener against Alamo Heights on Mar. 11. His goal is to get as much experience for his team before then.
“We want to build on this heading into district play,” Robinson said.
