by CHARLES DEE
A first inning home run to deep left center field by Jacob Urea was all Justin Penney really needed to pitch the Lobos to an 8-0 victory over the Hays Rebels on Friday night at Lobo field.
After getting a ground ball double play with the bases loaded in the top of the first inning to quell a potential Rebel rally, Penney scattered four Rebel hits, three by Nate Scott, while striking out nine and walking only three. “Justin has been solid all year long,” said Lobos head coach Toby Robinson. “He has had a lot of bad luck this year. Today, luck went his way.” Shortstop Mario Garza led the Lobo defense, which notched only one error, by taking a ground ball deep in the hole between short and third and throwing out Scott at third to stop the only other Rebel threat in the fourth.
The Lobos were tenacious at the plate, exemplified by Ryan Tello hanging tough on an inside curve and reach first as a hit batsman in the bottom of the fourth. First baseman Derek Cisneros moved Tello to third with a single to right, followed by an RBI ground ball by Aaron Scheckler that scored Tello. Seniors Xavier Soliz and Ben Flores then added a pair of singles to plate Scheckler and make the score 3-0 after 4 .“We saw a lot of curves, change ups and first-pitch fastballs,” said Solis, commenting on the Lobos’ offensive success. “Our mentality was to swing, to put the ball in play.”
Hunter Lehman greeted Rebel reliever Alec Swofford with a single in the fifth. A pair of throwing errors quickly moved Lehman around to score. “The errors happened because of pressure,” said Rebels head coach David Null. “Lehman put pressure on our defense. We just did not get the job done.” After two outs in the same inning, Scheckler, Soliz and Flores each drew walks to load the bases. Leadoff hitter Garza hit a slow roller down third that scored all three runners following a pair of Rebel errors. Urea ended the scoring at eight in the sixth after his single was followed by a Lehman double to left that scored Urea from first.
The Lobos, now 6-7 in district, kept their playoff hopes alive. While the Rebels fell to 8-5 in district play, they are still in a good position to contend for a playoff spot.
