The Lehman Lobos baseball team suffered a 9-1 home loss to the Leander Lions April 20 on senior night as they struggled to get the bats going against opposing pitching.
“You know we wished it would’ve been better tonight,” said Lehman head coach Toby Robinson. “We struggled, but we hit some line drives and we couldn’t get anything to fall. We missed a couple balls we should’ve made as far as defense goes and that adds up obviously.”
A large senior class of nine players was recognized before the game for their contributions to the baseball program over the past four years.
“Nine guys, you know I love them to death,” Robinson said. “They’ve busted their butts for a long time. Some have been here earlier than others, but I’m really, really proud of what they’ve done this year. I wish it could’ve been a little bit better for them.”
Lehman senior pitcher Justin Edwards was given the starting pitching nod for the game by Robinson. Edwards pitched five innings while giving up 4 runs, 10 hits, 5 walks, but also striking out 5 Leander batters.
The Lobo defense gave up the first two runs of the game in the top of the first inning due to throwing errors and adept Leander baserunning. The Lions’ first run came off a steal at home plate when Lehman was caught trying to throw out a runner at second base. A second Lion run came a few pitches later when a wild pitch from Edwards got past catcher Derek Gomez, giving Leander an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first.
On offense, the Lehman batters struggled as they didn’t notch a base hit through the first three innings. Senior Chastin Evans broke up the no-hit bid in the bottom of the fourth with a single to left field, which was one of only three hits for the Lobos on the night.
After giving up a five-run sixth inning to the Lions, Lehman scored a run off an infield single from designated hitter John Martinez. Martinez hustled his way to first base and beat out the throw to give the Lobos a run on the scoreboard.
But Lobo bats were unable to catch up to the nine runs scored by Leander. Senior night became a somber conclusion to a rough season that the Lobos had high hopes for.
“It’s just been an up and down year. You know we started off pretty hot and then we went through some ups and downs,” Robinson said. “We went through some injuries and that threw our mojo off a little bit. But we’ve accomplished some things that we worked on. Our main goal was to make the playoffs and we fell short of that. But we are ready to start getting ready again for next year.”
