By Clarissa Olson Posted March 22, 2018
On March 17, varsity baseball traveled to Fernley, bringing home an 11-4 win, a huge step for the team.
“Fernley is a good ball club,” said coach Andy Harmon, “They are very experienced. Most of them are juniors and seniors. We figure they’re going to be at the top of the league again this year. It’s going to be a test for us going in there and seeing how we stack up. We’re such a young team, and to go in there and get two wins on their home field was huge for us.”
The team’s game against Fernley was much different from the pre-season tournament they attended in Reno the previous week.
“The atmosphere was much more intense for the kids,” said Harmon. “They quickly adapted to that and played really well all three games. They got to see what it’s like to play a league game when the standings are on the line.”
Lowry’s performance has improved since the tournament as well.
“We really did well in all facets of the game.” Harmon said, “We hit well, they ran the bases well, two-strike hitting was great, and pitching was once again outstanding. Really, we just played well all around.”
After their weekend in Fernley, the team’s practice strategy of perfecting the fundamentals is proving its worth.
“We’re going to continue with what we’re doing,” said Harmon, “That’s a lot of hitting in practice, and focusing on putting ball in play with quality at-bats, a lot of infielding practice, and a lot of base running. We’re just keeping it simple and focusing on the basics and doing the basics well so that everything else will take care of itself.”
Rather than just a few players, the whole team is buying into the program.
“There was really no one outstanding play in the game,” said Harmon, “It was more all 17 guys buying into it. It takes all of us to get it done out there, and they really did from top to bottom. It was a team effort.”
With the team only having 6 returning players, they’re making up for their lack of experience at a fast pace.
“We’re really coming together surprisingly quickly for being such a young team.” Harmon said, “They’re learning how to play together, and work together. I think we have got something special if we can continue to get better and improve. Our goal is to get better every time out.”
Following their major accomplishment coming out of the rather dismal pre-season tournament, the team has its goals set high for the rest of the season.
I expect us to win every game out this year, and I think the kids are buying into that and believing it. If we play Lowry baseball, get after it and compete hard, first pitch to last pitch, we can win every time we step on the field. That’s our goal.”
