On Senior Night, the Levelland Lobos played host to the Lubbock Cooper Liberty Patriots for their final district baseball matchup of the season, resulting in the Lobos losing 15-5 after a hardfought effort across seven innings.
Liberty came out strong, taking a 13-0 lead in the second inning, but Levelland would battle back with five unanswered runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Liberty would add a run in the sixth and seventh inning but failed to set the run rule into effect due to a relentless effort from the Lobos.
“We want to show fight and that we care about this program, each other, the staff and our community,” Levelland Head Baseball Coach Chris Portwood said. “We never want to lay down for anybody. I know it didn’t end in our favor, but I was really proud of the way that our guys kept fighting.”
While it didn’t translate to a victory, that effort still showed up on the stat sheet for the Lobos.
In the team statistics, the Patriots bested the Lobos 10-9 in hits and 5-1 in walks while the Lobos bested them 4-5 in errors committed.
Standouts at the plate included shortstop Jake Potter going 2/3 with two runs scored, two stolen bases, a run-batted-in and a walk, second baseman Abram Arteaga going 1/3 with an RBI, right fielder Boston Winfield with an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base, left fielder Javier Ruiz going ¾ with two doubles and a run scored, center fielder Jeron Salinas going 2/4 with a stolen base, and catcher RJ Mireles going ¼ with a run scored.
Kane Rice got the start on the mound for Levelland, pitching an inning and surrendering three earned runs on three hits and three walks while striking out a batter. He’d be relieved by Ian Rivera, who pitched an inning, surrendering two earned runs on five hits and zero walks while striking out a batter.
Rivera would be relieved by Tobias Gavina, who tossed a perfect two frames. Winfield would handle the final three innings, surrendering one earned run on two hits and two walks while striking out six batters.
The loss drops the Lobos to 14-16 overall and 6-6 in district play, which finalizes them at third in the 4A District 5 baseball standings.
Along with the game, Levelland also celebrated their group of senior trainers, managers and players, honoring them in the pregame ceremonies.
That group includes Jacob Swain, Kade Pemberton, RJ Mireles, Boston Winfield, Lavannah Simental, Alianna Cervantez and Brody Moore, all of whom Coach Portwood praised for their positive impact on the program.
“I’ll start with the trainers, Lavannah and Alianna, they mean a lot to us. They do a lot of things that people don’t see day-in and day-out at practice and game days. Both of them had brothers that played here so just to have that legacy is special,” Coach Portwood said. “And then these senior guys have guys they’ve looked up to since they were little boys and then come through the ranks and work their way all to this point. I really don’t know if there’s good enough words to say. These seniors are very special to me and I’m really proud of the effort and sacrifice that they have given for this program.”
They’ll all look to close out their Levelland baseball careers with a deep postseason run. The Lobos play Brock in a best-of-three series in the Bi-District round. Game one is on Thursday at 4 p.m. at Abilene Christian University, game two is on Friday Eula at 4 p.m. and game three will follow at 7 p.m. if necessary.