The Levelland Lobos hosted their annual WIT Classic this past Thursday, Friday and Saturday where the Lobos finished off 3-2 in their tournament.
Levelland 1, Lubbock Christian 7
For the Lobos first game of the tournament they went up against the Lubbock Christian Eagles where they lost on Thursday night 7-1.
The Eagles were on the board in the top of the first inning after one batter drove in a single and the other hit a double, each driving in one to make the score 2-0 early.
Levelland got their run in the bottom of the second inning after Gage Potter scored on a passing ball giving the Lobos some life as they made the score 2-1.
That was it for the Lobos though as Lubbock Christian got one more run in the top of the fourth inning and the rest of their four runs in the top of the sixth to take the win away from Levelland.
Jake Potter took the loss for the Lobos as he gave up sven runs (three earned) on seven hits, striking out three and walking three in the contest.
The Lobos then played two more games on Friday throughout the day with their first game against Perryton and their second game against Borger.
Levelland 3, Perryton 4
For their first game on Friday they took on the Perryton Rangers where they fell in a close battle.
To open up the scoring for the game, it was the Rangers that were on the board first after the bases were loaded and the batter was hit by the pitch, advancing everyone and giving Perryton the 1-0 lead.
The Lobos weren’t going anywhere though as they were able to get on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning after Jake Potter hit a single on a ground ball to center field to drive in a run, making the score 1-1.
Levelland was able to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning after Jake Potter hit another single on a ground ball to left field, scoring one and making the score 3-1.
Although it was looking good for Levelland the top of the seventh inning was opened up from the Rangers as they scored off of a single on a ground ball, a tripled to left field and an error, all scoring one run to give Perryton the lead and win 4-3, over Levelland.
Boston Winfield took the loss for Levelland as he gave up four runs (three earned) on four hits, striking out one and walking five throughout the game.
Jake Potter led the Lobos with two runs batted in while his brother Gage Potter and him each stole multiple bases in the game. The team had five stolen bases throughout the game while the Lobos turned in one double play in the game.
Levelland 11, Borger 4
For Levelland’s third game of the WIT Classic they were able to win their first game of the tournament against the Borger Bulldogs in dominant fashion.
The first team on the board was the Bulldogs after they were able to get walked with bases loaded, making the score 1-0 at the top of the first inning.
Levelland answered fast with them getting two runs in the bottom of the first after R.J. Mireles hit a single on a fly ball to right field, scoring one run and Gage Potter grounded out to center field, scoring one run to give Levelland the 2-1 lead.
The Lobos extended their lead in the bottom of the second inning after Javi Ruiz hit a triple on a ground ball to left field, scoring one run, then Ruiz stole home to give Levelland the 4-1 lead.
Borger was able to get on the board once more in the top of the third inning after their batter grounded out to second base, scoring one run.
Although it was a back and forth game, Levelland opened the game wide open in the bottom of the third inning after Jake Potter was hit by the pitch, scoring one run, Winfield grounded into fielder’s choice, scoring one run, Ruiz grounded into fielder’s choice, scoring one run, Salinas grounded into fielder’s choice, scoring one run, Noah Tienda stole home, scoring one run and Salinas scored on stealing home, scoring one run to make the new score 10-2 in the blink of an eye.
Borger got the rest of their runs in the top of the fourth inning after their batter hit a single, scoring one run and their other batter hit another single, scoring one run to make the score 10-4.
Levelland got their final run of the game after Jake Potter stole home, making the final score 11-4, giving the Lobos their first win of their tournament.
Arteaga earned the win for the Lobos as he gave up five hits and four runs (four earned) over four innings, striking out five and walking seven in their contest.
Arteaga, Winfield, Salinas, Tienda and Potter each stole multiple bases throughout the game as the team had 17 stolen bases in their contest against the Bulldogs. The Lobos didn’t commit a single error with Mireles having the most chances with six.
With Levelland back on track for their last two games of the tournament on Saturday the Lobos were able to win out against Dalhart and Pampa.
Levelland 8, Dalhart 7
The Golden Wolves were the first team on the board in the top of the first inning after they were able to steal home, giving them the 1-0 lead over Levelland.
The Lobos responded well though as they tied the game back up in the bottom of the first inning after Jake Potter was walked, scoring one run.
Levelland took the lead in the bottom of the second inning after Rance Massey grounded out to short stop, advancing everyone and scoring one run to make the score 2-1, Lobos leading.
Dalhart retook the lead in the top of the third inning after they scored six runs, off of a single that scored two runs and two errors scored four runs to make the score 7-2 quickly.
Although the game seemed to have been flipped on its head, Levelland was able to bounce back in the final inning after Gage Potter scored on a passing ball, Jake Potter scored on an error, Arteaga was walked, scoring one run, Massey hit a single on a hard ground ball to second base, scoring one run, R.J. Mireles was walked, scoring one run and Gage Potter was walked, scoring one run to give Levelland the 8-7 lead and the win.
Gage Potter started the game for the Lobos as he gave up three hits and seven runs (three earned) with six walks and three strike outs. Massey came in relief for the Lobos as he gave up zero hits and zero runs over two-thirds of an inning and walked none while striking out one.
Tienda, Massey and Potter each collected one hit for the Lobos while Potter led the team with three walks while the rest of the Lobos piled up 10 walks throughout the game.
Levelland 11, Pampa 4
For the last game of the tournament the Lobos took on the Pampa Harvesters where they won 11-4 in five innings.
The scoring started late for both teams as Pampa was on the board first in the top of the second inning after their batter grounded out, scoring one run.
Levelland though was able to take the lead in dominant fashion as they got eight runs in the bottom of the second inning. Winfield stole home, scoring one run, Tienda got a double on a bunt, scoring one run, Arteaga singled on a line drive to center field, scoring one run, Jake Potter singled on a ground ball to center field, scoring one run, Kai Martinez scored stealing home, Winfield hit a double on a ground ball to right field, scoring one run and Ruiz hit a double on a hard ground ball to short stop, scoring two runs and making the score 8-1 fast.
Pampa was able to get a run in the top of the third inning after a double was able to drive in one run making the score 8-2.
The Lobos kept their offense going though as Arteaga was able to score on an error by their catcher and Massey was able to score off of a Gage Potter ground out to first baseman, making the score 10-2.
Levelland got their final run of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning after Winfield was able to steal home and make the score 11-2.
Pampa got their final two runs in the top of the fifth inning with the game in Levelland’s hands giving Levelland the win and finishing off their tournament strong.
Ian Rivera earned the win for the Lobos as he gave up six hits and four runs (four earned) over four and two third innings, striking out one and walking none. Gage Potter came in for relief for Levelland as he gave up two hits and zero runs, walking none and striking out none.
The Levelland Lobos finish their tournament off strong getting three straight wins and going 3-2 in their tournament.
The Lobos will get back on the diamond against the Midland Classical Academy Knights this Thursday on the road at 10 a.m. in tournament play.