The Levelland Lobos played host to the Big Spring Steers for a district baseball matchup this past Tuesday night at the Lobo Diamond, resulting in the Lobos earning a dominant 13-3 run rule win across six innings.
The Lobos played complimentary baseball all night in route to the victory, executing clutch defensive plays and pitching performances while the offense came up with timely hitting and base running all night.
Following the win, Levelland Head Baseball Coach Chris Portwood talked about his team’s complimentary play on the night.
“That’s the game of baseball when you actually play it right. You get a bit of luck on your side. But you also just keep going through adversity and do the little things right, then sometimes the chips will fall in your favor,” Coach Portwood said. “We took advantage of that and kept momentum. They played a good clean game, overall, I’m proud of the way they played tonight.”
That cleanliness translated on the stat sheet as the Lobos only committed one error in the game as opposed to Big Spring’s two errors. The Lobos also bested them 13-3 in the hits column, while Big Spring would best the Lobos 7-6 in walks drawn.
Standouts for the Lobos at the plate included left fielder Tobias Gavina going 2/3 with two runs-batted-in and a double, center fielder Jeron Salinas going 1/3 with two RBI’s, two runs scored, a double, a walk and a stolen base, catcher RJ Mireles going 2/4 with an RBI and a run scored, and Kai Martinez going 1/1 with two RBI’s and a double.
Other notable Lobo stat lines included second baseman Javier Ruiz going 2/4 with two runs scored and a triple, third baseman Ian Rivera going 2/2 with three runs scored, two walks and a stolen base, shortstop Abram Arteaga going ½ with three runs scored, an RBI, a double, a stolen base and a walk, and right fielder Boston Winfield going 1/3 with an RBI and a walk.
Levelland’s high-powered offensive night was backed up by stellar pitching from the duo of Jake Potter and Kane Rice. Potter tossed five innings, holding Big Spring to two earned runs on two hits and seven walks while striking out three batters. Rice entered in relief in the sixth inning, holding Big Spring to one hit and zero earned runs.
The win improves the Lobos to 10-11 overall and 2-2 in district play, which ties them for fourth in the 4A District 5 baseball standings.
Levelland returns to action over the weekend against Frenship Memorial before heading to play at Lubbock Cooper Liberty on Tuesday at 7 p.m.