The Levelland Lobos played host to the Frenship Memorial Panthers for a district baseball matchup this past Friday night, falling to them 9-6 across seven innings.
Levelland led 4-3 after the second inning before Memorial would score six unanswered runs across the next three and a half frames. Levelland would respond with a two-run sixth inning, but they couldn’t close it any further from there.
In the team statistics, Memorial bested Levelland 16-7 in hits and 1-2 in errors committed, and the teams tied at five walks drawn apiece.
“We didn’t handle the stick as good as we needed to pull that one off,” Levelland Head Baseball Coach Chris Portwood said. “Add a few errors on top of that then you get the result we got. I am very proud of how the boys fought all the way through and how they continue to battle in each game. These boys have a lot of heart.”
That heart showed as even in the loss several Lobos put together great at-bats. Standouts at the plate included catcher RJ Mireles going 2/3 with a run-battedin, a run scored and a walk, second baseman Javier Ruiz going 1/3 with two runs scored, two stolen bases, a home run, an RBI and a walk, right fielder Boston Winfield going 2/4 with an RBI, a triple, a double and a run scored, designated hitter Ian Rivera going 1/3 with an RBI and a run scored, and Abram Arteaga going 1/3 with an RBI and a walk.
Arteaga also got the start on the mound, pitching four innings and holding Memorial to five earned runs on 10 hits and a walk while striking out two batters. He’d be relieved by Kane Rice, who pitched 1.2 innings, surrendering four earned runs on five hits and four walks while striking out three batters. Rice would be relieved by Rivera, who’d pitch the final 1.1 innings, surrendering zero runs on one hit and no walks while striking out a batter.
The loss drops the Lobos to 10-12 overall and 2-3 in district play, which ties them for fifth in the 4A District 5 baseball standings.
They return to play early in the week on the road against Lubbock Cooper Liberty before traveling to face San Angelo Lakeview on Thursday at 7 p.m.