Big Spring Steers open up District play against The Lubbock Estacado Matadors
The Big Spring Steer Baseball team took a trip to Lubbock Tuesday, March 16, to open up District play when they took on the Lubbock Estacado Matadors. The game was a back and forth affair, but the Steers eventually fell 11 to 12.
As the first inning started, leadoff hitter Maverick Yanez kicked off the game with a single. Josh Miramontes then took a walk to put runners on first and second. Isaiah Diaz came through with a hard-hit RBI single that drove in Yanez. The Steers would take that 1 to 0 lead into the bottom of the first. Estacado faced off against Big Spring ace Ricky Escovedo, who was coming off a gem of a game when he pitched a complete-game shutout against Pecos. The young Steer would shine early in this game, having an easy first inning of work, striking out two.
The start of the second inning began with Pablito Dehoyos smashing a hard-hit single. He would be followed by Freshman Catcher Marcos Paredez, who reached base on an error. With runners on first and second, Jose Cantu stepped into the box. He delivered a double that drove in both Dehoyos and Paredez. That brought Yanez back up to the plate, and he would earn a walk. Miramontes then had a single to load the bases. That brought up three-hole hitter Gabriel Baeza. The Steer showed his patience at the plate earning a walk that moved Cantu across the plate. Pitcher Rickey Escovedo then hit a sacrifice fly to score Yanez. After the inning of work, Big Spring had a lead of 5 to 0. The Bottom of the second found Escovedo still pitching effectively. The Matadors were able to push across one run in the inning, cutting the lead to 5 to 1 after two innings of play.
Top of the third found Dehoyos leading off the inning once again. Once again, he came through with a single. Paredez then earned a walk. Both runners eventually advanced a base on a passed ball, putting runners on second and third. Maverick Yanez took his third plate appearance of the night with a hard-hit knock that drove in Dehoyos and Paredez. It was Miramontes turn to get into the action, and he smashed a double to score Yanes. That brought the lead for the Steers to 8 to 1, heading into the bottom of the third inning. Escovedo came out for his third inning of work; this time, Lubbock would be able to put up two runs in their half of the inning, bringing the third inning to a close by a score of 8 to 3.
The top of the fourth was a quiet one for the Steers as they did not score any runs. Leaving the score at 8 to 3. Estacado put up one more run in the bottom of the fourth, cutting the lead to 8 to 4.
Neither team could get anything going in the fifth inning as both pitchers would shut down the bats, leaving the score at 8 to 4 after five innings.
The sixth inning is where this game would get close after the Steers failed to score in their half of the inning. The Matadors found there self down by four runs. The steers pitching struggled to find the strike zone having a few too many walks. Estacado
would show that they would not give up as they fought back, scoring four runs in the inning, tieing the game up at 8 apiece, heading into the last inning of regulation play.
Heading into the seventh inning, it would be the Steers who had their chance to answer first. The pivotal inning began with Dehoyos taking a walk to get the leadoff man on base. Marcos Paredez then reached base on an error by the Matadors, an error that would allow Deyeos to come all the way around to score. Cantu then stepped in the box and had a single advancing Paradez to third. Josh Miramontes then smashed a hard-hit triple bring home both Paradez and Cantu. That would give the Steers a lead of 11 to 8 heading into Estacados' last shot. Unfortunately, the Steers pitching had a hard time finding the plate giving up late walks. Lubbock took advantage of the pitching and Steers defense's mistakes and found a way to win the game scoring four runs in the inning and winning the game by a final score of 12 to 11.
This was obviously a tough game for the Steers to start District play on the season. Despite the loss, I know this team will answer back; they have too many good players and coaches to let this bother them; if anything, I bet it motivates them to get even better. The Steers continue District play this Thursday night at home against San Angelo Lake View; the first pitch is scheduled for 12:01.
Dustin is the Spotrs Writer for the Big Spring Herald. To contact him e-mail sports@bigspringherald. com or call 432-263-7331-ext237