Steers Baseball team loses a close one to District leader Levelland Lobos
The Big Spring Steers Baseball team traveled to Leveland to take on District leader the Levelland Lobos. The Lobos came into the game with a perfect 9 and 0 District record, and the Steers had a 2-7 district record. The game took place this Tuesday night at the Lobos home park. Despite the record difference, the young Big Spring Steers showed up to play one of their best games of the year. The Steers did fall short of the victory, losing by a final of 5 to 6, but showed the team's talent.
The top of the first did not start ideal for the Steers as the Lobo pitcher struck out the side in order. Kyler Seymore took the mound for the Steers, and the Senior pitched well. After he hit the first batter Seymore then settled down and put the following three Lobos down to get out of the inning unscathed. Both teams remained scoreless after one inning of play.
At the top of the second, the Steers took a patient approach at the plate. Ricky Escovedo leads off the inning with a walk. Freshman catcher Marcos Paredez then followed his walk to place runners at first and second with no outs. Marc Prieto would come in to be a courtesy runner for Paredez. With runners on first and second Senior, Isaiah Solis laid down a perfectly executed bunt to advance Escovedo to third and Prieto to second. Big Spring now had a golden opportunity with runners at Second and Third with only one out. Eli Cobos stepped into the box and had a hard-hit line drive. The Lobo right fielder bobbled, causing an error and allowing both Escovedo and Prieto to cross the plate, giving the Steer an early 2 to 0 lead. After another Steer walk in the inning, the Lobos got a double play that ended the inning. Seymour came back to the mound enjoying a two-run lead, and the pitcher picked where he left off in the first. The senior mowed threw his half of the second inning, not allowing the Lobos to get anything going protecting his two-run lead.
To start the third inning of play, the Steers had a two-run lead. The Steers knew they needed to add to the score, and that's just what they did.
After a quick ground out, it brought up Josh Miramontes. On a 0-2 count, Miramontes saw a pitch he liked and smashed a single to the left fielder. Freshman first baseman Isaiah Diaz came to the plate and delivered on a single, advancing Miramontes to second. That brought up Sophomore Ricky Escovedo to the dish, which had a walk his last at-bat. After fouling off the at-bat's first pitch, Escovedo drilled a hard-hit bases-clearing triple to centerfield, scoring both Miramontes and Diaz and bringing the Steers to lead 4 to 0. After the Escovedo triple, the Lobos did not allow the Steers to score again as they got two quick outs to leave Ricky at third. Trailing by four, the Lobos finally got to the Steers pitcher as the Lobos led off the inning with a triple of their own. Seymore did his best to contain the runner at third, inducing a ground out followed by a strikeout. The Lobos delivered a single to drive home the runner from third to cut the score 4 to 1. Seymore did a fantastic job of limiting the inning's damage, only allowing one run to cross the plate.
With a 4 to 1 run lead, the Big Spring Steer took the box, looking to add on to that lead once again. While the inning started off promising when Eli Cobos got a single, the Steers offense stalled out, and they were not able to get the runner across the plate. Seymore came out for his fourth inning of work. The Senior showed his strength by having a perfect 1,2,3 inning sitting down the Lobos in order.
The Steers carried the lead of 4 to 1 heading into the fifth inning. While the Steers got a baserunner on in the inning, they did not do much with the runner as the Lobos kept the Steers from adding to the lead once again. Kyler Seymore came back out to the mound for his fifth inning of work and once again shut down the Levelland Lobos' high-powered bats, maintaining the 4 to 1 lead.
Pitcher Kyler Seymore stepped to the plate in the top of the sixth, and he helped his cause with a solo Home Run. To extend the Steers lead to 5 to
1. The Lobo pitcher went on to strike out the next three Steer batters leaving the Steers lead at 5 to 1, heading into the sixth. Down to their last six strikes, the Lobos showed why they are the top team in the District as they started to chip away at the steers' lead. The inning started with a double. The Steers pitcher then got a ground out. A triple followed for the Lobos driving home their second run of the day and cutting the lead to 5 to
2. The next Lobo hitter had a hard-hit single driving home the runner from third, making the lead even closer at 5 to 3. The Steers were able to get out of the inning, limiting the damage to just two runs.
Heading into the seventh inning of play and seeing their lead dissipating, the Steers wanted to add some insurance runs. Unfortunately, the Lobos did an excellent job of pitching on the inning and did not allow the Steers to get a rhythm going. The Steers carried a 5 to 3 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning against the District leading Lobos. Down to their last three out, the Lobos were in desperation mode. The inning started with the Steers pitcher hitting a Lobo batter to place a man on first. The next Lobo batter had a single to put the tying runs at first and second. The Steers then got a big double play. The Steers were one out away from betting the top team in the District with the double play. Unfortunately, the Steers defense would cost them this game. The Steers had an error on the field that the Lobos took advantage of by scoring a run to cut the lead to 4 to 5. They then tied up the game at five after a hard hit double. With newfound life and the Steers on their heels, the Lobos pounced; another error from the Steers infield would allow the winning run to score, giving the walk-off win to the Levelland Lobos. Who remain undefeated in District at 10-0.
The game was a heartbreaking loss for the Steers as they controlled much of the game. But this game showed the talent this young team has; they went toe to toe with the District's best team. Yes, they didn't come out on top, but what they did do is outplay a good Lobo team. This Steers team has been in almost every game this season; they show fight and grit. Once the young Steers learn how to close out games, it will be a different team. The Steers now face an uphill battle on their road to the playoffs with an 11-14-1 record and a 2-8 district record. With five games left in the season, the young Steers need to get on a winning streak. They get another shot at this Levelland team Friday night at Steers park first pitch is scheduled for 7:33. Come out and support this team and cheer them on to turn this season around, starting with a victory Friday night.
Dustin is the Sports Writer for the Big Spring Herald. To contact him email sports@bigspringherald.com or call 432-263-7331.