Opening Day successful for 2017 Lopes
Lamar Community College's Baseball team opened up strong against Colorado State University's Club Team. On a sunny opening day of baseball with weather in the sixty-degree range, the Runnin' Lopes pitched lights out in game one for a combined effort no-hitter. The second inning was all the Lopes needed to win the game. After a smoked double in the left-centerfield gap by Jack Stamper, Draven Adame singled to left field, bringing in Stamper for the first run of the season. Adame would then proceed to score on a Sam Scarborough triple off of the right-field wall. In the fourth inning, Ayden Karraker walked, which setup another Stamper double to give the Lopes a 3-0 lead.
Darin Cook, the Lopes starting pitcher in the first game, pitched no-hit baseball for four innings before being replaced by Ryan Hoff. Hoff, a freshman this season, also threw no-hit baseball, surrendering only one unearned run in the fifth. In the bottom half of the inning, Owen Reynolds drew a walk and would later score on a throwing error from the catcher. Christian Peery, also a freshman, earned his first save in his collegiate career, with a hitless seventh inning for the Lopes.
Game two slated another freshman on the mound for the Lopes. Keven Mackintosh, a lefty from Cherokee Trail High School in Aurora, pitched three innings for LCC. The third inning saw a three-run explosion from the offense. Scott Savage, a sophomore outfielder, started off the inning with a solo home run over the left-field wall for his first of the season. Adame would single the next at-bat. After a sacrifice bunt from Scarborough, and a single from Josh Crites, the Lopes had runners on first and third. Stamper would line out to center to score Adame, and Reynolds would triple in the right field gap to give the Lopes a 3-1 lead.
The Lopes ran into some trouble in the fifth inning. Johnny Ramirez was given the tough task of getting out of the bases-loaded jam. Ramirez fooled two CSU hitters, striking them out in the fifth to maintain the Lopes lead at 3-2. Ramirez would proceed to keep the same score in the top of the sixth.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Lopes again exploded for four more runs. Reynolds doubled to begin the inning, which was followed by a Kennedy Badgett single. Kavan Andrew, who replaced a hurt Karraker, tripled to score two runs. Savage then singled to score Andrew. After another single from Adame, Scarborough would ground out to second base, but was enough to score Savage on the play. The Lopes would close the game with a scoreless seventh to bring their record to 2-0 on the young season.
The Runnin' Lopes are scheduled to be in action again on Saturday and Sunday (February 11 & 12) against member of the WJCAC, the Clarendon College Bulldogs. The last time the Lopes and Bulldogs faced one another in Texas, the two split at one game apiece. The games will be at 1 and 3. For more information about the games, contact head baseball coach Scott Crampton at 719.336.1681.