‘Lopes Hot Start Continues

The Lamar Community College Runnin' Lopes baseball team has come out of the starting gate hot on their way to ten wins in the first three weeks of the season. Over the course of the weekend, the team was able to find ways to win some close ball games against Luna Community College from Las Vegas, NM.

 "A team could not ask more from their starting pitcher than a solid performance to line the team up for a win. And our staff gave us a chance to win in each ball game this weekend," Coach Scott Crampton mentioned to the team after the games this weekend.

Game one slated Darin Cook on the mound for the Lopes. Cook pitched six innings, giving up only one run while only surrendering five hits. He also struck out eight Luna batters. The Lopes big inning came in the bottom of the third. A single and a stolen base from Scott Savage gave the Lopes their first threat of the game. Jack Stamper would single to left field to score Savage, Ayden Karraker would single to score Stamper. Another run was added for insurance in the fifth after Karraker smashed a ball over the left field fence for his first home run of the season. Christian Peery came in to pitch in the seventh and earned his fourth save of the season in a 4-1 win.

Game two was much of the same for the pitching staff. Keven Mackintosh struck out nine Rough Riders in the process of earning his second win of the season. Mackintosh only allowed three runs to score. Again, the third inning got things rolling for the Lopes. Sam Scarborough, LCC's right fielder, crushed his second home run of the season with one out. Savage singled, moved up to second on a wild pitch, and scored after Owen Reynolds singled to left field.

Scarborough, Savage, and Stamper ignited the fuel for two more runs in the fifth. Scarborough and Savage walked, allowing Stamper to double to score Scarborough. Savage would later score on a six-four-three double play.

The bullpen was asked to pitch their way out of some trouble in the sixth. The first two runners reached base, making the Lopes call to the bullpen. Johnny Ramirez was asked to maintain the lead. He was successful, as the lead was only damaged but not given up. Peery was brought out again in the seventh for another save opportunity. Again, the young submariner was successful, earning his fifth save in as many tries.

Sunday was more of the same. In the first game, the Lopes defense came out shaky. A huge double and two defensive errors cost them two runs in the first inning. However, Lamar earned two runs of their own in the first after a bases-loaded single from Badgett. The Rough Riders pushed across another run in the third, and another in the fifth. Lamar could only earn one run in the fifth, as Reynolds scored after a Badgett double to the leftfield wall.

The Lopes bullpen was crucial in the game. Ramirez was brought in in the sixth to hold the Luna lead to 4-3. He only threw six pitches, forcing the Luna hitters to hit three quick ground balls to give the young team some momentum.

In the bottom of the sixth, Scarborough had a long and crucial at-bat, seeing pitch after pitch, battling it out with the Luna bullpen. After a walk, Robert Santorelli came into pinch-hit for Savage. Santorelli demolished a fastball over the heart of the plate to leftfield for a two-run home run, giving the Lopes a 5-4 lead. Peery was again given an opportunity to close the game for Lamar, earning his sixth save.

Game four was the makings of an offensive explosion. The Lopes scored seven runs in the first inning, highlighted a doubled from Josh Crites and singles from many different hitters. Luna could only manage to score two runs the entire game, as Carter Chacon came out with a lights-out mentality, going five innings and striking out five. Lamar Community College would end the game after a single by Draven Adame to score their twelfth run for a ten-run rule win.

Lamar Community College will be in action again on Wednesday against Garden City Community College, this time against the Broncbusters in Garden City. That game will begin at 1:00 pm CST. Colby Community College will be strolling into Lamar for a double-header on Saturday, beginning at 1:00 pm. Lamar will also make the trip to Colby for a double-header in Colby the following day at 12:00 pm CST.