First year head coach Bryan Lang has the Lobo baseball team off to a good start with a 5-4 win over Chino Valley in Snowflake’s season opening game played on Thursday of last week.
Lang takes over a program that went 17-13 last season losing out in the second round of the 3A state playoffs to Payson. Currently this year’s roster has just two seniors in Fernando Quintana and Dylan Ervien on the roster. They are joined by a host of juniors including, Cody Fox, Tyler Hall, Brydon Hatch, Chase Williams, Harrison Oakes, Josh Beecroft, Tyson Ramirez, Braedon Davis, Stetson Stoffel, Joey Beecroft and Trey Korkosz. Sophomore Ricky Munger, and freshmen Nathanael Owens and Chase Ervien round out the varsity roster.
In their opening win the Lobos rallied from a 2-0 deficit with three runs in the top of the fifth inning. They put up two more insurance runs in the top of the sixth and needed those two runs as Chino Valley also scored twice in the home half of the inning. Neither team scored in the seventh, leaving Snowflake with the one run victory.
Snowflake finished with five hits led by Joey Beecroft who was 2 for 4 with a double, 3 RBIs and scored three runs. Williams was 1 for 2 with a triple, had 1 RBI and scored once. Quintana and Hall each went 1 for 2. Quintana and Munger were each credited with a stolen base.
On the hill, Munger got the start and the win working five innings. He gave up three runs on seven hits with three strikeouts. Quintana earned the save two innings of work. He allowed one run on four hits and also had two strikeouts.
After playing at Tuba City on Monday the Lobos will compete in the Joe Padilla Baseball tournament this weekend. They are slated to face Morenci and San Tan Foothills on Thursday and Apache Junction on Friday.
On Monday the Lobos will open their home schedule when Window Rock comes for a visit.
