After winning the opening game of the series, the Lady Wave softball team lost the inside track to the league’s second seed after being swept by Lowry in Saturday’s doubleheader at the Edward Arciniega Athletic Complex.
Fallon won Friday’s opener, 10-5, but was 10-runned in the first game of the doubleheader, 10-0, setting up a pivotal series finale. The Buckaroos (18-3) escaped with a 4-3 victory to take the series in handing Fallon its fourth loss in the last five games. Fernley swept Fallon in a make-up doubleheader earlier in the week.
Fallon (13-5), which sits in third place, hosts Spring Creek (7-11) at 2 p.m. today to kick off a make-up three-game series before traveling to fourth-place Dayton (14-6) this weekend to end the season. The regional tournament is next Thursday through Saturday in Fallon.
Senior Faith Cornmesser was the hard-luck loser in the series finale against Lowry, giving up two home runs and nine hits total.
After Fallon took the lead, 1-0, in the first inning, Sydney Connors roped a two-run home run in the third to give Lowry a one-run lead. Seirra Maestrejuan smacked a solo home run in the fourth to increase the lead before Aspen Mori scored for Fallon’s second run of the game.
Lowry added its fourth run in the fifth frame but Cornmesser scored after walking to cut the deficit back to a run.
In the opener on Friday, the Lady Wave led most of the game but had to battle back in the third inning after Lowry took the lead briefly.
Caitlyn Welch led off the bottom of the third with a solo home run followed by Alexis Jarrett’s single and Stacey Kalt’s walk. Jordan Beyer singled in Jarrett and Kalt later scored to give Fallon a 4-2 lead.
Connors hit her first home run of the series — a two-run blast — in the fifth inning to cut the deficit to one after Fallon scored one in the fourth. Fallon, though, broke the game open in the sixth inning when Macie Anderson hit a three-run homer to left field for a 10-4 lead.
Cornmesser picked up the win in the circle, pitching a complete game with 12 strikeouts and allowing three earned runs over eight hits.
Fallon didn’t start Saturday’s doubleheader on the right foot after Lowry opened the game with six runs in the first two innings. Jarrett led Fallon at the plate with two hits but Ashley Agaman struggled in the circle, allowing nine runs on 11 hits in 3 1/3 innings. She gave up five extra base hits – 3 doubles and two home runs.