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Tigers take advantage of Hanford to win 5-2 under the Lemoore lights
Lemoore took the early lead with a run in the first inning and added two more in the third to take a 3-1 lead. They put the finishing touches on the contest with a pair of runs in the fifth. Remarkably the Tigers had only three hits, the other coming off the bat of Grant Farris. Keola Young went six innings for the Tigers, allowing just five hits, walking one and striking out seven.
In earlier action Lemoore's varsity baseball team continued to struggle in the tough West Yosemite League. Just a day after winning its first league contest, a 3-2 win over El Diamante, Lemoore dropped a disappointing 10-1 contest to Golden West, watching as their bats fell silent against Trailblazer pitching, collecting just two hits. Lemoore fell to 1-4 in league play and currently own a 10-9 overall record. El Diamante fell to 2-2 while Golden West is 11-5 overall and 2-3 in league play.
In the game against Ed Diamante, Keola Young threw a complete game for the Tigers, allowing only four hits, one earned run, and struck out five. The two teams trade runs early and were tied at 2-2 going into the bottom of the seventh when Lemoore finally scored to win. Matt Cole, Robbie Senior, Nate Corona, and Isaiah Rodriguez each had hits.
Against Golden West the Blazers scored four in the second, two in the third and then three more in the sixth to easily get past Lemoore.
Earlier Action
It was a night to forget as Lemoore's varsity boys' baseball team couldn't find its pitching and dropped a key West Yosemite League game to the visiting Redwood Rangers Tuesday night. The Rangers erupted for six runs in the sixth inning and beat the Tigers 13-1. The Tigers dropped a disappointing 6-5 game to Mt. Whitney in Visalia 6-5 Thursday night, a game the Tigers probably should have won.
The loss dropped Lemoore to 0-3 in the WYL. The Pioneers improved to 2-1.
The Tigers collected only five hits on the night, but that was good enough fro five runs. Lemoore got a pair of hits from Nate Corona who was two for four on the night. He also had an RBI and scored. Jayden Hunt, Austin Murrieta and Grant Farris also had hits against the Pioneers.
Lemoore got just six hits on the night against the Rangers on Tuesday, singles from Justin Sanders, Jayden Hunt, Austin Murrieta and Grant Farris. Jacob Duncil had a single and a double for the Tigers. Murrieta drove home the only Tiger run.
Military Night
It was “Military Night” at the ballpark Friday as Lemoore’s Tigers honored their local heroes with a free pass to a high school baseball game. Lemoore treated the men in uniform well, beating visiting Caruthers 11-5 in a non-league game to improve to 9-6 overall.
Military Night included an opening pitch from 82-year-old Milo Lorenz, a Vietnam veteran whose son, D.D., is an assistant coach for the Tigers. Milo tossed the opening pitch to his other son, Rob. The Tigers also wore special camouflage uniforms for this game and intend to wear them a couple of times this year.
It was a very special night, said Tiger Coach Frank Ramos. “Last October the coaching staff did a fundraiser for the event. We said let’s get our kids in tune with the military,” thinking that Naval Air Station Lemoore has played such a big role in the lives of many Lemoore residents, he added.
Ramos went on to say that each of the uniforms had a different patch representing the various Navy squadrons at NAS Lemoore. He said the team plans to do this on an annual basis.
Against Caruthers, the big bat was wielded by Nate Corona who went two for three with four RBI. The Tigers broke open a 5-5 game in the sixth inning by scoring six runs. Reliever Keola Young entered the game to hold Caruthers hitless in the final three innings to earn the victory.
The big win came on the heels of a disappointing West Yosemite League opener in which the Tigers allowed five unearned runs and lost to Hanford West 6-3.
The Tigers gave up four of those runs in the disastrous second innings to fall behind 5-1 in the early going. Again Corona led the way for Lemoore as he went two for two in the game with a run scored and one RBI. Grant Farris went two for three and scored.
Despite the loss Ramos says the Tigers chances in the WYL are good. “I think they’re really good. This is my seventh year coaching at Lemoore High School and my second year as the head coach and I’ve never seen the WYL this wide open. It’s going to be battle this year,” said Ramos.
The Tigers get back into the WYL swing with a 7 p.m. game on Tuesday (March 25) against Redwood at Lemoore. The Rangers are 1-1 in the WYL coming into Tuesday’s game and 6-8 overall.
