Lovell Mustangs win two in Utah
The Lovell Mustangs got back on the winning track during a road trip to Utah over the weekend. Playing in Spanish Fork, the Mustangs won two of three games played.
Lovell beat Brighton AS25 9-6 and the Sanpete Storm Chasers 18U 4-1 on Friday, then fell to Suga Suga 13-4 on Saturday.
A fourth game against LPK Saturday was not completed.
In the first game, the Mustangs clawed their way back after trailing 5-1. They scored three in the third and two more in the fourth to lead 6-5. Tucker Jackson tripled home two in the third and scored on a single by Alex Hedges. Rocco Rael and Mac Morgan scored on wild pitches in the fourth.
The Mustangs scored three insurance runs in the sixth, and Brighton scored one in the bottom of the inning.
“That’s kind of been one of the things that we’ve been working on, just that mentality of not letting things stumble out of control,” manager Michael Jameson said. “We made some errors early in that game and gave them a few runs. And so it was definitely good to see us chip back and regain that lead and then keep it.
“I think the biggest thing in that one was our pitching performances. We got that first game with Kannon Owens throwing just a heck of a game for us and then Mac throwing the complete game the next game. The guys just were able to stay positive and upbeat, and they kept the energy up.”
Hedges led the hitting attack with three hits, and Jackson and Hedges drove in two runs apiece.
Owens started on the mound and got the win, allowing five runs, none of them earned, on eight hits in five innings, striking out five. Dallen Bischoff and Jackson pitched in relief.
“It was nice to see some production up and down the order,” Jameson said. “We’ve had those top three or four or five guys that have really done a good job of producing for us the first part of the year, but we’ve kind of been lacking some consistency up and down the order, and it was nice to see different guys step up and contribute in different ways, whether it was scoring runs or drawing walks or getting on base or whatever it was, just to see a little more balance out of our lineup.”
Second win
Lovell never trailed against Sanpete, scoring two in the bottom of the first and single runs in the third and fourth. Hedges doubled home Morgan and Jackson in the first. Jackson lofted a sacrifice fly in the third, and Morgan singled to score Lafe Files in the fourth.
Morgan, Cash Wassmer and Files had two hits each for Lovell, and Morgan went the distance on the mound, allowing just one run in the seventh inning after six scoreless frames. He scattered four hits, walked three and fanned one.
“They had a good pitcher on the mound. Going into the weekend, we didn’t have any idea what to expect, or what kind of competition we were going to be facing,” Jameson noted. “And Mac, that was actually his first start for us on the mound as an A player. And I just can’t say enough about his poise and what he did on the mound, just the confidence he has.
“Mac is just a kid with a real high baseball IQ, and he understands how to pitch. He’s not a guy that’s going to blow it by anybody or strike out a lot of guys, but you know, he was just a guy that was pounding the zone and just getting pop up after pop up and weak ground balls. He was super effective and pitching to his strengths. And that was just a phenomenal outing for 14-year-olds to come and get two big wins for us.”
Game three
Lovell led Suga Suga 2-1 after two innings but allowed four runs in the third inning and eight in the fourth in the 13-4 loss. Files started and took the loss, allowing three runs in 2 2/3 innings, and Hedges allowed seven runs, five earned, Bischoff three runs in relief. Owens had two hits for the Mustangs.
“We just kind of came out flat,” Jameson said. “As good as our energy and our intensity and our focus was that first day, we came out a little bit flat. I think we honestly kind of overlooked these teams a little bit, getting a little bit too high after the way we played Friday and starting to maybe overlook people. I think it was a good learning lesson for these guys to go in and play the best we can, no matter who we’re playing. And I think we didn’t come out with that same energy and the same fire we had the first day, just kind of flat.
“I still felt like we competed pretty well, but sometimes you just don’t get those breaks and you don’t have that same energy and the same fight, and then that was a good team. They did a good job of hitting the baseball and putting it in play, and we just kind of fell behind and didn’t really have the energy and the intensity to come back.”
Final game
Lovell was leading LPK 3-1 after four, and LPK scored three in the top of the fifth. The game was suspended between innings due to an on-field dispute, and Lovell did not get to bat in the bottom of the frame. Hedges had two hits – a double and a triple – in the game.
The Mustangs will take to the road this weekend for a doubleheader in Powell Friday starting at 5 p.m. and a pair in Buffalo Saturday at 1 p.m. The Mustangs host Lockwood, Montana, Tuesday at 5 p.m. for two games.