By ROBERT WHITMER
On Tuesday March 5th, the Lehman Lobos squared off against the Alamo Heights Mules in the first district game of the season. The weather was less than ideal for a baseball game, as we had a blustery day followed by a cold first pitch temperature. The blankets were out in abundance among the spectators, as families huddled together to try to stay warm. One thing that definitely wasn’t cold was the pitching.
Hunter Lehman took the bump again for the Lobos as they tried to extend their record to 7-5. There were no bumps in the road for him on this outing because he was dealing yet again. He pitched 6 scoreless innings giving up three hits while walking two with nine strikeouts.
The performance of the night, however, did not come from a Lobo. Cameron Mineo pitched a gem of a game. He went nine strong innings while only allowing one hit, no walks, and struck out 19 batters. Yes, you read that right, 19 strikeouts for the senior pitcher.
Both pitchers had the hitters guessing and kept the game scoreless into the 12th inning. Hunter Lehman was relieved in the 7th by Justin Penney who continued to work out of two on and bases loaded jams like they were 1st Grade math problems. He ended up giving up seven hits, striking out four and walking four batters.
The scoreless pitching duel continued into the 12th inning until Alamo Heights got on the board thanks for a base hit, a walk, a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt, and finally a play at the plate that resulted in an error and two runs. The Lobos were unable to mount any type of offense in the bottom of the 12th and went home with the heartbreaking hard-fought loss to the division opponent.
The Lobos fall to 6-6 and 0-1 in district play. The next game for the Lobos is the Austin ISD Tournament starting on Thursday and continuing through the weekend.
