Daniel Owens helped pitch his team into the playoffs with his no-hitter against Wells on Saturday. Courtesy photo.
The Mineral County High baseball team will be heading to the regional playoffs this week after earning a double-header split with Wells on Saturday.
The two game set was to be a head-to-head race for the playoffs, and both teams played like it.
It was a tough start to the day for Mineral County as Wells came out on top early in the first game, taking a 6-0 lead in the second inning. The Leopards never looked back and came out on top 11-1 in six innings of play.
Taylen Wachsmuth and Tanner Owens combined for six strikeouts on the bump for the Serpents, but shaky defense left Mineral County chasing Wells all game. Wachsmuth roped a double in game one and Spencer Benjamin added a hit as well.
Game two had a much different outcome, as Daniel Owens led his team on the mound and pitched a no-hitter for Mineral County in a 7-2 win. Owens tossed seven innings and struck out nine while giving up two unearned runs in the gem.
“He just hit his spots and kept batters off balance all day. He had a great game,” said Mineral County coach Darren Hamrey.
Tanner Owens, Benjamin and D. Owens led the offensive charge with two hits each. Tanner Owens also finished his day with his league-leading 40th stolen base of the season. The junior also set a new state record for stolen bases in a single game with seven, in a conference match-up with Smith Valley on April 25.
The win gave the Serpents the third spot in the regional tournament this week in Wells, and dropped the host team to fourth. Mineral County (10-12, 7-5) will face a Whittell team they beat twice in late April in the first round at 11:30 a.m. on Friday. The winner of that game will play the winner of the Virginia City and Wells game later in the day in the double elimination tournament. The top two teams will advance to state next week in Las Vegas.
“Our boys are ready for it. I’d say we can beat anybody if we bring our A game,” said Hamrey.
