Mineral County’s Daniel Owens struck out nine in a win over Silver Stage Saturday.
It was a hot 70 degrees at Saturday’s Mineral County High baseball game, but not nearly as hot as the base paths were after the Serpent speedsters raced passed the 2A Silver Stage Nighthawks twice.
The Serpents stole a total of 27 bases on the day as they manufactured both wins of the double-header by scores of 7-3 and 11-2. Junior Left-hander Brandon West had a fine start on the hill for the Serpents, giving up only one run on three hits and striking out four. Senior Tanner Owens relieved West in the fourth inning. He gave up two runs on four hits and struck out seven.
The Serpent Hit Squad wasn’t at full power, but they still managed to collect seven hits in game one. Daniel Owens and Isaiah Crowl collected three hits. Spencer Benjamin drove in two runs, and T. Owens stole six bases, one shy of his personal best. Taylen Wachsmuth also added a double.
On to game two D. Owens owned the Nighthawks through four innings of play, when he finally gave up his first hit from the mound. The Nighthawks compounded two hits against him, resulting in two runs before the senior right-hander retired the side. LJ Donaldson relieved Owens in the fifth inning, but not before he struck out nine Nighthawk hitters. Donaldson didn’t allow a hit over the next three innings in what resulted in a combined 2-hit, 15 strikeout effort by the two senior right-handers.
On offense, D. Owens scattered two more hits and stole seven bases, tying his cousin T. Owens state record for stolen bases in a single game. Crowl added two more hits to his total as well. For the day, the two Owens boys split 18 stolen bases between them. Not to mention, T. Owens stole home twice. D. Owens was 3 for 4 and Crowl was 4 for 6 with a double and three RBIs. Benjamin also drove in three runs for the Serpents, taking their season record to 9-4.
The Serpents faced Tonopah on Tuesday and play their first Division IV conference game on Saturday at home against the Carlin Railroaders. Game starts at 10 a.m.
