WHEATLAND – After a brutally hot Tuesday in Wheatland, not many people wanted to come out and brave the 101 degree heat at Lewis field for a Lobos double-header. 

The faithful were there, however still sporting sunblock for the 5 p.m. opener of a double-header against the Cheyenne Post Six Hawks. The weather wasn’t the only thing that was hot as the Lobos combined for 26 runs and 30 hits for the two-game scorcher.

In game one Cheyenne jumped on the lively hardballs quickly and mounted a 2-0 lead. The Lobos countered in the bottom of the inning to tie the score only to see the pesky Hawks take the lead again in the top of the second as they scored a single run.

As the Lobos added three more runs in the bottom of the second to take the lead, they then nickel and dimed the Hawks with single runs in the third and fourth innings while Ned Hageman settled down on the mound and found his sweet spot over the plate with his high heat. The Lobos then exploded in the sixth with seven insurance runs and implemented the 10-run mercy rule.

Mytchell Pollock continued with his torrid hitting streak at the plate and went three for three and got on base twice more with walks. Cross Hernandez, Hageman and Noah Whitfield also piled up three hits apiece with the key hits coming off Whitfield’s bat with men on base as he led the team with four RBIs.

Hageman got the win and Ryland Petroski came in and doused the matches of the Hawks who were destined to start a blaze. He was credited with the save.

In game two the Lobos established their dominance immediately and after three innings, they had built an 8-0 lead while Pollock was killing it on the mound. Usually found cutting grass for his non-baseball job, he was mowing down batters and gathered 9 strikeouts before the Hawks hit a rally in the fourth inning, posting four runs. That was as far as they would go as Petroski again came in and pitched two innings of no-run, no-hit baseball while gathering two strikeouts and the save.

Hernandez had the hot bat in the second game going 3-5 and doing it at the critical time with men in scoring position. He led the team with four RBIs. What was impressive for the Lobos was that it was a true team victory with 8 of 9 players adding an RBI to the team total.

Pollock had the win for the Lobos and Mr. Consistent again was dominating on the mound.

“As we continue to grow mentally, we see ourselves getting tougher and tougher,” said head Lobo baseball coach Mick Cochran. “Our pitching depth is improving and we look to forward to each new challenge.”

The heat hung around all week and into the weekend where the Lobos hosted the Douglas Cats in overcast skies which cut the heat until the clouds passed. Then it was an oven-baked surprise, as usual.

It was a nine-inning game and a crowd pleaser as there were 30 combined runs scored by both teams and 35 hits. Add to that, 14 players reached on walks and a few more on errors, so the infield was extremely crowded on a very warm day. 

By the third inning, Douglas already had 12 runs and by the bottom of the fourth, the score stood, Douglas 12, Wheatland 9. Things got a bit stingier for runs in the later innings as heat and fatigue began to set in, and when the dust from the infield settled and the final Lobo was out, the Cats recorded a 17-13 victory.

On offense, Whitfield, Jake Hicks and Austin Warren all had three hits. Hernandez and Hicks both tied for the team lead with three RBIs apiece.

Suko started on the mound for the Lobos and Douglas went gunning for him right away. He ended up taking the loss for the Lobos. Also uncharacteristic for the Lobos were seven errors in the game which didn’t help them for the day.

“We played pretty well on Tuesday,” Cochran said. “I felt like both Ned and Mytchell were throwing strikes and the team played well defensively behind them. We are starting to hit the ball really well. Starting game 2 with 4 doubles in a row was a lot of fun for our team, certainly a rarity in this game.”

The Lobos will travel to Torrington for a double-header tonight starting at 5 p.m. after which they will enjoy a week off and resume action June 29 in Cheyenne. The next home game for the Lobos will be July 6 where they will play a double-header with Torrington.