GREELEY, COLORADO – After a string of losses over the past week, the Wheatland Legion Post 10 Lobos baseball team finally got to mark up one in the win column when they defeated the Northside Dirt Devils (Loveland, Colorado) 6-5 Sunday.
The win came as the Lobos played their final game of the Aaron Phillips Memorial Tournament in Greeley, Colorado.
The Lobos scored five unanswered runs in the first four innings and added another in the top of the fifth before the Devils finally broke the drought and got four across the plate in the bottom of the fifth. They added another in the bottom of the seventh but Wheatland held on to get the win.
The Lobos first run came when Nolan Schaffner scored from second base on a ground out by Lee Raser.
In the top of the third, Haydn Steinsiek ended up on second base following an error by the Devils’ pitcher. Grady Bohlander’s base hit sent Steinsiek to third. Mason Collar grounded out but picked up an RBI scoring
Steinsiek and Bohlander advanced to second.
Schaffner then reached first on an error by the shortstop that also allowed Bohlander to score the third run of the inning.
Schaffner then stole second on the next pitch, stole third on another and scored on an error by the catcher.
Raser then knocked a double to left field but the Devils were finally able to get the second and third outs to end the inning.
In the fourth inning, the Lobos picked up another run as Ty Foland got a walk and advanced to second on a Steinsiek ground out.
Bohlander singled to score Foland before the final two outs ended the top half of the fourth. Three solid fielding plays later the Lobos held a 5-0 lead as they came to bat in the top of the fifth.
Schaffner led off with a double to left field and scored two batters later when Ken Raser hit a sacrifice fly to left field. The Lobos lead 6-0 but although down, the Devils were not out just yet as they exploded for four runs in the bottom of the inning.

The scare started when Lobos pitcher Grant Goodrich hit leadoff batter J. Schechter, sending him to first. After a pop up for the first out, Schechter advanced to second and third on wild pitches and walked E. Mosher, putting Devil runners at the corners. Mosher stole second and Goodrich walked B. Glass, filling the bases. Goodrich got the next batter on strikes for the second out, but then walked R. VanMaanen, scoring Schechter. In a nightmare that seemed to not end, Goodrich walked another batter, scoring Mosher.
Schaffner came on to pitch for the Lobos but fielding error allowed the Devils to score their third and fourth runs. The Lobos finally stopped the bleeding when the next batter flied out.
The drama continued in the bottom of the seventh though. After getting a quick pair of outs, the Devils’ seemingly had another rally under way as B. Smaic got on with a single and R. Kachel followed with a double that scored Smaic. After a balk was called on Schaffner that sent Kachel to third, the Lobos were able to end the game when Collar threw Schechter out at first.
The Lobos scored six runs on six hits. They committed two errors. Goodrich got the pitching win. He threw 81 pitches to 22 batters, 41 of them strikes. In relief, Schaffner faced 12 batters. He threw 45 pitches, 24 of them strikes.
It was a win the Lobos desperately needed, ending an 11-game losing streak.
Four of those came this weekend, also in the Greeley tournament. On Friday, the Greeley Greys shut down the Lobos 10-0 in five innings. Wheatland managed just one hit and just couldn’t get any kind of an offense going.
Cooper Meyer took the pitching loss. He faced 31 batters, threw 86 pitches, 53 of them strikes.
Later on Friday, the Lobos faced the Buckley Bombers from Chappell, Nebraska. The Bombers got a 9-6 win on nine hits. Wheatland got off to a good start, getting two across the plate in the first inning but Chappell answered in the bottom of the second and added another in the third. The Lobos went up 4-3 after scoring a pair of runs in the fourth inning but gave up the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth when Chappell scored three. They added another three in the sixth and a two-run rally in the seventh by Wheatland wasn’t enough to get the win.
Wheatland scored six runs on six hits. They committed three errors.
Schaffner, K. Raser, L. Raser, Lind and Bohlander each had hits for the Lobos.
Collar, Meyer and Ayden Lind each had an RBI. Lind took the pitching loss, throwing 74 pitches to 25 batters, 42 of them strikes. Collar and Rojo pitched in relief.
On Saturday, the Lobos lost 0-4 to Greeley’s Gojo Baseball Club.
Collar, Schaffner, Rojo and Foland each had hits for Wheatland.
Beckett Graves took the pitching loss. He faced 17 batters and threw 48 pitches, including 28 strikes. Collar came on in relief, facing 14 batters and throwing 40 pitches, 24 of them strikes.
In their second game Saturday, the Lobos faced the Gillette Riders. Gillette held the Lobos to four hits and took home an 11-3 win in six innings.
Wheatland scored three runs on four hits and committed three errors.
Braden Nilsson went 3 for 4 at the plate and had 3 RBIs.
Collar and Schaffner also had hits.
Nilsson took the pitching loss, throwing three innings. He faced 16 batters and threw 64 pitches, 34 of them strikes. L. Raser and Rojo pitched in relief.
The Lobos overall season record now stands at 4-18.
Up next for the Lobos is a road trip to Laramie for a three-day tournament June 13-15.