By Byron Beers/Staff Writer

If not for Blanchard’s Ryan Lavey, El Reno appeared to be on its way to a first Tuesday evening at Hub Reed Complex.

The Indians were still in search of their first victory in summer league play after dropping their first six games.

But Lavey had something to say about that and he let his bat do the talking. Lavey went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate and knocked in half of Blanchard’s 14 runs as the Lions out-dueled the Indians 14-10 in a slugfest.

Lavey entered Monday’s contests hitting just .110 and was batting eighth in the lineup, but he produced like a seasoned middle-of-the-order warrior.

He knocked in his first run with a double to the left-field wall during the second inning to give his team a 2-0 lead. He then broke a 5-5 tie with a three-run homer to center field during the fifth.

Lavey put all El Reno hopes away in the seventh with his second bash — another three-run shot that landed over the right-field wall and gave the Lions a comfortable 14-8 cushion.

The Indians, who also dropped a 12-5 decision in the nightcap and fell to 0-8, had their best offensive output of the season, producing 11 hits.

Daulton Repp was the bright spot, going 3-for-5 with a double and four runs batted in. Repp drove home two of El Reno’s five runs during the second inning when he lined a two-bagger to left field.
Repp singled in two more runs in the sixth, scoring both Michael Costin and Kurt Shemanske and getting the Indians to within two runs at 9-7.

Repp also went 1-for-2 in the second game with another double and a run scored.

Costin also contributed with three hits in the opener and scored a pair of runs to go along with an RBI.

“I was really pleased with the way we swung the bats all night long,” El Reno head coach Jason Looper said. “We had some timely hits and hit the ball hard all over the field, especially in the first game.”

The Indians were limited to five hits in the closing game, although they continued to hit the ball hard.

“We hit several balls really hard, but they were right at them,” Looper said. “They made some nice defensive plays.

“Overall, we’re starting to come around with the bats, but we need to continue improving on our defense and our pitching. We’re still trying to gain more experience right now and this will help us throughout the summer.”

At times, El Reno hit like a veteran team and nearly every player answered the challenge. Seven different players had at least one hit in the opener.

The Tribe also showed the ability to put together a big inning as they scored five runs during the second that would give them a 5-2 advantage. Looper’s club also had a three-run sixth and a two-run seventh to stay close.

Prior to Repp’s two-run double in the second, Hunter Epperson also had a run-scoring double to right that plated Costin. Tyler Palmer immediately followed Repp with an RBI single to left.

In the sixth, Costin led off with a single and Shemanske doubled to the right-field wall that set the table for Repp.

Caleb Koos lasted 4.1 innings as the starting pitcher and was handed the loss. Koos allowed nine runs on eight hits and finished with one strikeout while issuing three walks.

Dillion Deitrick pitched 2.2 innings, giving up five runs on seven hits. Deitrick recorded a pair of strikeouts and walked two.

In the finale, Justin Ferguson led the offense with a 2-for-2 performance on a pair of singles with one RBI and one run scored.

But the Indians never managed a lead as Blanchard scored in every inning, including four in the opening frame, two in the third and two more during the sixth.