BASEBALL: Boulder City’s Howell at ease in I-A all-star game

His North all-star teammates were just as relaxed at the plate.

Howell went 2-for-2 with a double, a two-run homer, three RBIs and three runs, and the North pounded out 17 hits to roll past the South 18-9 at the College of Southern Nevada’s Morse Stadium.

“It feels great to come out here and have some fun after a tough loss in state,” said Howell, who also picked up the win on the mound with a scoreless first inning. “I was loose today and it didn’t mean anything. I just came out here and played baseball.”

The North scored in each of the first four innings. A 10-run first opened the flood gates, and the North never looked back.

Howell’s RBI double and a run-scoring triple by Boulder City’s Peyton Koopman highlighted the outburst. The North also got RBI singles in the inning from Boulder City’s Billy Barth, Chaparral’s Tommy Crone, and Tech’s Eli Peinado.  

Howell added to the barrage in the third, blasting a 2-0 fastball over the left-field fence.

“I was looking for the fastball,” Howell said. “He had to come with the strike, so I knew what was coming.”

Bryan Casas of Tech contributed to the North’s offensive outburst in the second with an RBI double. Chaparral’s Bryan Moya knocked in a two-run single in the fourth, and teammate Mark Nick O’ Connor added a run-scoring double in the seventh for the North.

The South plated nine runs in the bottom of the seventh, highlighted by a three-run triple by Moapa Valley’s Kasen Hughes. Hughes went 2-for-3 with a double and a stolen base.

Cheyenne’s Lamon Harvey finished 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI for the South.