Rangers come up short

Richard Anderson photo
Laramie coach Kyle Deck congratulates Mike Garner after Garner made a nice defensive play against Dothan, Ala., Saturday at Cowboy Field.

Alabama team edges Laramie 1-0

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Here’s some coffee-shop debate: Has there ever been a better baseball game at Cowboy Field than Saturday’s 1-0 win by Dothan, Ala., over the Laramie Rangers in the Dooley Oil Classic American Legion baseball tournament at Cowboy Field?

Laramie manager Sean McKinney doesn’t think so. He just wishes his team could have completed the rally in the bottom of the seventh inning to get the victory.

The Rangers loaded the bases with no outs against Dothan ace Karsten Whiston, with the middle of their lineup yet to come to plate. But Whiston, who went into the seventh inning with a no-hitter, struck out Laramie slugger Mike Garner, as well as left fielder Ryan Ivy, before getting designated hitter Mike Hudson to ground out to third base to end the game.

Dothan, a select team that has appeared in two of the last four American Legion World Series, scored the game’s only run on a squeeze play in the top of the seventh.

“That is by far one of the greatest games that I have ever been a part of,” McKinney said. “I told these kids that this was one of the greatest games this field has ever seen. With the effort they gave, the way my kids played, my heart goes out to them. I’m so proud of them, yet I wish they could have won that game. I’d given anything for them to win that.”

Laramie starting pitcher Coleton Wilson might have pitched his best game as a Ranger. Yet, he was still out-done by Whiston, who walked just one (intentionally) and struck out eight.

“It’s about as good as I can pitch,” Wilson said. “If we would have won, that would have been better. I felt like I did pretty well tonight.”

Wilson, who beat the defending California state champions, Merced, last week in Rapid City, gave up just four hits, walking two and striking out one. Dothan didn’t have a base runner go past second until the final inning.

“Coley Wilson has really come to life in the last couple of starts,“ McKinney said. “We’re seeing what he is capable of. He pitched about as good as he has ever pitched.”

Dothan’s lone run came in the seventh when Trye Larry walked, stole second and moved to third on a balk. Larry then scored when pinch-hitter Robert Anderson squeezed him home.

“It’s tough to lose a game like that,” Wilson said. “We had the bases loaded and no outs, and they ended up pulling through. They did a good job, but we have to find a way to get out of there.”

The Rangers, still without a hit, had a little fight in them, but couldn’t quite get over the hump against Whiston. Second baseman Rylan Harding led off and was hit by a pitch. Shortstop Skyler Joy then lifted a flyball between left and center fields for a double. Whiston walked Laramie catcher Jon Sorenson intentionally before getting out of the colossal jam.

“We let the first guy go ahead and swing, he’s a great flyball hitter,” McKinney said. “The next guy up, we wanted him to squeeze in there, but a lot of things happened before that. We had our opportunities.”

Dothan (27-10), which traveled with basically a second team in the dugout, didn’t play its best players in its previous two games -- an 11-5 win over Wheatland and a 4-1 loss to Sand Creek just before the Laramie game.

McKinney said Dothan played its “A” team against them, with its “A” pitcher.

“When you play against a team that has been to the World Series for two of the last four years, and the kids compete like that, gosh, there’s nothing else I can say about how proud I am of them,” McKinney said.

“There’s five hits in the game with one run: two ace pitchers, only one error. That’s great baseball. We’re devastated that we came out on the wrong end. But we were right there.”

The Rangers (8-18) will look to finish strong on Sunday when it faces Sand Creek at 4:30 p.m. Laramie is also scheduled to take on Boulder County at 7 p.m. Dothan and Cheyenne Post 6 will play in the title game at 9 a.m.