Richard Anderson photos
The Laramie Rangers A team tries to rally between innings Thursday against Douglas in the A East District Tournament at Cowboy Field. At left, Rangers catcher Kyle Alexander squares around to bunt.
By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org
This one hurts.
That was the feeling in the Laramie A locker room Thursday afternoon after the Rangers dropped a heartbreaking 5-4 decision to the Douglas Cats in the first round of the American Legion A East District Tournament at Cowboy Field.
In a back and forth game, the Cats scored a run in the bottom of the seventh on three straight singles, after Laramie tied the game at 4-4 with a run in the top of the inning.
The loss drops Laramie into the loser’s bracket of this double-elimination tournament, where they will play the loser of the Cheyenne-Gillette game Friday at 10 a.m.
Laramie manager Jeremy Francom said it is also tough to lose a game, but it is especially disappointing when you lose a close game.
“It seems like it hurts that much more,” Francom said. “We were in the game; it was a great played game. Take your hats off to Douglas. They played well, hit the ball and scored runs when they needed to.”
After three scoreless innings, the Rangers got on the board with a big three-run fourth inning against Douglas starting pitcher Tim Fosmo. It was also a two-out rally after Fosmo appeared to be cruising, returning the first two Rangers before Laramie third baseman Nick Armijo walked and second baseman Tyler Mitchell reached on an error.
Then shortstop Nolan Carter came through with a big two-run double and Derek Campbell brought Carter home on a single.
Douglas answered in the bottom of the fifth as Laramie starting pitcher Barry Thomas appeared to be getting a little tired. The Cats came back with three runs, before Carter came on in relief for the final two outs to keep the game tied.
Douglas took a one-run lead in the sixth with an unearned run before the Rangers tied the game again with a clutch two-out RBI double by Mitchell in the seventh, scoring Thomas, who had singled and stole second.
Laramie’s momentum, however, was short-lived, as Douglas used consecutive singles by Fosmo, Cale Spence and Brendan Edwards to win the game.
“We were happy with the way we played. Of course, we are not happy with the outcome,” Francom said. “Our pitchers came in and threw well, they threw strikes. We jumped out to a three-run lead, they come back and scored three runs to tie it. They score one, we score one … it’s back and forth. They responded and we just didn’t respond when we needed to.”
Carter took the loss, giving up three hits and two runs (one earned) in 1 2/3 innings. Thomas pitched the first 4 1/3 innings, giving up seven hits and three runs.
“Barry was up to about 83 pitches when he started the fifth inning and we were keeping a close eye on him,” Francom said. “He came in and threw a great game. The last time we played these guys, they scored 10 and 11 runs on us. We played well defensively and didn’t have too many errors. But that’s why it is a great game.”
The Rangers finished with 11 hits in the contest, led by Campbell’s three hits and one RBI. Lance McCartney and Mitchell both had a pair of hits, with Thomas, Armijo, Carter and Kyle Alexander all having one hit in the game.
Spencer led the Cats with three hits, with Edwards adding two hits and three RBI.
“I thought it took us a while to get on that pitcher, I’m not sure why,” Francom said. “We were really excited to start the game, we were amped up. I think we were a little too amped up. After we saw him once, we settled down a little bit and took a couple of deep breaths and we started getting a lot of hits.”
The Rangers need two wins to qualify for the state tournament and will have to do it the hard way coming up through the loser’s bracket. Despite the odds, Francom said there is still hope.
“We have a great opportunity. We have another chance to play some more games and continue on our season,” Francom said. “We have to come fired up, get mad about what happened today and show up tomorrow ready to play and win two games to finish in Cheyenne next week.”
In Friday’s first game, Gillette rallied for 12 straight runs to down Rawlins 14-4. Cheyenne then edged Gillette 10-9 and Wheatland rallied past Douglas 11-7. Douglas led 5-0 before the Lobos tied the game at 5-5 in the fourth and scored six runs in the fifth.
Laramie Prep falls to Casper
It was a tough American Legion B State Tournament opener for the Laramie Rangers Prep team in Sheridan. Casper downed Laramie 6-0 on Thursday.
Laramie had just one hit in the game, a single by Taylor Boggess.
Kevin Dooley took the loss on the mound, giving up four runs (none earned) and seven hits in six innings. Abel Casas pitched one inning, giving up one hit and two runs (none earned). Laramie committed six costly errors in the game.
Casper led by just a 1-0 score until it scored three runs in the sixth inning and two more in the seventh.
Laramie plays in a loser-out game Friday at 1 p.m.
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