Rangers split at Fort Morgan

by Wyoming Sports.org

FORT MORGAN, Colo. -- The Laramie Rangers bounced back from a tough eighth-inning loss to earn a split against Fort Morgan in an American Legion baseball doubleheader Wednesday night.

Fort Morgan took the opener 4-3 only to see the AA Rangers roll in the nightcap, 10-0 in five innings. With the split, Laramie is now 14-20 on the season.

Laramie starting pitcher Srihari Sritharan overcame a tough first inning in the opener and blanked Fort Morgan for six innings before the home team pushed across an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth.

The Rangers began the game with two runs in the first inning, only to see Fort Morgan score three times on one hit in the bottom half of the frame. Until the game-winner in the eighth inning, the only other run came with a single score by Laramie to tie the game in the sixth.

Sritharan gave up just five hits in the game for the tough-luck loss.

Shortstop Skyler Joy had two hits for the Rangers, who finished with six hits. Coley Wilson had the only other RBI for Laramie on a run-scoring single.

The Rangers bounced back in a big way in the second game, scoring four runs in the second for a 5-0 lead and never looking back. Laramie added single runs in the third and fourth innings before putting the game away with three in the fifth.

Laramie also got an outstanding pitching performance from Max Schoen, who gave up just five hits in the five innings.

The Rangers had 11 hits in the game, paced by Sean Gardea with three singles, followed by Wilson, Jon Sorenson and Ryan Ivy with two hits each. Rylan Harding, Joy and Wilson all had two RBI each.

The Rangers will return to action this weekend in the Scottsbluff Invitational in Scottsbluff, Neb.