Rangers come up short in nightcap

Richard Anderson photos
At top, Laramie base runner Jason Rodriguez takes a lead off of second base in the first game of a non-conference doubleheader against Sheridan at Cowboy Field. At left, Rangers second baseman Rylan Harding squeezes an infield fly ball. Laramie won the first game 11-1 before Sheridan came back for a 9-8 victory in eight innings.


By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Disappointed … naturally, a little upset … definitely.

Thus comes in the territory of domination in one game and missed opportunities in another.

The Laramie Rangers were feeling all of the above just minutes after splitting an American Legion AA doubleheader Wednesday night at Cowboy Field. The Rangers, behind starting pitcher Coleton Wilson, ran away with an 11-1 win in the first game before the Troopers came back to edge Laramie 9-8 in eight innings in the nightcap.

Sheridan jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the second game, only to see the Rangers bounce back for seven unanswered runs before the Troopers would score late for the win.

Disappointed that they lost the second game, Laramie manager Sean McKinney wasn't displeased with the way his team battled back.

“We spotted them six runs in those first three innings and you can’t do that to any team in the state because we are all pretty equal,” McKinney said. “But I tell you what, down 6-0 like we were, just like we did in Scottsbluff, we just told the kids to keep playing and don’t let things affect you. We scored six straight and it is a ballgame again. We did some good things and we did some things that weren’t so good. But we came back in a game that looked lost. We gave ourselves a chance to win, but they just came up with a couple of big hits at the end and that’s the way baseball works.”

Laramie, 19-22 overall, appeared to be inching closer to the .500 mark after Wilson overcame a slow start and won hits ninth game of the season. Giving up five hits in the first two innings, Wilson was able to escape unscathed on the scoreboard. He ended up with a seven-hitter, allowing one late unearned run.

“Coley is not going to be perfect every time he goes out there and he is not going to be quite as dominating as he sometimes is,” McKinney said. “That’s just the way pitching goes. Coley kept battling and he is an extreme competitor and he is not going to let things affect him. He just keeps going to work and he just keeps getting back on the rubber and throws strikes. That’s what we need out of him.”

Second baseman Rylan Harding and first baseman Mike Garner led the 11-hit Laramie attack with three singles each, with center fielder Jason Rodriguez adding two hits and three RBI and left fielder Ryan Ivy knocking in a pair with a triple.

Laramie starting pitcher Srihari Sritharan, however, struggled with his control to begin the second game, walking the first three batters he faced and giving up another hit. The Troopers (6-26) took advantage with three runs in the first, two more in the second and another in the third.

Garner and Harding came in and slowed down the Sheridan bats for four innings before the Troopers were able to push across a couple of late runs for the win against Skyler Joy.

“Mike Garner got us out of one jam; he put out a fire there and gave us two innings. But they got to him, which happens,” McKinney said. “Rylan threw very well at Scottsbluff and we had confidence that he would throw strikes. He came out for four innings and shut them down. He was the reason we had a chance to win.

“Skyler is doing a good job, but he hasn’t pitched a lot yet and he is working on a few things. I thought he did a fine job; he kept us in it too. But they got two big hits and we just couldn’t get a solid single when we needed one. They came away with a one-run win.”

Max Schoen paced the Rangers with three singles, while Joy had two hits for Laramie, including a triple.

The Rangers don’t have time to fret, as they host Green River Thursday in another doubleheader that begins at 4 p.m.

“I told the kids that we have to come focused and ready to play (Thursday),” McKinney said. “We’re not going to transfer blame in our program and nothing is going to affect us. We have our own little world and nothing is going to affect it. We just have to stay behind each other on a night like tonight and come out with a job to do (Thursday). We have to beat Green River. We have to do whatever we can to beat them.”

McKinney said he told the team that like any win, they have to think about this loss for a short time and let it go.

“We can get mad about this for 30 minutes and then we have to flush it and come out and get ready to go again,” he said.