Colorado Springs edges Rangers for title

by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

The two best teams in the Dooley Oil Classic battled at Cowboy Field Sunday night for the tournament title, and it was just that -- a battle that lasted into extra innings.

Both Laramie and the Colorado Springs Baseball Club won their respective pools with 3-0 records to get to the championship. Colorado Springs, 9-4, was the better team Sunday night and won the tournament, 7-2 in eight innings over the Rangers.

The game was closer than the score indicated, as Laramie gave up two quick runs, then battled back to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh inning before Colorado Springs pulled away.

Rangers' manager Sean McKinney decided to shake up the pitching rotation and start closer Skyler Joy, but the first two innings did not go so well for Joy, as Colorado Springs earned three hits and two Laramie errors led to two runs for a 2-0 Colorado Springs lead.

“Coley (Wilson) was unable to start,” McKinney said. “We thought it would be better to have him finish. We had Skyler (Joy) throw two innings, so it wasn’t anything different for him.”

Coleton Wilson replaced Joy at the mound in the third inning and the game was neck and neck after that, as Wilson and Colorado Springs pitcher Todd Brazell were locked in a duel. Wilson had four strikeouts and gave up one hit through seven innings, while Brazell got the win with four strikeouts and allowed five hits in seven innings.

“Coley did a good job,” McKinney said. “He did a good job for us and kept us in the game.”

The Rangers would threaten in the sixth inning, as Wilson singled and Joy broke out of his hitting slump with an RBI double that sent Wilson home to cut the lead to 2-1.

Laramie would threaten again in the seventh, as third baseman Nick Armijo reached first and moved to second on an errant pick-off play by Brazell. Armijo, however, was caught at third when he tried to advance on an error when Tyler Mitchell struckout, but reached first base on a passed ball.

Right fielder Brody Hilgenkamp then gave the Rangers a lift when he belted a big two-out triple that scored Mitchell from first, sending the game to extra innings.

“I was just looking for a good pitch to hit and I got one,” Hilgenkamp said. “It was a real team effort to get back in this one. I was just happy to be a part of this team fighting back to get in the game.”

“That was exciting,” added McKinney. “He (Hilgenkamp) did a good job. He got his foot down and squared the ball up and put his motion into it. That’s just a bit time hit by Brody.”

As excited as the Rangers were to keep the game going, the wheels would come off for Laramie in the eighth inning.

Colorado Springs wore down Wilson with three hits and two costly Laramie errors, which led to five runs for the final margin. Armijo would come in to relieve Wilson and close it out.

Colorado Springs reliever Jerid Huggins closed the game out with three strikeouts and a walk.

“It did get away from us there at the end, but the game was not out of hand,” said McKinney. “The score has no indication of what the game was like.”

Despite the loss, McKinney said that they battled with a very good ballclub.

"What that tells me is the kids are doing a good job and we’re right there," he said. "We had some mind lapses early on that affected us late, so we just got to get those corrected and learn from them, so they don’t make those mistakes again.”

“Playing everyday for four straight days can kind of get tiring,” Hilgenkamp added. “I think it will help with the endurance factor for us and staying mentally focus. I think we played very well this tournament; we got a lot of good pitching, played some good D (defense), and we know we’re there.”

The Rangers, 17-8, will get another chance for a tournament title, as they will host the annual wood bat Firecracker Tournament at Cowboy Field July 2-5.