Richard Anderson photos
At top, Laramie assistant Kyle Deck congratulates Jordan Rhodine after the Rangers completed a double play Thursday against Torrington. At bottom, left, manager Sean McKinney works the third base coaching box.
By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org
Thursday night was just like riding a bicycle for Laramie manager Sean McKinney and assistant coach Kyle Deck.
It was McKinney’s first games back as manager after coaching at Mesa State, and it was Deck’s first time out this season in his customary role as the Rangers top assistant.
They changed coaching boxes -- McKinney at third and Deck at first -- but the results were the same, as the Rangers won their eighth and ninth straight games, thumping Torrington 11-1 and 12-1 in a twin bill at Cowboy Field.
“He and I have the same mind as far as baseball goes,” Deck said. “There was nothing that we had to say to each other. That’s just the way that we played and that is the way we always play, and we’re going to continue to play.”
McKinney got a big opportunity last fall after being named an assistant coach at Mesa State -- his alma mater. But that meant he would have to leave Laramie until the Mavericks season was completed, putting Deck in charge of the program until his return. To complicate matters, Mesa State played longer into the season than ever before, going all of the way to the NCAA Division II World Series, where the Mavericks finished 1-2 (44-15 overall).
With Deck in charge, the Rangers didn’t miss a beat and are now 10-1 on the season.
“That’s why I hired him. I knew he could do it,” McKinney said. “When we first got here three years ago, we had a vision of what we wanted to see and we tried to carry it out in the first two years. Coach Deck has stayed with it. We talked a lot, we had a lot of nights over the phone. I had a chance to do what I did and now I’ve come back into the swing of things with Coach.”
After finishing third at the state tournament last season, McKinney and Deck knew that they would have a talented team coming back. For McKinney, a former Ranger player himself, all he could do in the first part of the season is talk on the telephone with Deck and hear what was going on.
He saw with his own eyes Thursday as the Rangers are off to one of their best starts in years.
“The kids are playing really well and it is exciting for me to see that,” McKinney said. “All of the kids on our team have been in the program since I began, so they know what is expected. Coach Deck has done just an unbelievable job of falling that up, keeping the troops in line and staying with the system that we created three years ago. It’s starting to show.”
Laramie catcher/first baseman Nick Armijo said the team has been playing steady and they are looking forward to getting even better.
“We hadn’t had our head coach here for our first nine games, and we have him now, so it will just keep building from there,” Armijo said.
“Coach Deck has been awesome,” added Laramie pitcher/outfielder Coleton Wilson. “It was good to see Coach McKinney back tonight. Hopefully we will pick right back up and keep going.”
Deck said that although McKinney wasn’t in Laramie, he stayed as close as he could to the program.
“Whenever I had a question with the program, with what to do or with the schedule, I could always give him a call any time of the day or night and he would be right there with the answer,” Deck said. “We’d talk it through and we would come up with the best idea or the best thing for the team.”
McKinney, meanwhile, picked up an “unbelievable experience” in his first season of coaching on the collegiate level under Chris Hanks, who was his coach in his two years (2005-2006) with the Mavericks. McKinney’s duties with Mesa State included being he team’s first base coach, handling the running and bunting games, as well as an assistant infield coach. He also recruited the Northwest and California and took care of travel arrangements and other day-to-day projects.
“I learned a lot. You learn something new everyday in baseball,” McKinney said. “It’s great to watch different levels of baseball and you can kind of mold your own idea of how you want to see things get done.
“We had a great season. We had a great group of kids at Mesa this year and they played well. It is nice for me to come home to a good group of kids. That’s what it is all about, having good kids and good people on your team, and then you can be successful.”
This has also been exciting for Deck, who ran the day-to-day operations for the Rangers for the past nine months.
“It was a great experience for me, for sure,” Deck said. “It’s not over, obviously, but now it is like having two had coaches on the team. It is nice to have some of that experience. Now, I know what he has had to go through in the past two years first hand.”
McKinney certainly likes what he sees from his team and is anxious to tap into its potential the rest of the season.
“We have a goal to win a state championship and we came awful close last year,” McKinney said. “Now, we need to push one more mile.”
Rangers 11, Tigers 1 (5 innings)
Behind the solid pitching from Wilson, the Rangers jumped on Torrington in the opener with five runs in the first inning and never looked back.
Wilson had his best outing of the season, scattering three hits, walking three and striking out five.
“I guess I am still kind of getting in shape from my (shoulder) surgery,” Wilson said. “My arm feels great, but my body is still tired. I’m trying to get in shape, and today helped because I was able to go five innings.”
Offensively, Jon Sorenson, Armijo and Kevin Dooley all had two hits, with Armijo driving in three runs.
Rangers 12, Tigers 1 (5 innings)
Nolan Carter matched Wilson with a three-hitter of his own in picking up his third win on the mound this season.
Laramie again jumped on Torrington early and put the game away with an eight-run second inning. The Tigers lone run off of Carter came in the fourth inning.
Rylan Harding led the Rangers with three hits, with Brody Hilgenkamp and Sorenson adding a pair of hits. Sorenson also knocked in two runs.
“We’re playing really well,” Wilson said. “The guys hit the ball well and Nolan pitched a great game. Good pitching always helps, I guess.”
Up next
The Rangers host Gillette on Friday in a single nine-inning contest that begins at 4 p.m. at Cowboy Field.
Gillette, the defending state champions, handed Laramie its lone loss of the season, 8-5.
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