Rangers open Dooley with 1-0 win

Laramie pitcher Coley Wilson

By Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

Coleton Wilson wasn’t at his sharpest, but the veteran Laramie Rangers ace did exactly what he needed to do in the clutch, pitching Post 14 to a 1-0 win over Broomfield, Colo., on Thursday in the first game of the Dooley Oil Classic at Cowboy Field.

Wilson walked seven Broomfield batters, but gave up just three hits and got out of a couple of jams with big strikeouts. Wilson struck out five in the game.

Broomfield opened the game with two walks and a single in the first inning, but Wilson struck out three to get out unscathed. The Eagles put a couple of runners on base in the top of the seventh, but Wilson induced a groundball to again get out of the jam.

The lone run would then come in the bottom of the first. Laramie catcher Jon Sorenson reached on an errant throw by Broomfield pitcher Hayden Underberg that sent shortstop Skyler Joy.

Joy’s run turned out to be the deciding factor in the game as Wilson and Underberg were locked in a pitcher’s duel the rest of the way.

“They’re a very solid ball club,” Rangers manager Sean McKinney said. “Their kid (Underberg) kept us off balance and he pitched a heck of a game, and luckily we had the same guy (Wilson) do it on our end. Coleton Wilson did such a great job tonight and we only needed one run to win this game, sometimes that’s what you need and I’m happy to be on this side of it.”

Underberg finished with seven strikeouts, but it was Wilson who would close out the win with a shutout.

“It felt amazing pitching a shutout,” Wilson said. “It’s my first one I think. To get it in front of the home crowd feels really good.”

Wilson is now 5-3 on the season with a 2.64 earned run average and came into Thursday’s game off a tough 2-0 loss last Sunday to Rapid City, S.D., Post 22.

“He’s (Wilson) our number one (pitcher) and he has been the last two years,” McKinney said. “I would say each week he pitches, he gets better and better. I’m proud of him; I’m proud he’s on our side.”

Laramie, 15-7, only managed three hits on the day, but allowed just three hits to Broomfield, which fell to 7-16 on the season.

The Dooley Oil Classic is played with wooden bats instead of the traditional aluminum bats. Wilson said there are some positives to playing with wooden bats.

“It’s nice pitching against wood bats,” he said. “The stuff you hit off the handle with the metal bat is a base hit, but with the wooden bat it’s a ground out, so that’s nice to pitch too.”

Up next for the Rangers will be Erie Colo., Friday at 7 p.m. at Cowboy Field.

“We’ve been on the road a lot; we were just in Rapid City (S.D.),” Wilson said. “Being in front of the home crowd is really nice.”

Game notes
The game followed a Mountain Collegiate Baseball League game between the Laramie Colts and Cheyenne Grizzlies, which was delayed earlier in the afternoon 80 minutes because of lightning. The Laramie-Broomfield game was then delayed from the start for 45 minutes because one umpire was absent … Laramie was home for the first time in 20 days, last facing Gillette on June 5. On Tuesday, the Rangers twin bill against the Casper Oilers was canceled because Casper had too many injured players.
　---
Rangers 1, Eagles 0
Broomfield 000 000 0 -- 0 3 2
Laramie 100 000 x -- 1 3 2
Laramie hitting -- Brody Hilgenkamp (1b), Skyler Joy (1b), Tyler Mitchell (1b). Broomfield hitting: Hayden Underberg (1b,1b), Drew Clark (1b) Laramie pitching -- Coley Wilson (WP, 7 in., 3h, 0r, 0er, 7bb, 5k). Broomfield pitching -- Hayden Underberg (LP, 6in., 3h, 1r, 0er, 3bb, 7k).