By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org
Just called it a delayed reaction.
The Laramie Rangers and Green River Knights were forced into two rain delays Saturday in an attempt for one team to qualify for the Wyoming AA American Legion State Tournament next week in Rock Springs.
For the Rangers, it was the right reaction, as they responded to stop the Knights 11-6.
The first delay came in the fourth inning and lasted about 30 minutes with the Knights up 4-3. Laramie would come back out on the field and take over the momentum, leading 6-4 when the inning was all said and done.
Rains caused another lengthy stay in the dugouts, and when that inning was over, the Rangers scored three times for some insurance.
Green River never returned with much momentum after the hindrance; the Rangers had it all.
“The way we came out, through all of the weather, through everything that was going on, we played hard, we kept battling,” Laramie manager Sean McKinney said.
“Delays are always either bad or good, I guess,” Laramie center fielder/pitcher Coley Wilson said. “If one team doesn’t come out strong and the other team comes out fired up, good things usually happen. We came out fired up. Skyler (Joy) came out with runners on second and third and he hit a fly ball and we scored. From there, we got some confidence up and we knew we could beat that team.”
McKinney said the trick of rain delays is to stay focused, knowing what your goal is.
“There is a time to relax, but you still have to keep somewhat of a focus of what is going on in the game. The guys did that, they did a great job. They wanted to win that game with what was at stake. They battled the elements to stay on top.”
When the field was suitable for play again, McKinney took the team aside one more time to remind them what was at stake -- a state tournament berth.
“Coach called us all in and we got in a little huddle and we had a little talk and that’s when we had the five run inning,” Wilson said.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment