Richard Anderson photo
The Laramie Rangers A American Legion baseball team reacts after a good play on the field Thursday against Torrington in the first game of the annual Kleppinger Klassic at Cowboy Field. The Torrington varsity team won the hard-fought game, 3-1.
By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org
The Laramie Rangers A American Legion baseball team was a hit or two away from pulling off a nice upset to begin the annual Kleppinger Klassic Thursday at Cowboy Field.
The Rangers dropped a tough 3-1 decision to AA Torrington, stranding 11 batters. Laramie 10-17, had six hits in the game, but left seven baserunners in scoring position.
“We left too many people on base,” Laramie coach Brandon Ruckman said. “I guess we have to work out those kinks for the next two games that we have.”
Laramie got off to a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Tyler Boggess singled home Abel Casas, who had reached on a single. Laramie, however, left the bases load for the first of two times on Thursday.
The Tigers took the lead with a pair of runs in the third inning and added one run in the fifth to conclude the scoring.
The Rangers left the bases loaded in the third inning and had runners in scoring position in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings without scoring.
Despite the loss, Ruckman was pleased with how his young team played against an older team.
“We’ve played them for three years and I’ve seen the same names for three years,” Ruckman said. “They are definitely and older team. I told them to leave it on the field and that is exactly what they did – they left 100 percent out on the field and we still came away with a loss. It’s too bad, but I thought they played well. Their coach commented on our players and said we did a great job, and I thought we did a great job.”
The more the Rangers stayed in the game with the Tigers, Ruckman said the more his young team felt like it could win the game. They just came up a little short.
“I think they knew going in that this would be a tough game,” Ruckman said. “We’re hanging in there, 3-1 with Torrington, and I think they felt that they could do it, they could take it to the next step. We’re going to take this into the next games, and hopefully what we did today, we can take into the state competition.”
Casas, who took the loss on the mound, had two hits for the Rangers offensively, as did Dylan Watson. Boggess and Tyler Loose also had singles for Laramie.
Casas pitched four innings for the Rangers, giving up four hits and two runs (one earned). Lance McCartney pitched the final three innings, giving up three hits and one run.
“They did great. They did everything that we asked them to do,” Ruckman said of Casas and McCartney. “They threw strikes and held them to three runs, which is great. They did a great job today.”
The tournament will continue on Friday, although the Rangers won’t see the field until a pair of games on Saturday. Laramie takes on Green River at 2 p.m. and Lovell at 7 p.m.
“I’m ready to go … I think this whole team is ready to go,” Ruckman said. “After our Gillette tournament (Laramie was 1-4), I think we’re ready to roll for the next two games.”
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