By Wyoming Sports.org
ROCK SPRINGS -- The Laramie Rangers AA American Legion AA baseball team returned to action on Monday after an eight-day absence and looked rested, rolling past Rock Springs in the first game of a doubleheader.
Not so much in the second game.
The Rangers easily won the opener, 15-5 in five innings, before falling in a second-game shootout, 17-16. With the split, Laramie is 12-4 on the season.
In the first game, it was all Laramie, as the Rangers used a six-run third inning to break the game open, adding seven more runs in the final two frames.
Jordan Rhodine led the way with three hits and six RBI, including a two-run home run in the fourth inning and a three-run double in the fifth. Coleton Wilson added a pair of hits and two RBI, while Nick Armijo finished with two runs batted in.
Wilson, Armijo, Skyler Joy and Brody Hilgenkamp all pitched for the Rangers.
It appeared the Rangers would feed off of that momentum, but couldn’t hang on to any advantage they had in that second game. Laramie had an 8-1 lead going into the bottom of the third, only to see the Mustangs strike for five in the same inning. Laramie again went up 14-6 before Rock Springs exploded with nine runs in the bottom of the sixth for a 15-14 advantage.
The Rangers regained the lead with two runs in the seventh, but again couldn’t hold on. An error led to a two-run game-winning hit for the Mustangs in the bottom of the seventh.
Laramie pounded out 14 hits in the game, but also gave up 14 hits. Hilgenkamp led the way with three hits, with Rylan Harding, Armijo and Tim Deibert adding two hits each.
The Rangers will return to action on Thursday when they face Watertown, S.D., at noon to begin the four-day Rich Hinseth Agency Tournament in Rapid City, S.D.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Riverton sweeps Rangers A team
by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org
The bigger, stronger and faster Riverton Raiders proved to be too much for the Laramie Rangers Tuesday at Cowboy Field in American Legion A baseball action, sweeping the doubleheader, 21-8 and 6-3.
The A Rangers have lost three straight games to fall to 5-6 on the season.
Game one was all Riverton, as it led 13-7 heading into the seventh and tacked on seven more runs to halt any chance of a Rangers comeback. Laramie could only score one run in the bottom of the seventh for the final margin.
“I think the first game we came out a little intimidated because they’re a little bit bigger team,” Rangers A coach Brandon Ruckman said.
“I think we came out in the first game and we were cocky,” added Rangers left fielder Lance McCartney. “We just wanted to walk all over them (Riverton). I think we actually got intimidated by how big they were; that kind of made it difficult.”
The second game started out like the first game as Riverton scored three quick runs in the first inning. Laramie would remain within striking distance for the rest of the game behind clutch pitching from Kevin Dooley and hitting from McCartney. Dooley had three strikeouts through six innings, while McCartney was 2-for-3 with a single and an RBI-triple.
“I think that’s probably the best I’ve seen him (Dooley) pitch throughout the season,” McCartney said. “That’s a lot better than what most people have done.”
McCartney hit his RBI-triple off of Riverton pitcher Doss Winter, which made the score 5-2 in favor of the Raiders after the third inning. Each team would tack on one more run for the final score.
“We just came out and made it competitive in the second game, which is nice,” Ruckman said. “We didn’t make as many errors, we held defensively, and Kevin Dooley threw a pretty good game and kept us in it.”
The Rangers A squad will be in action again Wednesday when they take on the Wheatland Lobos in a doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m., in Wheatland.
“We’ll come out ready tomorrow for Wheatland,” McCartney said. “It will make it a lot easier, seeing how that is one of the best teams (Riverton) we’ve played so far.”
Wyoming Sports.org
The bigger, stronger and faster Riverton Raiders proved to be too much for the Laramie Rangers Tuesday at Cowboy Field in American Legion A baseball action, sweeping the doubleheader, 21-8 and 6-3.
The A Rangers have lost three straight games to fall to 5-6 on the season.
Game one was all Riverton, as it led 13-7 heading into the seventh and tacked on seven more runs to halt any chance of a Rangers comeback. Laramie could only score one run in the bottom of the seventh for the final margin.
“I think the first game we came out a little intimidated because they’re a little bit bigger team,” Rangers A coach Brandon Ruckman said.
“I think we came out in the first game and we were cocky,” added Rangers left fielder Lance McCartney. “We just wanted to walk all over them (Riverton). I think we actually got intimidated by how big they were; that kind of made it difficult.”
The second game started out like the first game as Riverton scored three quick runs in the first inning. Laramie would remain within striking distance for the rest of the game behind clutch pitching from Kevin Dooley and hitting from McCartney. Dooley had three strikeouts through six innings, while McCartney was 2-for-3 with a single and an RBI-triple.
“I think that’s probably the best I’ve seen him (Dooley) pitch throughout the season,” McCartney said. “That’s a lot better than what most people have done.”
McCartney hit his RBI-triple off of Riverton pitcher Doss Winter, which made the score 5-2 in favor of the Raiders after the third inning. Each team would tack on one more run for the final score.
“We just came out and made it competitive in the second game, which is nice,” Ruckman said. “We didn’t make as many errors, we held defensively, and Kevin Dooley threw a pretty good game and kept us in it.”
The Rangers A squad will be in action again Wednesday when they take on the Wheatland Lobos in a doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m., in Wheatland.
“We’ll come out ready tomorrow for Wheatland,” McCartney said. “It will make it a lot easier, seeing how that is one of the best teams (Riverton) we’ve played so far.”
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Rangers A get forfeit wins over Rawlins
Richard Anderson photo
Laramie's Ryan Spiker, left, and the Rawlins first baseman await the pitch Thursday in an American Legion A baseball game at Cowboy Field.
By Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org
They played … just to play.
They played … just to play.
Due to a shortage of players, the Rawlins Generals had to forfeit a pair of games against the Laramie Rangers A team, as the Generals were accommodated by a couple of older players to fill out their roster. Laramie outscored Rawlins 5-2 in the first game Thursday at Cowboy Field, with the second game called in the fourth inning because of rain and the Generals up 6-1.
With the wins, Laramie is now 5-3 on the season.
Ranger’s pitcher Dylan Watson picked up the first-game win on the mound, only allowing two runs off of four hits through seven innings.
Rawlins led 2-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth, when Laramie reeled off four straight runs over two innings for the final margin. Three of the four runs were off of stolen bases caused by Generals pitcher Dustin Haag’s wild pitches.
“I think they did okay,” Rangers A coach Brandon Ruckman said. “Rawlins came out and they put a run on the board and then we played small ball and got it done. We put a couple runs up and Dylan (Watson) threw strikes, he came out and did what we wanted him to do and the defense did their work.”
The first pitch of game two was thrown by Laramie pitcher Ryan Spiker at 7:20 p.m. Like the Rangers other games this year, they would come out slow in the second game, while Rawlins started out hot jumping out to a 6-1 lead before the game was called in the fourth due to rain.
The Rangers A squad will be in action again on Saturday for a doubleheader against Gering Post 36, beginning at 2 p.m., in Gering, Neb.
“The kids are excited,” Ruckman said. “They’ve done well so far this season, so I think they have the confidence to go in there (Gering) and put up a couple victories. I told them they need to come out for two games and not just one; every game we have this year is a doubleheader, so they need to come out and win the first one and get excited, get confident, and get on top of the second game right off the bat.”
---
Rangers 5, Generals 2
Rawlins A 100 010 0 -- 2 5 0
Rangers A 000 122 x -- 5 7 1
Laramie hitting -- Tyler Loose (1b), Kevin Dooley (1b,1b), Lance McCartney (1b), Abel Casas (RBI), Dylan Watson (1b), Alex Jordan (1b). Laramie pitching -- Dylan Watson (W, 7in., 5h, 2r, 2er, 6bb, 4k).
-
Generals 6, Rangers 1 (4)
Rangers A 000 122 x -- 5 7 1
Laramie hitting -- Tyler Loose (1b), Kevin Dooley (1b,1b), Lance McCartney (1b), Abel Casas (RBI), Dylan Watson (1b), Alex Jordan (1b). Laramie pitching -- Dylan Watson (W, 7in., 5h, 2r, 2er, 6bb, 4k).
-
Generals 6, Rangers 1 (4)
Rawlins A 105 0 -- 6 3 0
Rangers A 001 0 -- 1 5 4
Laramie hitting -- Kevin Dooley (1b), Lance McCartney (1b), Kyle Alexander (1b, RBI), Travis Scott (1b), Ryan Spiker (1b). Laramie pitching -- Ryan Spiker (2in., 2h, 5r, 4er, 5bb, 2k), Tyler Loose (1 1/3in., 1h, 1r, 1er, 3bb, 1k).
Rangers A 001 0 -- 1 5 4
Laramie hitting -- Kevin Dooley (1b), Lance McCartney (1b), Kyle Alexander (1b, RBI), Travis Scott (1b), Ryan Spiker (1b). Laramie pitching -- Ryan Spiker (2in., 2h, 5r, 4er, 5bb, 2k), Tyler Loose (1 1/3in., 1h, 1r, 1er, 3bb, 1k).
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Laramie A splits with Gillette
by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org
It was a tale of two games Tuesday at Cowboy Field in a doubleheader between the Laramie Rangers American Legion A team and the Gillette Rustlers. The Rangers cruised to a 14-2 win in the first game, followed by a crushing defeat in game two by a score of 15-8. With the split, the Rangers A squad is now 3-3 on the season, while the Rustlers are 13-10.
The Rangers jumped out early in the opening contest and led 11-0 after two innings. The second game would tell a different tale as Gillette led 3-0 after the second-inning and eventually increased its lead to 10-0 heading into the fifth.
“I thought the first game was great,” Rangers
A coach Brandon Ruckman said. “We came out and put pressure on them right off the bat. We kept it up the whole game; Abel (Casas) threw strikes for us and the defense did their job.”
“In the first game we wanted to beat these guys, because they beat us down in the Casper tournament this past weekend,” third baseman Tyler Mitchell said. “So we really wanted to get ahead of them.”
The second game quickly went in Gillette’s favor, unlike in game one.
“We just came out flat,” Ruckman said. “We didn’t put pressure on them at all, and the defense didn’t do their jobs and things like that.”
“In the second game, we just kind of got over-confident and they jumped on us,” Mitchell said. “They’re (Gillette) a good team, but we had a couple guys step in. Lance McCartney came in and pitched really well and we started to pick it up hitting wise and found the gaps. That helped us out a lot.”
In the second game, Mitchell was 2-for-3 with a single and a grand-slam home run. The four-run inside the park blast came in the sixth-inning with the Rangers trailing 10-2.
“I was just hoping I could get around to third at best. I wasn’t expecting a grand slam,” Mitchell said. “I just wanted to get my teammates in and try and battle back. He (Gavin Riener) threw me a good pitch down the middle and I took advantage of it.”
The Rangers would add two more runs in the sixth to cut the lead to 10-8, but that was as close as Laramie would get. Gillette would add five runs in the seventh off of three hits to end any chance of a comeback for Laramie.
With a 3-3 record so far this season, the young Rangers don't have a whole lot to complain about, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.
“I think we have potential,” Ruckman said. “Right now it’s a roller coaster. We’ve won one, lost one, won one, lost one; it’s like we got happy with one victory when we could have had two. I think we need to come out and get fired up every game we play and not just one game.”
The Rangers A squad will be in action again Thursday when they take on the Rawlins Scorpions at Cowboy Field in a doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m.
Wyoming Sports.org
It was a tale of two games Tuesday at Cowboy Field in a doubleheader between the Laramie Rangers American Legion A team and the Gillette Rustlers. The Rangers cruised to a 14-2 win in the first game, followed by a crushing defeat in game two by a score of 15-8. With the split, the Rangers A squad is now 3-3 on the season, while the Rustlers are 13-10.
The Rangers jumped out early in the opening contest and led 11-0 after two innings. The second game would tell a different tale as Gillette led 3-0 after the second-inning and eventually increased its lead to 10-0 heading into the fifth.
“I thought the first game was great,” Rangers
A coach Brandon Ruckman said. “We came out and put pressure on them right off the bat. We kept it up the whole game; Abel (Casas) threw strikes for us and the defense did their job.”
“In the first game we wanted to beat these guys, because they beat us down in the Casper tournament this past weekend,” third baseman Tyler Mitchell said. “So we really wanted to get ahead of them.”
The second game quickly went in Gillette’s favor, unlike in game one.
“We just came out flat,” Ruckman said. “We didn’t put pressure on them at all, and the defense didn’t do their jobs and things like that.”
“In the second game, we just kind of got over-confident and they jumped on us,” Mitchell said. “They’re (Gillette) a good team, but we had a couple guys step in. Lance McCartney came in and pitched really well and we started to pick it up hitting wise and found the gaps. That helped us out a lot.”
In the second game, Mitchell was 2-for-3 with a single and a grand-slam home run. The four-run inside the park blast came in the sixth-inning with the Rangers trailing 10-2.
“I was just hoping I could get around to third at best. I wasn’t expecting a grand slam,” Mitchell said. “I just wanted to get my teammates in and try and battle back. He (Gavin Riener) threw me a good pitch down the middle and I took advantage of it.”
The Rangers would add two more runs in the sixth to cut the lead to 10-8, but that was as close as Laramie would get. Gillette would add five runs in the seventh off of three hits to end any chance of a comeback for Laramie.
With a 3-3 record so far this season, the young Rangers don't have a whole lot to complain about, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.
“I think we have potential,” Ruckman said. “Right now it’s a roller coaster. We’ve won one, lost one, won one, lost one; it’s like we got happy with one victory when we could have had two. I think we need to come out and get fired up every game we play and not just one game.”
The Rangers A squad will be in action again Thursday when they take on the Rawlins Scorpions at Cowboy Field in a doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Riders snap Rangers win streak
by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org
Gillette seems to have the Laramie Rangers number so far this season.
The AA Rangers American Legion baseball team was cruising along a nine-game winning streak until it faced the defending state champion Roughriders on Friday at Cowboy Field, falling 10-6.
The Rangers are now 10-2 on the year, with both losses coming at the hands of Gillette. The Roughriders beat the Rangers 8-5 in Gillette earlier this year. With the win, Gillette is now 18-10 on the year.
Gillette quickly opened out of the gates with five unanswered runs in the first two innings.
“They got up early,” Rangers manager Sean McKinney said. “They got up on us 5-0, but we didn’t give up, we came right back to them. I think the most important thing is to control our attitudes when we can and to close innings out when we have two outs.”
Laramie scored three runs in the fourth to cut the score to 6-3, but that was as close as the Rangers would get. Their fourth-inning threat was stopped when Anthony Cramer of Gillette struck out left fielder Lance McCartney with two men on to get out of the inning. Laramie would get no closer than the final score.
Second baseman Rylan Harding had a big day hitting the ball, going 2-for-4 with a double and a single, but the loss was tough.
“We can improve on keeping our heads up when we’re down,” Harding said. “We need to keep working on winning whether we are down or up. Know matter what the score is, we need to just keep peddling.”
“We did some pretty good things hitting the ball, but we couldn’t string multiple hits in an inning together,” assistant coach Kyle Deck said. “They (Gillette) did a pretty good job of limiting our innings. We just couldn’t get things going; they would put a stop to it.”
Laramie may not play Gillette again until the state tournament in Rock Springs from July 29-Aug. 2.
“Gillette is good, but they’re beatable just like anybody in this state is,” Harding said. “Every team is beatable on any given day, so we’ll come for them next time. We’ll be head-hunting.”
The Rangers return to action Sunday with a quick turnaround against Torrington Tigers, for a doubleheader beginning at noon in Torrington. On Thursday, Laramie swept the Tigers at Cowboy Field, winning 11-1 and 12-1.
Wyoming Sports.org
Gillette seems to have the Laramie Rangers number so far this season.
The AA Rangers American Legion baseball team was cruising along a nine-game winning streak until it faced the defending state champion Roughriders on Friday at Cowboy Field, falling 10-6.
The Rangers are now 10-2 on the year, with both losses coming at the hands of Gillette. The Roughriders beat the Rangers 8-5 in Gillette earlier this year. With the win, Gillette is now 18-10 on the year.
Gillette quickly opened out of the gates with five unanswered runs in the first two innings.
“They got up early,” Rangers manager Sean McKinney said. “They got up on us 5-0, but we didn’t give up, we came right back to them. I think the most important thing is to control our attitudes when we can and to close innings out when we have two outs.”
Laramie scored three runs in the fourth to cut the score to 6-3, but that was as close as the Rangers would get. Their fourth-inning threat was stopped when Anthony Cramer of Gillette struck out left fielder Lance McCartney with two men on to get out of the inning. Laramie would get no closer than the final score.
Second baseman Rylan Harding had a big day hitting the ball, going 2-for-4 with a double and a single, but the loss was tough.
“We can improve on keeping our heads up when we’re down,” Harding said. “We need to keep working on winning whether we are down or up. Know matter what the score is, we need to just keep peddling.”
“We did some pretty good things hitting the ball, but we couldn’t string multiple hits in an inning together,” assistant coach Kyle Deck said. “They (Gillette) did a pretty good job of limiting our innings. We just couldn’t get things going; they would put a stop to it.”
Laramie may not play Gillette again until the state tournament in Rock Springs from July 29-Aug. 2.
“Gillette is good, but they’re beatable just like anybody in this state is,” Harding said. “Every team is beatable on any given day, so we’ll come for them next time. We’ll be head-hunting.”
The Rangers return to action Sunday with a quick turnaround against Torrington Tigers, for a doubleheader beginning at noon in Torrington. On Thursday, Laramie swept the Tigers at Cowboy Field, winning 11-1 and 12-1.
Rangers A fall to Gillette in Casper
CASPER -- The Laramie Rangers A team opened the season with a tough 6-1 loss to the Gillette A team Friday in the Casper tourney.
Gillette scored four runs in the third inning to take control. Laramie's lone run came in the fourth inning.
Laramie finished with five hits in the game by five Rangers -- Taylor Bogges, Josh Peterson, Kyle Alexander, Tyler Loose and Dylan Watson.
Abel Casas took the loss on the mound for Laramie, pitching five innings and giving up five runs on five hits. Kevin Dooley pitched the other two innings, yielding one run on one hit.
Laramie will get back in action on Saturday in the tournament by facing a Montana team at 12:30 p.m. and the Cheyenne A squad at 3 p.m.
Gillette scored four runs in the third inning to take control. Laramie's lone run came in the fourth inning.
Laramie finished with five hits in the game by five Rangers -- Taylor Bogges, Josh Peterson, Kyle Alexander, Tyler Loose and Dylan Watson.
Abel Casas took the loss on the mound for Laramie, pitching five innings and giving up five runs on five hits. Kevin Dooley pitched the other two innings, yielding one run on one hit.
Laramie will get back in action on Saturday in the tournament by facing a Montana team at 12:30 p.m. and the Cheyenne A squad at 3 p.m.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
McKinney returns to the fold as Rangers keep winning with sweep of Torrington
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)