Incredible Comeback Highlights the Laramie Rangers Tournament Weekend

It was a 2-3 weekend at the Cheyenne Firecracker Tournament for the Laramie Rangers legion baseball team.

After splitting their four pool play games, the Rangers lost to Cheyenne Post 6 in Sunday’s match play by a final of 6-0.

Laramie (15-18) won their opener last Thursday 11-7 over Colorado Gameday. Nate Hill’s two-run triple in the sixth inning put the Rangers in front for good. Henry Yates added an RBI single and another run scored on a wild pitch. Relief pitcher Wes Yerty recorded the win on the mound.

Last Friday, Laramie played twice and split their games. They lost the opener to Colorado Pro Swing 6-4. The Rangers had a 3-1 lead until Pro Swing scored five runs in the sixth inning.

The nightcap saw a wild rally by the Rangers, as they beat the Cheyenne Hawks, 11-8. Laramie trailed 8-0 through the fifth inning. They had only one hit and three total base runners during that time. Then, the Rangers would score 11 runs with two outs in the sixth and seventh innings.

Manager Brandon Ruckman said it was a great comeback.

“The guys kept fighting back. Early in the game, we just had some bad approaches at the plate. We told them to be patient and get your pitch, and it was the opposite of that; just some weak ground balls. I think we had only one hit through five innings, and all of the sudden, just turned it up a notch and came back.”

Laramie scored three times in the sixth on an RBI single from Cameron Campbell and plated two runs thanks to a Cheyenne error.

In the seventh, the Rangers had a pair of clutch hits. Blake Moore singled to right field on a 3-2 pitch. That drove in two runs and trimmed the Hawks lead to 8-7. Then, pinch hitter Treyven Armijo tied the game with an RBI single to right. Henry Yates reached on another error that gave Laramie the lead. Harrison Yates capped the barrage with a two-run triple to deep left field.

Ruckman added that Blake’s and Treyven’s were two great hits.

“Without those two, we definitely wouldn’t have been in it… I felt comfortable with Treyven… I felt like it was his time… and Blake finally had a big hit, too. That was great to see.”

The Hawks had two batters reach on walks in their half of the seventh, but a fly ball to right field ended the game. Laramie won with the improbably comeback, 11-8.

In their final pool play game, the Rangers lost to the Casper Oilers last Saturday. The final score was 15-7. Casper scored five runs in the second inning to grab the lead and never relinquished it. Henry Yates smacked a three-run home run in the third, which pulled Laramie within 5-3, but that’s as close as the Rangers got.

In Sunday’s match play game, Laramie was held to four hits in the 6-0 loss to Cheyenne Post 6.

Cheyenne scored twice in the first, three in the second and again with a run in the third. It all came off losing pitcher Albert Steiner.

Ruckman said, “They played a decent game, but couldn’t string hits together.”

The Rangers return to action Tuesday with a home doubleheader against Colorado Blue Chip. It begins at 3 p.m. at Cowboy Field.