Laramie 9-10 All-Stars Outlast Cody 16-14

In tournament play sometimes it's as simple as survive and advance, and that's exactly what the Laramie 9 and 10 year old All-Stars did in their opening game at the 2013 State Little League Tournament. Laramie held off the Cody All-Stars for a 16-14 victory.

Laramie opened up a 9-1 lead thanks to a 4-runs in both the second and third innings, but Cody battled back with five in the bottom of the third. That put the score at 9-6 through three innings. It was 10-8 after the fourth, and then came a weather delay.

After neither team scored in the fifth, Laramie exploded for six runs in the sixth. With a 16-8 lead, they saw Cody mount a rally with six runs of their own in their final at-bat. Laramie was able to get the last two outs and survived for a 16-14 win.

Laramie 9-10 manager Jerry Dodd was relieved to gain the win. Dodd said, "Cody was a very good hitting team. Every time the top of the order came up, I was a little nervous. We rotated pitchers in a lot. I think we gave them different looks the whole time."

As for his squad surviving, Dodd said, "They're a gritty bunch. They're getting after it, and they're ready for anything."

Laramie totaled 12 hits in the game. Five of the hits were doubles. Jace Yerty led the way with two doubles and 3 RBI. Isaac Sell and Kyle Moore also had two hits apiece. Moore contributed an RBI double.

Sell tossed one and one-third innings and picked up the win on the mound.

Laramie moves on in the championship side of the 4-team double elimination bracket. They face Lander at 1 p.m. Thursday in their second game.

Dodd said of Lander, "They'll be tough. They're the number one seed, we're the number one seed, so it's gonna be a good game. If we get the win, we'll get a day off the next day (Friday). We're both probably looking to that. They're going to be tough. They're going to be just like Cody. Cody hit the ball well. I expect them (Lander) to hit the ball well, too."

The loser will face the winner of today's Cody-Gillette National game, which starts at 10 a.m.