Laramie Rangers Dominate Home Doubleheader

The Laramie Rangers opened Southeast Conference play and the home portion of their schedule with a doubleheader sweep of the Guernsey Grizzlies Monday night at Cowboy Field.

Laramie's Noah Hammontree tossed a no-hitter in the opener, as the Rangers rolled to a 15-0 victory in just three innings. Game two was an 11-1 win in just six innings.

Laramie manager Rich Wilson said of the sweep, "It certainly was the way you'd like for something like that to go. Step in there and take care of business; be in and out and collect the hits like we did."

In game one, Hammontree allowed only two base-runners, and they both reached on errors. He struck out six Grizzlies and threw only 42 total pitches for his first win on the mound this season.

"It was just nice tonight because I had Kacey (Bernaski) back there calling a good game," said Hammontree. "He (Kacey) was setting up; framing everything for me real nice; had a couple of 3-2 counts that he set up for me. So, it's always good to have a good catcher back there; really helps out, and I think it was just a good night for both of us."

Laramie produced plenty of offense early. The Rangers scored 10 runs in the first inning, as they sent 16 guys to the plate. Marshall Stuart and Taylor Dodd both had pair of RBI hits in the frame. Laramie then closed the game out with five more runs in the third.

Dodd led the way with three hits and three RBI. Four other Rangers had two hits apiece. They finished with 16 total hits, including five extra base hits.

Game two saw the Grizzlies take an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but Laramie quickly responded. They scored seven times in the first two innings. The Rangers added three runs in the fourth. Then, they finished the sweep with a run in the sixth, which ended the game on the 10-run mercy rule.

Hammontree led the offense in game two with four hits and three RBI. That was part of a 17-hit attack.

Reid Baty tossed five innings on the mound to get the victory. He gave up a run on three hits with seven strikeouts. Baty helped himself with three hits at the plate.

The Rangers have won four straight and have improved to 6-9 on the season.

After an off day Tuesday, Laramie plays a doubleheader at the Westco Zephyrs in Scottsbluff, NE on Wednesday. They will return home for another conference doubleheader Thursday against the Rawlins Generals.