Laramie Rangers Split Their Weekend Action

It was four different types of games for the Laramie Rangers over the weekend, as they swept Wheatland Saturday and lost both at Douglas Sunday.

The Rangers rolled past the Lobos in their home debut 16-2 in just four-and-a-half innings Saturday at Cowboy Field. In game two, Laramie rallied for a 10-8 victory.

Manager Brandon Ruckman said it was good to get a pair of wins.

“It was a great day for baseball. Great of these guys. They’ve been working really hard, so it’s really good to see them get two wins.”

The bats woke up Saturday. After hitting just .200 as a team in the first six games, Laramie had 20 hits in the sweep of Wheatland.

The Rangers trailed 2-0, but answered with four runs in the first and took the lead for good. Michael Schutterle had a two-run single. They sent 12 batters to the plate in the second and scored eight more runs. Schutterle, Matt Smith, and Baden Jordan had RBI hits, while Albert Steiner capped it with a two-run triple. Laramie scored four more times in the third.

David Coulthard threw all five innings for the victory. He held the Lobos to two unearned runs on five hits. Coulthard walked two and struck out eight. Steiner had three hits and two RBI’s, while Schutterle and Jordan added two hits and drove in two runs apiece.

Ruckman said they stayed within themselves offensively.

“We moved runners over. We had a lot of two-out RBI’s. Driving runners in was definitely an improvement from the last couple of weekends.”

In game two, the Rangers were held in check by Wheatland lefty Joel Anderson for four innings. Down 8-3, Laramie chased Anderson in the fifth and tied it with five runs. Caleb Eaton and Jordan had RBI hits, while Logan Pickard capped it with a two-run triple. Schutterle’s two-run triple in the sixth put the Rangers on top. Pickard closed it out with a 1-2-3 seventh. Pickard threw two innings and got the win in relief.

Ruckman added of the rally, “It’s great to see. They do have the will to come back and aren’t just going to roll-over and let ‘em take the win. So, it’s good to see them fight back.”

Sunday was a different story on the road. The Rangers were swept in Douglas by the Cats, 8-2 and 17-16.

Mason Barker held Laramie to two runs on three hits in the opener. Douglas built a 5-1 lead and added three insurance runs in the sixth. The Rangers also committed five errors defensively. Matt Smith took the loss on the mound.

Game two was a back-and-forth slugfest. It featured five lead changes. Laramie led 3-0 in the first, but the Cats responded with seven runs. The Rangers scored eight runs over the next three innings for an 11-7 lead. Douglas came right back with five in the fifth. Three more in the sixth gave the Cats a 15-12 cushion. Laramie scored five in the sixth highlighted by Will Yates’ two-run double and had a 16-15 lead.

A walk, an error, and a hit batter were followed by a two-run single from Ransom Ollie that gave Douglas the victory. The Rangers had the tying run at third, but two strikeouts and a pop-up ended the game.

Albert Steiner had three hits and three RBI’s, while Logan Pickard added two doubles and drove in four runs. Michael Schutterle took the loss in relief.

Laramie returns home for their next action Wednesday night. It will be a single, 7-inning game versus the Cheyenne Hawks from Cowboy Field. Game time is 5:30 p.m.