Rangers Victory Was a Dozen Years in the Making

It’s something that hasn’t happened since July 31, 2005. The Laramie Rangers beat Cheyenne Post 6 on the baseball diamond Sunday in Casper.

Laramie rallied from a pair of early deficits and came through with a 10-6 victory. It not only marked their first win over Post 6 in nearly 12 years, but was also Laramie’s first win of the 2017 season. In a twist of fate, the last time the Rangers beat Post 6 was a Mike Lansing Field in Casper, which was the site of Sunday's game.

Manager Brandon Ruckman said it doesn’t get much better than that.

“We know who we were playing, and everybody knows who we were playing. They’re a tough team. Anytime you’re playing the defending state champs five games in a row, that’s a tough go. To actually get a victory against them; it’s been a long time since Laramie’s beat them; so it was a good day at the park.”

The Rangers trailed 2-0 after the first inning. It was 3-2 Cheyenne after three.

Caleb Eaton had the big hit, as he came through with a two-run double in the fourth that gave Laramie the lead for good. Blake Moore added a sacrifice fly. That was part of a stretch where the Rangers scored two or three runs in four straight innings.

Eaton and Logan Pickard added RBI singles in a three-run sixth for a 10-3 lead.

Albert Steiner went six innings and got the win on the mound. He surrendered only two hits with five walks and three strikeouts. Steiner allowed six runs, but only five were earned. Eaton pitched the seventh, gave up one hit and preserved the victory.

Ruckman said of Steiner’s performance, “Once he’s warmed up, ready to go, he’s a great pitcher; great control. He did a fantastic job, and it doesn’t get much better than that… Albert really stepped up for us in the first game.”

Moore went 4-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Eaton was 3-5 with three RBI’s. Pickard added a pair of hits and drove in three. That was all part of a 14-hit attack.

Ruckman said the key was, “You’ve got to minimize the errors; keep it under three errors if we can. We gotta hit from the first inning to seventh inning… We were consistently putting pressure on them throughout the game. Against a good team like Cheyenne, you have to hit, and you have to play good defense, and that’s exactly what they did.”

Unfortunately, Laramie wasn’t able to sustain the momentum and lost their second game Sunday against the Casper Oilers. The final was 14-4 in six innings.

The Rangers scored twice in the first and led 2-0 entering the bottom of the third inning. That’s when Casper exploded for six runs and took the lead for good. The Oilers put another six spot on the board and closed out the game in the sixth inning.

Moore led the offense with three hits and an RBI. Reid Baty started and suffered the loss on the mound.

Laramie (1-5) returns to action Saturday with a doubleheader at Douglas. It starts at noon from Nida Field.