Colts get back on track with win

by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

Nearly 16 hours after the Laramie Colts fell at home to the first-place Greeley Grays, they suited up again to take on the second-place Cheyenne Grizzlies Thursday at Cowboy Field.

The Colts, 9-10, showed some signs of life after two previous defeats, stopping the Grizzlies 6-5. Cheyenne is now 9-8. The Colts have taken three of the four meetings with the Grizzlies so far this season.

The Colts would strike first, beginning with a two-run double by second baseman Tyler Kipke. Laramie would tack on one more to end the inning with a 3-0 lead.

“I was just looking for a good pitch to hit,” Kipke said. “I was just looking for that fast ball to hit and he (Cheyenne starting pitcher Josh Boyer) threw it up and left it in the zone, and I drove it up the middle.”

However, Cheyenne would come right back. The Colts led 3-1 in the top of the fourth with two outs, until an error by Laramie short stop Tyler Park allowed two Grizzlies to score to tie the game.

The score would remain tied going into the bottom of the fifth when the game was stopped for 80 minutes because of lightning.

The Colts would load the bases in the sixth inning and capitalize off of a sacrifice bunt by catcher Jesse Tierney, scoring two runs for a 5-3 lead.

The bases would be loaded again for the Colts in the seventh inning, but this time they could only manage one run off of a walk from Cheyenne pitcher Leo Rosetti for a 6-3 lead.

Cheyenne would come back in the eighth inning and load the bases and score two runs to get within one, but a double play by the Colts halted the Grizzlies rally with Laramie clinging to a 6-5 lead.

The Colts would call on pitcher Ryan Forest to close the game out in the top of the ninth, and he stopped Cheyenne in order to preserve the win.

“Today, our goal was to go out and get the first guy out pitching and get some good plays on defense and let the hitting take care of itself,” Kipke said. “Him (Forest) going and getting that first guy out is big and not allowing any runs in that last inning was big, not only for our teams morale, but for our defense as well.”

“We get the unconventional double play to get out of the inning and that allowed us to bring Ryan (Forest) in,” Colts manager Ryan Goodwin said. “I know being an ex-closer myself, you always love coming in with nobody on so you can work in your own jams, and so we decided to change the lookup for Ryan and he did a fine job in the ninth.”

The Colts will be in action again Friday, beginning a four game road trip starting in Greeley, Colo., against the Grays at 6:35 p.m.