Grays outlast Colts to sweep doubleheader

By Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

The Colts and Grays had their own Laramie marathon Wednesday at Cowboy Field.

The Colts finished second.

In a scheduled doubleheader that was to begin at 1 p.m., the two teams finally left the field at 10:30 p.m. when it was all said and done. It was Greeley that battled the hardest as it swept the Colts 13-10 and 5-4 in Mountain Collegiate Baseball League action. Both clubs now sit at 3-3. Laramie falls to 1-3 at home.

The twinbill got off to a late start with the umpires stuck in traffic on Interstate-80 because of an accident. The first pitch of the contest did not happen until 2:05 p.m.

The game was tied at 2-2, until the weather reared its ugly head once again and a delay was called in the bottom of the first inning. The game would resume at 3:20 p.m., with the Colts clinging to a 3-2 lead. The Colts would increase their lead to 9-2 heading into the seventh inning and rain would disrupt the game again. The umpires discussed to call the game in the seventh, but both coaches opted to play a full nine innings if the weather permitted.

“Yeah, when we pulled up that very last time, we decided if we got anything else, then we were probably going to be done,” Laramie manager Ryan Goodwin said. “It just wasn’t quite enough to end it, so we just kept going. I mean, you got to play.”

This turned out to be a great decision for Greeley coach Dan Zuberbier, but not so much for Goodwin, as the Grays would come back to tie the game at 9-9 to force extra innings.

The Grays would score four runs in the 10th off of three hits to take a 13-9 lead. The Colts would have one last chance to tie or win the game as center fielder Jonathon Olla got things started with a double, followed by designated hitter Kyle Roliard hitting an RBI single, which sent Olla home to cut the lead to 13-10. However, that would be as close as Laramie would get as the Colts could not match the Grays comeback.

Laramie concluded game one with 14 hits, but it was not enough.

“To me, if the weather played a factor, then that shows me that we’re a weak team mentally,” Goodwin said. “It didn’t affect Greeley. They came out and kept plugging away and they kept fighting around adversity. Game one; we had no business losing that game, that’s just a poor job on our part.”

“You just got to show up to play, regardless of the weather,” Olla said. “I mean, we probably had a rain delay three or four times, but the other team (Greeley) didn’t have a problem coming out focused and coming out hot still. That is just a lack of focus on our part.”

It was still raining when game two got underway at 7:15 p.m. The contest would be close from the get-go. It was 2-2 after three innings and then Greeley went up 4-2, but Laramie crawled right back and tied it after the fifth inning.

Greeley would retake the lead at 5-4 in the sixth-inning off of a wild-pitch from Alex Alemann that got past catcher Jesse Tierney, as Greeley second baseman Adam Victorn stole third and crossed home plate. However, this time Laramie could not answer Greeley’s run, which resulted in the final score.

“It was a lack of execution,” Goodwin said. “We never could seem to keep their lead hitter off base and we never seem to get ours on. That was a major difference to me right there.”

On the day, Olla was 4-for-8 with three singles and a double.

“We just got to do the little things,” Olla said. “Pitchers have to get the lead-off hitter, we can’t keep giving them walks. Hitters have to do the little things like bunting; we missed two sac-bunts today, that’s big. When we have runners on third base with two outs, we got to score them (runners) and not strike out.”

Laramie left fielder Daniel “Ike” Eichelberger did not play on Wednesday, as he was selected in the 20th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft by the Los Angeles Angels.

“It’s pretty rewarding,” Goodwin said. “To know where he came from, and to think that myself and all of us could help make that difference someday of helping him reach his dream of making it to the major leagues. That’s why you do this, it’s why you’re around it, and you’re hoping you can help that guy. I know Ike from when he came to us a couple summers ago to where his now as a player and as a person. I can’t help but wish him the best.”

The Colts will be in action again Friday at Cowboy Field against the Cheyenne Grizzlies, beginning at 6:35 p.m.