Colts send owners, Goodwin out with a title

Richard Anderson photo
Laramie manager Ryan Goodwin, right, talks to Tyler Kipke Saturday at Cowboy Field.

by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

With the Laramie Colts winning their second straight Mountain Collegiate Baseball League post-season title, and third overall Saturday night, they have now established themselves as the class of the MCBL.

In the league's five years of existence, Laramie has now won two regular-season titles and three post-season titles to Fort Collins’ two post-season titles and two regular-season titles, while Cheyenne has one regular-season title.

Owners Matt and Heidi Peterson have built a winning tradition for the fans in Laramie, but the tradition will continue in a different direction, as the franchise was sold to Dr. Kent Kleppinger and his wife, Nicko, both of Laramie.

“I think it’s great for them,” Colts center fielder Josh Warren said of winning the championship for Matt and Heidi Peterson. “They’ve put in so much time and effort and money into this team. The fact that we could come out and do that at the end; I’m sure it means the world to them. It means the world to us, too. It’s fun to end the summer like that.”

Dr. Kleppinger is no stranger to the Colts serving as team doctor, as well as being a season ticket holder.

It is safe to say the winning tradition will continue in Laramie with some familiar faces returning. However, among those faces will not be Colts manger Ryan Goodwin, as he will step down after compiling a 96-55 record at the helm in three years in Laramie.

“This is it,” Goodwin said. “I love Laramie and I love this organization and I’m going to do everything I can to help them (the Kleppingers) out, but I feel with them coming in as new owners and also me, I don’t want to say I’m looking for a new challenge, but I would like to give another league a try if I’m going to coach next summer. I just think it’s in everyone’s best interest if I step down right now and help them (the Kleppingers) find a great replacement to keep this tradition going.”

The Colts will miss Goodwin's leadership, Warren said.

“Even when we’ve struggled this year he’s always believed in us,” Warren said. “He’s always believed we’re the best team put together. He did a good job of keeping that in our heads and keeping us upbeat. I think that’s the way it ended up at the end because we got here (to the MCBL championship) and believed we were better (than Cheyenne) and we went out and proved it.”

After losing a heart breaking game one on the road Friday, the Laramie Colts put it all together at the right time and won their second straight MCBL title with a pair of wins on Saturday.
Earlier in the day at Cowboy Field, the Colts, 26-23, stayed alive by stopping the Grizzlies 8-3, before winning the championship at Pioneer Park in Cheyenne with an 8-5 victory.

Kyle Roliard picked up the win in the second game against Cheyenne to finish 5-0 on the season. Roliard went 6 1/3 innings and gave up seven hits and four runs, walking two and striking out three.

“The biggest thing people don’t know about Kyle is we actually had to shut him down the last eight, nine, 10 days because he had tendinitis in his shoulder,” Goodwin said. “We weren’t even sure, until about two days ago, that he was even going to be able to answer the bell if we got to this situation. To come out and give us 98 pitches and give us 6 1/3 and get us to the point where we could turn it over to the veterans like Ryan (Forrest) and Nathan (Hardy), I can’t say enough about the effort he gave out there and what he did against a great hitting lineup in Cheyenne. I can’t say enough to the credit of those guys.”

Laramie jumped on Cheyenne early, scoring three runs in the first and leading 8-1 heading into the bottom seventh. The Grizzlies battled back with three in the inning and one more in the eighth, but Nathan Hardy, in for Ryan Forrest, shut the door with a perfect ninth inning for the save.

“We just wanted to come out and play and have fun,” Warren said. “We got the W (win) today. Everybody is flying high right now; it’s a great way to end a summer with a great group of guys.”

Offensively, the Colts finished with 12 hits, led by Warren, Keith Towne, Erik DeJong and Casey Martin, who all had two hits in the game. Towne knocked in three runs, with DeJong and Martin with two RBI each. DeJong had a home run in the game for Laramie.

Colts take two from Grizzlies, win MCBL title

Richard Anderson photo
Laramie outfielder Josh Warren, 19, is congratulated by teammates after scoring a run Saturday in game two of the Mountain Collegiate Baseball League Championship Series against Cheyenne.

by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

After losing a heart breaking game one on the road Friday, the Laramie Colts put it all together at the right time and won their second straight Mountain Collegiate Baseball League title with a pair of wins on Saturday.

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Earlier in the day at Cowboy Field, the Colts, 26-23, stayed alive by stopping the Grizzlies 8-3, before winning the championship at Pioneer Park in Cheyenne with an 8-5 victory.

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Kyle Roliard picked up the win in the second game against Cheyenne to finish 5-0 on the season. Roliard went 6 1/3 innings and gave up seven hits and four runs, walking two and striking out three.

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Laramie jumped on Cheyenne early, scoring three runs in the first and leading 8-1 heading into the bottom seventh. The Grizzlies battled back with three in the inning and one more in the eighth, but Nathan Hardy, in for Ryan Forrest, shut the door with a perfect ninth inning for the save.

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Offensively, the Colts finished with 12 hits, led by Josh Warren, Keith Towne, Erik DeJong and Casey Martin, who all had two hits in the game. Towne knocked in three runs, with DeJong and Martin with two RBI each. DeJong had a home run in the game for Laramie.

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Look for comments from Laramie manager Ryan Goodwin and Warren on the title on Sunday in Wyoming Sports.org.

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Laramie 8, Cheyenne 3 (Saturday's First Game)

The Grizzlies got on the board first this time when right fielder Donovan Petta hit an RBI single to send in catcher Michael Surina for a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning.

The Colts would come back in the bottom half when Martin blasted a solo inside the park home run to the left field wall to tie things up.

“The last time I got a home run like that the bases were a lot closer together,” Martin said. “It’s one of those things you don’t expect, but it got us rolling a little bit. Once you get that one run under your belt, it’s a lot easier to kind of go out and relax a little bit.”

Laramie was not done there, as Warren hit a sacrifice ground out to first base to score right fielder Brock Guetzke, and then two batters later, catcher Jesse Tierney's single that scored shortstop Eric Cain and second baseman Tyler Kipke for a 4-1 lead after two innings.

Laramie kept things going in the fourth when Kipke hit an RBI single that sent Warren home to lead 5-1 heading into the fifth.

Cheyenne stayed within striking distance after left fielder Nikolas Frederick belted an RBI double to center field that scored second baseman Sam McNeil, cutting the lead to 5-2 after five innings.

The Grizzlies scored again in the sixth because of a balk by relief pitcher Kolt Browder that allowed Surina to score making it 5-3 going into the seventh inning.

The Colts would get some much needed insurance in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI single by Tierney, an RBI double by Towne and an RBI single by Martin for an 8-3 lead and the Grizzlies would get no closer.

Browder got the win on the mound through five innings with only allowing one hit.

“Kolt (Browder) is a kid that’s really grown up since the summer started,” Goodwin said. “It’s very fulfilling as a coach to see a guy like him grow up the way he has from May 30th to coming out here today to the biggest situation in the year and he steps up and shuts them (Cheyenne) down when we needed him to.”

Laramie had 13 hits compared to just seven for Cheyenne. Martin went 2-for-2 with a home run and a single for two RBIs with a walk.

“It’s good to have momentum going into this last game,” Martin said. “Yesterday, we kind of lost the momentum coming into today and we were able to fight it off today.”

“I love these pressure games and playing for all the marbles,” added Goodwin. “You really find out who steps up and who you’re true players are.”

Grizzlies rally past Colts in 10

by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

CHEYENNE -- The Cheyenne Grizzlies overcame a late three-run deficit to rally past Laramie 5-4 in 10 innings in the first game of the Mountain Collegiate Baseball League championship series Friday night at Pioneer Park.

Laramie, 24-23, can force a decisive game three back in Cheyenne Saturday night with a win at home Saturday afternoon (12:35 p.m.) at Cowboy Field. Cheyenne, 27-16, can win its first MCBL championship with a win in Laramie.

“We probably should have won,” Colts manager Ryan Goodwin said. “I thought we made a couple more mistakes than they did and some things got out of whack there. I also feel like I can look at two key pitches in that game that went against us that if they go differently, we’re winning that game no matter what.”

The Colts would strike first, thanks to a single and two stolen bases by second baseman Tyler Kipke, which allowed him to come home when center fielder Josh Warren grounded out to first base for a 1-0 lead after the first inning.

Cheyenne would answer in the second inning when right fielder Donovan Petta hit an RBI sacrifice fly to right field that sent catcher Michael Surina home to tie things up 1-1 heading into the third inning.

Laramie would retake the lead in the top of third after Grizzlies shortstop David LeResche bobbled a ground ball by Colts designated hitter Keith Towne, allowing him to get to first base safely, scoring Kipke. Warren would then come home off a wild-pitch from Cheyenne starting pitcher Josh Boyer for a 3-1 lead after three innings.

The Colts would increase their lead in the top of the seventh when Kipke scored his third run of the day after first baseman Casey Martin got a sacrifice ground out to first base to lead 4-1.

The Grizzlies would stay close and answer with a run of their own in the bottom half with center fielder Kyle Konicek scoring off a ground out to first base by third baseman Sam Radbil, making the score 4-2.

Cheyenne was not done there, as it would tie things up in the eighth with two-out RBI singles by Konicek and Radbil.

The Grizzlies would then load the bases in the bottom of the ninth with one out, but Nathan Hardy relieved closer Ryan Forrest and got the final two outs to force extra innings.

Laramie could not score in the top of the 10th and it came down to the final out in the bottom of the inning for the Grizzlies. Second baseman Sam McNeil hit the game winning RBI single for the 5-4 come from behind victory.

The Colts will try to stave off elimination Saturday in the friendly confines of Cowboy Field. If Laramie wins, there will be a deciding game three at Pioneer Park at 7 p.m.

“We need to stay mentally locked in and that’s how we’re going to win it,” Goodwin said of game two. “We can’t make the mistakes when we make them because that puts us in tough situations. If we come out tomorrow and don’t make mistakes, then we’ll be fine. We’ll be all right.”

Colts hold on to advance to championship series

by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

The Laramie Colts advanced to the Mountain Collegiate Baseball League championship by holding off the Greeley Grays 11-9 in the single elimination first-round playoffs at Cowboy Field Thursday night.

Laramie, 24-22, will begin a best-of-three championship series with the MCBL regular-season champion Cheyenne Grizzlies, beginning in Cheyenne. Game two will be in Laramie and game three (if necessary) will be in Cheyenne.

After limping into the post-season, it certainly did not show for the Colts Thursday. Trailing 1-0 after one inning, Laramie tied things up when third baseman Erik DeJong grounded out to first, which allowed Colts first baseman Casey Martin to score.

Laramie used a big third inning, scoring three runs off of two hits. The scoring started on an errant throw by Grays second baseman Nick Huckaby that sailed wide of first baseman Greg Herbst, sending Colts second baseman Tyler Kipke home. Laramie shortstop Eric Cain hit a two-run RBI single sending in catcher Jesse Tierney and designated hitter Keith Towne for a 4-1 lead.

Greeley would make up a run in the top of the fourth inning when designated hitter Rhys Roberts got an RBI walk off of Laramie starting pitcher Alex Alemann.

The Colts answered that run in the bottom half of the inning when Kipke hit an RBI single bringing home right fielder Lee Orr to up their lead to 5-2 going into the fifth inning.

Both defenses held serve for the next two-and-a-half innings, until Orr stole third in the seventh inning and scored on an errant throw by Grays catcher Nick Stepanovich that put the lead at 6-2.

The Colts would some much needed insurance runs in the eighth inning when a two-run throwing error scored Towne and Martin, and Cain would come home off an RBI triple by Orr. Laramie made it 11-2 when Orr scored off Kipke’s second RBI single of the night.

Greeley was not ready to quit playing and rallied in the ninth with seven runs starting with a two-run double by Herbst. Right fielder Cotton Nolan got an RBI walk off Colts reliever Branden Jamison and O’Dowd and Stepanovich scored off a dropped ball by Cain. Nolan scored off an RBI walk, left fielder Darron Lattomus came home off an RBI single by third baseman Patrick Roche, and Leo then came home off an RBI sacrifice fly by Huckaby.

The Colts, however, finally shut the door and ended Greeley's comeback attempt and ended the Grays season.

“I would have liked to thrown the knockout punch in the bottom of the eighth,” Colts manager Ryan Goodwin said. “Once they got a couple guys going, you just had that feeling that was way scarier then we wanted, but a dub’s (W) a dub and you just move on and fight the next day.”

Laramie had 11 hits on the day, highlighted by Tierney going 3-for-6 with three singles.

“In the playoffs, you just got to be able to shut the door,” Tierney said. “I think that’s going to be the biggest thing in these next couple of days is getting the lead and giving them (Cheyenne) no life. What we did tonight is just keep giving them stuff; pitchers are getting behind in their counts later in the game and taking bad approaches, but all in all it was a team win today.”

Alemann got the win on the mound through eight innings, allowing 12 hits and striking out six.

The Colts will begin the championship series Friday against the Cheyenne Grizzlies, with game one beginning at 7 p.m. Game two will be Saturday at Cowboy Field at 12:30 p.m. If both teams split the first two games, then the series will move to a deciding game three in Cheyenne on Saturday at 7 p.m.

“We got (starting pitcher) Taylor Henry on the bump tomorrow,” Goodwin said. “We’ll just go out and take our approaches with us. If we can go out and steal the opening game at their (Cheyenne) place, then that puts us in the drivers seat giving us a chance to clinch at home and you can’t ask for more than anything then that.”

Tierney said it would be big for the Colts to win that first game.

“Coming back (to Laramie) with home-field advantage, with the way we’ve been playing here lately, it’s been pretty good," Tierney said. "Getting up 1-0 on the series is huge; we need to shut the door right on Cheyenne and let them have no life.”

Colts' notes
The Colts will be under new ownership next season, as owners Matt and Heidi Peterson sold the franchise to team doctor and long time Laramie physician Kent Kleppinger.

“We owe Matt and Heidi a lot,” Tierney said. They’ve been doing a lot for us. This is my first year here and bringing home a championship to them would be awesome; it would be a pretty big accomplishment for us.”

Colts-Grays rained out

The Laramie Colts Mountain Collegiate Baseball League playoff game with the Greeley Grays scheduled for Wednesday night at Cowboy Field was rained out.

The two teams will try again at 6:35 p.m. on Thursday. The winner of the second-place/third-place game will take on regular-season champion Cheyenne in a best of three format.

Laramie manager Ryan Goodwin said that there was still some discussion on the rest of the tournament schedule, which could possibly be Friday through Sunday. That still is up in the air, though, as the league might try to finish the tournament sometime on Saturday.

Colts continue to struggle, fall to Foxes

by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

Same story, different day for the Laramie Colts, as the Fort Collins Foxes used a five run first inning to pull away for a 7-2 win in Mountain Collegiate Baseball League action at Cowboy Field Tuesday night.

The frustrations of the highs and lows in the 2009 MCBL regular season have appeared to catch up to the Colts, with the home crowd witnessing the ejections of Laramie manager Ryan Goodwin and left fielder Jonathon Olla in the sixth inning for arguing calls by the home plate umpire.

What was shaping up as a promising regular-season finish with a league high six-game winning streak, has quickly turned sour, as the Colts have been beaten up in three straight games.

While repeating as back-to-back-to-back regular season champions is still possible, the Colts more likely will play for second place for the right to host a first-round playoff game.

However, that game may be against the Foxes, a team that has taken seven-out-of-12 meeting from Laramie this season. If the playoffs started today, then the Colts would host the Greeley Grays, a team they have been more fortunate against this season, but the Foxes are making a strong case for the post season riding a four-game winning streak, while the Grays have lost seven straight.

Fort Collins, 15-21, took a 7-0 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth when first baseman Cameron Duckworth hit an RBI single sending third baseman Eddie Allen home.

Laramie, 22-20, would finally get on the board in the bottom half when right fielder Lee Orr hit an RBI single of his own, scoring center fielder Josh Warren in his first game back from a hamstring injury.

“It’s doing better,” Warren said of his hamstring. “It’s still pretty tight, but I wanted to get back out and get going again and get a couple games in before we go down the last little stretch. It’s at least strong enough that I can run.”

Colts shortstop Eric Cain would lead off the bottom of the ninth inning with a single and would eventually score off a ground out by first base by Kolt Browder, but that would be all Laramie could muster in defeat.

“I just think we need to relax and play like we have been,” Warren said. “We’ve kind of got really up tight the last few games for some reason. We’re not playing like we can, this team plays best when we’re loose and just having a good time. I think if we just get back to that, then we’ll hit the ball a lot better and have fun and we’ll win.”

Laramie will hit the road for two games, starting Thursday in Fort Collins, Colo., hoping the third time is a charm against the Foxes at 6:15 p.m., followed by back-to-back games with the first place Cheyenne Grizzlies beginning on the road Sunday at 7 p.m., then with the conclusion of the regular season at Cowboy Field Monday at 6:35 p.m.

Colts fall to Foxes, drop second straight

by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

The Laramie Colts have yet to shake the cobwebs of the end of a recent six-game winning streak, as last place Fort Collins rolled to an 11-5 win Monday night at Cowboy Field.

It was a windy and cold night at the ballpark, and Colts first baseman Casey Martin refused to use the weather as an excuse.

“Actually, we did a pretty good job with it,” Martin said of the wind. “It was definitely a factor, but the wind was blowing for them (Fort Collins) too, so you can’t blame it (the loss) on that.”

Laramie, 22-19, has now lost two straight, including a humbling 17-5 defeat to the league-leading Cheyenne Grizzlies 17-5 in Cheyenne Sunday night.

The Colts remain in second place of the Mountain Collegiate Baseball League standings, but are running out of time to catch the Grizzlies.

Meanwhile, Fort Collins has now won three straight and is making a late playoff push.

The Foxes got off to a quick start scoring in four of the first five innings, jumping all over the Colts for an 8-0 lead.

Laramie did not get anything going until the bottom of the fourth inning when a throwing error by Fort Collins shortstop Josh Lopez allowed Colts first baseman Casey Martin to safely reach first, scoring two runs.

Colts center fielder Lee Orr hit a double in the fifth and would later score off a wild pitch to cut the lead to 8-3.

Fort Collins answered in the top of the seventh with three runs to make it 11-3.

Laramie would try to rally in the eighth when Martin scored off a sacrifice fly hit by second baseman Eric Cain, followed by an RBI single scoring third baseman Eric Krznaric. That would be as close as the Colts would get, as they fell to 2-4 against the Foxes at home this season.

“We missed a lot of opportunities tonight. We had some guys on base and we left them out there,” Martin said. “I think that’s the big thing; we get guys on base, especially in scoring position with less than two outs, you know, we got to get those guys in. We had the bases loaded a couple times today.”

Colts manager Ryan Goodwin was unavailable for comment.

The two teams will meet again Tuesday night at Cowboy Field, beginning at 6:35 p.m.

Colts roll for fourth straight win

by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

The Laramie Colts continued their hot streak, defeating the Greeley Grays 10-4 for their fourth straight win Thursday at Cowboy Field.

Laramie, 20-17, surpasses Greeley for second place in the Mountain Collegiate Baseball League standings, sitting right behind the Cheyenne Grizzlies.

Colts manager Ryan Goodwin has preached consistency to his team all season long, and now it definitely seems to be paying off at the right time.

“Everybody is just stepping up when we need it,” Goodwin said. “Like tonight, Josh Warren is out and he’ll probably be out at least three or four more days with his hamstring (injury), but we’ve got the depth and that’s why you bring in these guys.”

Laramie would get off to a slow start when starting pitcher Alex Alemann allowed an RBI single from Grays first baseman Greg Herbst in the bottom of the first inning.

However, it was all Colts after that, as they would score seven unanswered runs over the next three innings to take a commanding 7-1 lead.

Colts third baseman Eric Krznaric got the scoring started with a RBI sacrifice fly to center field that sent center fielder Lee Orr home. Left fielder Jonathon Olla would step to the plate next and belt an RBI double to score right fielder Brock Guetzke, as Laramie took a 2-1 lead into the third inning.

Laramie continued to pile it on when designated hitter Keith Towne got his first hit with an RBI single that scored catcher Jesse Tierney for a 3-1 advantage.

The Colts would erupt in the fourth inning, getting four hits off of Greeley starting pitcher Troy Brown. Guetzke led off with a single, which set up his score when Olla hit an RBI sacrifice fly to right field. Shortstop Tyler Park and Tierney each had RBI singles.

Grays left fielder Darron Lattomus hit an RBI single in the top of the sixth, sending second baseman Nick Huckaby home to cut the lead to 7-2.

Laramie shortstop Tyler Kipke would answer in the bottom of the sixth with his second home run of the year, as he smacked a solo shot over the right field wall to make it 8-2.

Greeley still would not go away, as Huckaby and Herbst hit RBI singles to cut the lead to 8-4. Alemann was relieved midway through the top of the eighth by closer Ryan Forrest.

On this day, the Colts had an answer for every Grays threat. The final answer came from pinch hitter Kolt Browder in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run home run over the right center field wall to close the door on Greeley for good.

“Earlier this summer with two strikes, he still would have been trying to do too much,” Goodwin said of Browder’s home run. “Right there, he just put a nice and easy swing on that ball and it just went out to right center.”

Laramie had 13 hits on the day, including a perfect 5-for-5 performance from Tierney, who had four singles, a triple and two RBI.

“The last couple wins have all been team, you know,” Tierney said. “Goody (Goodwin) has finally got us in a set rotation, where everybody is playing fairly well. Some guys will have off nights and other guys are picking each other up, which is helping us win. When you score 10-plus runs in four straight games, it’s kind of hard to beat a team.”

Alemann got the win, giving up eight hits, striking our four.

The Colts will go for five in-a-row Friday in Fort Collins, Colo., against the Foxes, beginning at 6:15 p.m.

“With our lineup and our pitching we’re definitely the team to beat,” Tierney said. “If we keep coming out like this, it’s going to be hard to beat us down the stretch.”

Colts rally for third straight win

by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

After a sluggish start, one big inning enabled the Laramie Colts to come back and beat the first-place Cheyenne Grizzlies 11-9 in Mountain Collegiate Baseball League action Tuesday at Cowboy.

With the win Laramie, 19-17, has now won three straight and moved into a virtual second-place tie with the Greeley Grays, sitting just one-half of a game back of Cheyenne, 17-14, for first place.

“Offensively, we’re putting together very efficient performances right now,” Colts manager Ryan Goodwin said. “We always seem to have two or three big innings a game, and I think that’s been our key right now. We’re pitching it just enough and playing just enough defense, but we can still get better in those two areas.”

The Grizzlies jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after scoring two runs in the first and second innings, as Colts starting pitcher Andrew Scheid got off to a rough start, walking four and giving up one hit, before he was relieved by Kyle Roliard with two outs remaining in the top of the first.

Cheyenne center fielder Bret Fanning would score off a wild pitch from Roliard and designated hitter Sam Radbil would hit an RBI single that sent second baseman Kaleb Brawner home for the four-run advantage.

However, the Colts would respond in the bottom of the second inning with eight runs. Third baseman Erik DeJong would get things started leading off with a single, as part of a five-hit inning. Laramie sluggers Casey Martin, Lee Orr, Jonathon Olla and Keith Towne would all hit RBI singles off of Grizzlies pitcher Bryce Reid to take an 8-4 lead into the third inning.

Grizzlies first baseman Michael Surina would scamper home off of another wild pitch thrown by Roliard to cut the lead to three in the third inning.

Each team would stay level for the next four innings, with tough defense behind their respective pitchers.

Marco Mejia would step to the mound for the Colts in the eighth inning, but would give up two runs when Brawner hit an RBI double that was misjudged by Olla in left field to score Grizzlies catcher Joe Spring. Brawner would later score as the Colts' lead was cut to one run.

The Colts would answer the Grizzlies run in the bottom of the eighth and load the bases with one out. DeJong's sacrifice fly scored Tyler Kipke, followed by a two-run by Martin for an 11-7 cushion.

Tyler Park had three strikeouts in the ninth inning, but a costly throwing error by Eric Cain allowed two Grizzlies to score to close the cap, but Park got out of the jam for the save.

“It felt good, but it would have felt better if I didn’t walk two,” Park said. “I made a couple of wrong pitches, but other than that it was all right.”

Roliard got the win for the Colts, giving up three runs on eight hits in six innings.

“(Kyle) Roliard came out and he did really good,” Park said. “He came in and shut them (Cheyenne) down. We came out and had a big (second) inning and that helped Roliard out a lot.”

With the shortened regular season, the Colts now only have a few more games until the playoffs.

“All the cards are starting to fall in our direction,” Park said. “It looks like we’re going to do really good, so it’s going to turn around right here.”

The regular season was originally scheduled for 48 games, but then the MCBL voted to reduce it to 42 due to all of the weather cancellations.

Goodwin said that may not be the case now.

“It’s not going to be a straight 42 (games), everyone is going to try and play what they can,” Goodwin added. “Right now, I believe we’ll get at least 45 if not 46 in. The more we keep winning, the better it’s going to be for us.”

Laramie will go for four in a row overall and three straight against the Greeley Grays here Thursday at Cowboy Field, beginning at 6:35 p.m.

These two teams met Monday in Greeley, Colo., with the Colts coming out on top 11-8, but not without some controversy.

Grays players Nick Huckaby and Patrick Roche were both ejected for arguing umpires calls. Huckaby was ejected after he was called out from a close tag at home plate by Colts catcher Jesse Tierney. Roche was ejected after arguing a strikeout.

Greeley Grays manager Dan Zuberbier said the controversial calls went against his team.

“The only thing I'll say about the calls is, it's hard to get back into a game when we get calls like that,” Zuberbier said courtesy of greeleytribune.com. “It's hard to get the momentum going again.”

Goodwin however, disagrees with this statement.

“It’s baseball. Shoot, I didn’t feel we got a call the whole month of June,” Goodwin said. “Honestly, if they believe that’s why they got beat that game, then they’re sort of mistaken and we’ll have our opportunity to prove it on Thursday.”

Colts rebound to beat Grays

by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

Short term memory proved to be the key Friday night for the Laramie Colts, as they rebounded from Thursday’s loss to the Greeley to come back and beat the Grays 15-10 at Cowboy Field.

Laramie, 17-17, inched closer to Greeley, 15-13, in the Mountain Collegiate Baseball League standings. Going into Friday's game, the Grays were tied for first place with the Cheyenne Grizzlies.

Much like their last game, this one was a contest of runs and momentum, with the Colts outlasting the Grays this time.

Both teams got off to a good start, with Greeley scoring the first run of the game off of an RBI single by catcher Nick Stepanovich that sent designated hitter Chris O’Dowd home for a 1-0 lead.

The Colts would respond with an RBI sacrifice fly from third baseman Eric DeJong that scored catcher Jesse Tierney to even things up 1-1 after one inning.

The Grays would retake the lead in the top of the second inning when a wild pitch by Colts starter Kolt Browder got away from Tierney and Greeley short stop Josh Leo scampered home for a 2-1 lead.

However, Laramie would answer in the bottom of the second with three runs off of four hits on Grays starting pitcher Jaden Dillon. Colts center fielder Josh Warren had a two-run single in the inning that sent teammates Lee Orr and Jonathon Olla home and Laramie took a 4-2 lead into the third inning.

The Colts did not stop there, as Olla had an RBI double and shortstop Eric Krznaric hit an RBI sacrifice fly sending first baseman Casey Martin home to increase their lead to 6-2 after three innings.

Now it was time for the Grays to respond, and that they did, with a five-run sixth inning, as O’Dowd hit an RBI single that scored two runs; second baseman Nick Huckaby drilled a double that hit the left field line that sent two more runs in, and left fielder Darron Lattomus scored off a wild pitch thrown by Colts pitcher Ryan Forrest to take a 7-6 lead going into the bottom of the sixth.

The Colts had blown a nine-run lead against the Grays the day before, but this time Laramie would respond.

Martin would hit a two-out double that scored Warren and third baseman Keith Towne to retake the lead. Grays pitcher Josh Lupa walked the next two batters to load the bases for second baseman Tyler Kipke, and he blasted a grand-slam home run over the right field wall for a 12-7 Colts lead after the sixth inning.

“Well, I had already seen two curve balls and he was only throwing a curve ball and a fast ball,” Kipke said of Lupa’s pitching. “It was a full count and I was looking for a fast ball and he left the curve ball up and I was just trying to put a good swing on it and I hit it pretty well.”

“That was an unbelievable hit right there,” Colts manager Ryan Goodwin said of Kipke’s grand slam.” “That kind of took the wind out of their sales against one of their best relievers.”

Laramie would add some more breathing room in the eighth when pinch hitter Brock Guetzke recorded an RBI walk that scored DeJong, and Tierney got his second hit with a two-run single single to increase the Colts lead to 15-7.

Greeley would try and rally in the top of the ninth inning when Leo hit a two-run double, and he would score off of a ground out by right fielder Kyle Eck. That would be as close as the Grays would get and the Colts would hang on for the win.

Browder got the win, allowing four hits and striking our four batters in four innings.

“Kolt Browder had some tendinitis issues and he gave us what he could for four (innings),” Goodwin said. “We got about as much as we could expect from him.”

The Colts will take a day off for the All-Star break and return home Sunday to begin the second half of the season against the rival Fort Collins Foxes at Cowboy Field, beginning at 6:35 p.m.
However, some of the Colts will be busy Saturday representing the Wyoming team in the Wyoming vs. Colorado MCBL All-Star game.

Among the Colts participating in the event are Tierney (catcher), Martin (first base), Towne (first base), DeJong (third base), Eric Cain (short stop), Olla and Warren (outfield), and Kyle Roliard, Alex Alemann, Tyler Park, Travis Lites, and Marco Mejia or Guetzke (pitching).

Grays rally from nine down to shock Colts

by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

The Laramie Colts appeared to be getting back to their winning ways, but 16 unanswered runs by the first-place Greeley Grays told a different tale, as they came back from a 10-1 deficit to beat the Colts 17-11 Thursday at Cowboy Field.

Laramie, 16-17, continued its inconsistent play and failed to get within a half game of Greeley, 15-12, for first place in the Mountain Collegiate Baseball League standings.

The Colts would strike first blood when first baseman Casey Martin, who was 4-for-6, brought center fielder Josh Warren and third baseman Eric DeJong home with a double for a 2-0 lead after one inning.

Greeley would come back in the top of the second inning, as right fielder Kyle Eck smacked an RBI triple to the right field wall to make it 2-1.

Laramie jumped all over Grays starting pitcher Kyle Mack, erupting for five hits that scored six runs and RBIs to increase its lead to 8-1 after the second inning.

Mack was relieved after the second by Troy Brown, but the Colts continued their hitting onslaught, as they had 18 in the game.

“We hit the ball today, but not as well as we needed too,” Martin said.

DeJong hit his second home run in the last four games, belting a solo shot over the left center field wall, and second baseman Lucas Calderon got his first hit with an RBI double, which upped the Colts lead to 10-1 after three innings.

However, the Grays would rally in the top of the fourth inning, as they started to wear down Colts pitcher Branden Jamison, getting three hits off of him, one of which was a two-run single hit by second baseman Nick Huckaby. An RBI walk and a wild pitch resulted in two more runs for the Grays, which cut Laramie’s lead to 10-5 after four innings.

Marco Mejia relieved Jamison in the top of the fifth inning with runners on first and third base with no outs. Mejia would close out the inning, but not before giving up two runs (which were charged to Jamison) to Eck and Patrick Roche.

Martin would single in the bottom of the fifth, but that would be all the Colts would get, as the momentum shifted to Greeley.

The Grays would keep chipping away and tie things up 10-10 off of a costly error by Mejia, as his throw to third base sailed wide left of DeJong, which allowed two runs two come in. Brock Guetzke would relieve Mejia during the top of the seventh inning, but he struggled like the rest of the Colts pitching staff and the Grays would turn the tables on the Colts for a seven runs in the inning to take a 14-10 lead.

“What hurt today a lot was Blake (Treinen, the Colts starting pitcher) went down with a thumb injury or something in the first inning,” Martin said. “We had to go straight to our bullpen right off the bat. We play a lot of games and it’s hard to get guys healthy and ready to pitch as fast as we needed them to, so that was probably the biggest thing having to go with another guy early.”

Eight walks by Laramie pitching also hurt, Colts manager Ryan Goodwin said.

“I believe seven of the eight walks came after we got the lead and that’s just unacceptable on the mound," Goodwin said.

The wind was taken out of the Colts sails once they blew their nine-run lead and they could not answer the Grays rally in front of a stunned silent home crowd, as Greeley would add three more runs in the ninth inning off of three RBI singles for a 17-10 lead.

“Baseball is about controlling momentum and we had the key error in the fourth inning where we could have got out of the inning with very minimal damage, and the next thing you know, it snowballed,” Goodwin said. “The problem is we have a lot of talented guys that just don’t seem to want to be the guy in the tough situation. When you got to make a play you got to step up and make a play no matter what the circumstances and that has become the most frustrating factor.”

Guetzke would hit an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning, but that would be as close as Laramie would get.

The Colts will try again Friday against the Grays at Cowboy Field, beginning at 6:35 p.m.

“Every game counts now, especially against them (Greeley),” Martin said. “If we can take these next two (games against Greeley), then that’s going to be huge. The biggest thing we got to do is just forget about tonight because it’s summer ball and you play every day.”

“If you dwell on this one, then you’re doomed to repeat it,” Goodwin added. “You got to have a short memory.”

Colts split with Grizzlies

by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

Despite yet another rain delay, the Laramie Colts came out with a little fire before splitting a Mountain Collegiate Baseball League doubleheader with the Cheyenne Grizzlies Monday at Cowboy Field.

The first game was delayed for 105 minutes, but the Colts would come out fired up nonetheless and win the first game 10-1, before losing a tough second game in eight innings 5-4.

Laramie, 15-16, fails once again to get over .500 and remains in third place in the MCBL standings behind Cheyenne, 12-11. The 16 losses for the Colts are more than they had all of last season.

After coming off of a tough 4-3 loss in 10 innings to the Fort Collins Foxes on the road Sunday, the Colts came out strong against the Grizzlies.

Laramie third baseman Eric DeJong's two-run home run put the Colts up 3-0 in the first inning and the Colts would get single runs in the next two innings on a RBI single by shortstop Tyler Park in the second and a RBI single by centerfielder Lee Orr in the third. It was the newcomer Orr's first hit as a Colt.

“We’re hitting a lot more balls harder,” DeJong said. “We’re seeing balls and our approaches are better at the plate. We just got to keep going, we can’t slow down now.”

The Colts would increase their lead to 8-0 in the fifth inning, highlighted by a two-run single by right fielder Kolt Browder .

The Grizzlies would get on the board in the top of the sixth with one run, but the Colts answered with a RBI double by Jesse Tierney and a run-scoring triple by first baseman Casey Martin.

Laramie had 13 hits in the first game.

Kyle Roliard got the win, scattering six hits and striking out three.

“We just got on them,” Colts manager Ryan Goodwin said. “I’ve noticed that a lot with the teams in this league if you put up a big inning early, then this year a lot of teams have been folding.”

After Cheyenne scored the first run of the second game, Laramie came back with two runs in the bottom of the third. Despite two nice defensive plays by Laramie second baseman Lucas Calderon and pitcher Alex Alemann, the Grizzlies regained a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning.

Laramie would take their first lead in the bottom of the third inning, when designated hitter Roliard hit an RBI sacrifice fly to left field that sent left fielder Olla home to make the score 2-1 for the Colts.

Laramie regained the lead again with two runs in the bottom of the fifth, but Cheyenne tide the game at 4-4 off of closer Marco Mejia in the seventh.

The Grizzlies then won the game off of Ryan Forrest in the eighth on a single, error and then a wild pitch.

The Colts had just four hits in the second game.

“That was a good fun baseball game right there,” Goodwin said. “It’s kind of a playoff style in game two. I kind of felt like it was something where ‘who is going to make the critical mistake,’ and unfortunately Ryan (Forrest) hung on that change up (pitch) a tad bit too long and we just weren’t able to answer.”

“I felt we played hard all night,” DeJong added. “We caught breaks and they (Cheyenne) caught breaks, but the thing is we got to do whatever we can toward the end of these games to really close the deal. We need to start winning these doubleheaders in order to be in better shape as far as the standings.”

The Colts did not gain any ground in the MCBL standings, but they are confident that they can still repeat as MCBL regular-season champions.

“Baseball is a game about whoever is clicking at the end,” DeJong said. “We’re playing hard right now and I’m confident we’ll finish off strong. Everyone in this league is close, but it’s toward the end of the season for whoever is playing the best baseball.”

“We got Greeley coming up three times later this week and we’re going to throw everything we got at them,” added Goodwin. “We know that’s the team we got to catch. If we take care of business against them, then there is no reason that we can’t come back and win this whole thing.”

The Colts will be in action again Wednesday against the Fort Collins Foxes, beginning at 6:15 p.m., in Fort Collins, Colo.

On a side note, a controversial decision was made Monday by the MCBL, which cut the 48-game regular season down to 42, due to all of the rain outs. Goodwin is very disappointed by the decision.

“I’m not very happy about it because we’re the one team that got stuck where everyone kept rescheduling us when our pitching was down and they (Cheyenne, Greeley and Fort Collins) took advantage of it,” Goodwin said. “The fact is we went out and scheduled our games and we went and played, meanwhile everyone else was playing exhibition games, and now all of a sudden,‘oh, we can’t make up all our games.’

“It’s kind of frustrating on my end because we promised these guys and their coaches 48 games when we go to recruit them. Next year, when they go back and tell their coaches, ‘hey, here is what happened out there,’ if I’m a coach at a college, I don’t want to send a guy back to a league that’s going to pull shenanigans like that personally, but unfortunately, the three other clubs don’t see it that way.”

Foxes stop inconsistent Colts

by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

Consistency continues to plague the Laramie Colts, as they fell to the Fort Collins Foxes 7-4 Tuesday night at Cowboy Field. The loss came a day after the Colts swept a doubleheader over the first-place Grays in Greeley, Colo.

Laramie, 12-13, failed to get over .500 and continues to sit in third place of the Mountain Collegiate Baseball League standings.

Through the first three innings, the Colts would have two players caught on steal attempts and center fielder Josh Warren would be tagged out at home plate in the first inning to get Fort Collins out of the threats with only giving up one run. The Foxes certainly did not help their case with four errors through the first three innings setting up the Colts base runners.

“That was a pretty bad baseball game,” Colts manager Ryan Goodwin said. “If I was a fan, I’d be a little pissed off if I spent money on that both ways, because they (Fort Collins) played lazy and we matched them laziness for laziness. They tried to give us the game early by giving us base runners off of walks and errors, but of course we’re mistiming and we’re not paying attention. That’s just a terrible effort on our part.”

Both teams were locked 1-1 heading into the fifth inning until Fort Collins shortstop Edder Morales singled home third baseman Michael Garza home.

Fort Collins, only 8-12, but 4-2 against the Colts, would get some breathing room in the sixth inning as Laramie starting pitcher Branden Jamison gave up three hits and three earned runs as the Foxes took a 5-1 lead.

Jamison was replaced in the sixth inning by Marco Mejia after ix strikeouts and giving up five hits.

The Colts would hang in there with a big seventh inning as Warren brought right fielder Kolt Browder with an RBI double. Two batters later, Warren would score off of an RBI single by Tyler Kipke to cut the lead to 5-3.

However, the Foxes would close the door on Laramie in the ninth inning, highlighted by catcher Matt Collins's two-run triple for a 7-3 lead. Pitcher Jared Hopper would close it out in the bottom of the ninth, but not before Warren got his second RBI double of the day that scored Colts shortstop Eric Cain for the final margin.

Warren was 2-for-4 on the day with two RBI doubles.

“We had a lot chances and we weren’t coming up with the big hits when we needed it,” Warren said. “When we get those opportunities with the bases loaded, we need to find a way to score them.”

Pat O’Donnell got the win for the Foxes, with four strikeouts, while allowing four hits.

“The guy throwing didn’t have great stuff, but he threw strikes and they made plays behind him,” Warren said of O’Donnell’s pitching.

The Colts had won three out of their last four games coming into tonight, but failed to capitalize on recent success. “We’re not ready to turn the corner,” Goodwin said. “We’re a lackadaisical lazy team and that reflects me as a coach, too.”

The two teams will face off again on Wednesday with a doubleheader in Fort Collins that begins at 3:30 p.m.

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.

Colts lose second straight

by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

The Laramie Colts original Mountain Collegiate Baseball League's home season opener with Greeley was postponed by rain on May 31, so the two teams tried again, a little over three weeks later.

It looked like a blessing for the Colts, as they trailed 6-3 in that contest. It didn't turn out any better on Wednesday, with the Grays prevailing 9-6. Greeley (10-6) has won four of seven games with Laramie this season, as Colts fall to 8-10.

Wednesday's game would start off like the first time with Greeley taking the early lead. Three Laramie errors led to a 3-0 Grays lead going into the fifth inning. Greeley would add onto its lead with a two-run single by left fielder Darren Lattomus for a 5-0 lead.

It appeared that the Colts were dead in the water as they did not seem to have an answer for Grays pitcher Matt Kohorst. However, Laramie would rally in the bottom of the fifth to score four runs behind a two-run double from third baseman Keith Towne.

The Colts would carry that momentum into the top of the sixth inning, getting three quick outs. Laramie would threaten in the bottom of the sixth, but would leave two runners stranded as the Grays got out of the inning with their one run lead. Colts left fielder Brock Guetzke had a single and a stolen base in the sixth.

“I thought we had the momentum there,” Guetzke said. “We were one hit away from taking the lead.”

Unfortunately for the Colts, Greeley would tack on five more runs in the seventh for some much needed breathing room to lead 9-4.

“If momentum gets turned away from us, then we don’t know how to handle it,” Colts manager Ryan Goodwin said. “Any time you strike out 16 times in a game, you’re not giving yourself a chance.”

“They (Greeley) just put the ball in play,” Guetzke added. “They kept working hard and their hits were falling. They were hitting line drives and that’s what you need to do to score runs.”

Laramie would rally in the ninth inning with five hits, which scored two runs, but that would be as close as it would get.

“It shows we’re not going to quit, we’ll play all nine (innings),” Guetzke said. “That’s what you need to be a successful team. We all believe in each other and we’re just a couple hits away from breaking this season open.”

Added Goodwin: “That’s why Greeley and Cheyenne are on top right now. Both those teams know that they can play the game, but they might not be quite as talented as us and Fort Collins, but us and Fort Collins don’t play hard from pitch one to the last pitch.”

The Colts will try to get back on track Thursday at Cowboy Field against the first-place Cheyenne Grizzlies, beginning at 1 p.m.

Colst come out flat in loss to Grizz

by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

The highs and lows of the Laramie Colts season continued Monday night at Cowboy Field with a 9-2 loss to the Cheyenne Grizzlies in Mountain Collegiate Baseball League (MCBL) action.

The loss comes one night after the Colts beat the Grizzlies on the road in an 18-15 slug fest. Laramie had an opportunity to pull into a virtual first-place tie with Cheyenne with a win, but the Grizzlies had other plans and pulled away in the third inning for the win. The Grizzlies remain in first-place with a 9-6 record, while Laramie falls to 8-9.

Laramie's troubles began in the top of the third with one throwing error.

Cheyenne first baseman Michael Surina grounded to Laramie shortstop Tyler Park for what appeared to be the final out of the inning. But Park's throw to first base was out of Casey Martin’s reach and Surina was safe, scoring John Hattabaugh to give the Grizzlies a lead in which they would never relinquish. Before the Colts could get out of the inning, they trailed 4-0.

“The whole thing starts in the third inning,” Colts coach Ryan Goodwin said. “We get lazy on two balls and make a couple errors. It’s very frustrating.”

Laramie would get on the board from a dropped fly ball hit by Martin that scored left fielder Tyler Kipke to make it 4-1. But that was as close as the Colts would get. Martin crossed home plate in the sixth inning off of a sacrifice fly by center fielder Josh Warren to make the score 7-2, but Cheyenne quickly stopped the threat to end the inning. Cheyenne would add two more runs for the final margin.

“There is an old saying that there is three facets to the game; you hit, you pitch, and you play defense. If you do two of the three well, then you’re typically going to win,” Goodwin said. “I felt we were terrible in all three, to be honest with you.”

Despite the long slugfest the night before, Goodwin and Martin thought they would be ready to go on Monday, mentally and physically.

“It (fatigue) shouldn’t have been (a factor),” Goodwin said. “If it is, then we’re in deep trouble, because starting Thursday, we have 10 games in eight days. I think part of it is we got guys that need to grow up; they come ready to play one day, then the next day they don’t.”

“There was just a lot of mental errors’ going on,” Martin said. “That’s just not an excuse for the way we’re playing right now.”

Consistency has been all too much of a problem for the Colts this year, which is something the Grizzlies have been better at.

“They come out and play hard every day and swing the bats well, and they always have pitchers come out and throw strikes,” Martin said. “That’s what you got to do to win games.”

“They’re (Cheyenne) the most consistent,” added Goodwin. “I think Cheyenne is a well-rounded team. They’re not an explosive team, but every single hitter makes you battle if you’re pitching and their pitchers come at you and throw strikes.”

Laramie and Greeley will make up an earlier rainout on Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. at Cowboy Field, before the Colts host the Grizzlies again Thursday at 1 p.m.

Colts roll past Grays

By Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

Rain has been all too familiar with the Colts this season, as the team has struggled.

Not on Friday night. It was a picture-perfect night filled with blue sky and sunshine at Cowboy Field.

The result was a 19-2 whitewashing of the Greeley Grays in Mountain Collegiate Baseball League action.

The Colts, 6-7 on the season, are right behind the second-place Grays, who are 6-6.

“Sometimes when you get those gray skies, it can take the emotion out of a team a little bit,” Laramie manager Ryan Goodwin said. "I think maybe we are a warm-weather team. We just came ready to play tonight with a better attitude.”

Greeley scored the first run of the game in the opening inning, but it was all Laramie from that point on. The Colts answered with 10 runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back. Second baseman Tyler Kipke got things going with a RBI single, but it was third baseman Keith Towne’s three-run home run that sparked Laramie, which finished with six hits in that first inning.

“I think it was a good team effort,” Towne said. “I think we came out ready to go. We concentrated really hard today in batting practice to go out and put the ball in play a little more, and we worked on being a little more aggressive. I think it really paid off tonight.”

Towne was 4-of-5 from the plate, with three singles and the home run. Kipke also had four hits on the night with three singles, a triple and three RBI. The Colts out-hit the Grays 17-10 in the game.

Laramie pitcher Taylor Henry picked up the victory, striking out two in seven innings. Brandon Jamison pitched the final two innings.

The Colts are now 3-3 against the Grays this season.

“We really made a statement,” Towne said. “We really put it to them tonight and we needed to after the games we played against them this year. We showed them the kind of caliber ball club that we are, rather than the way we’ve been playing. It was (previously) not representative of the Laramie Colts.”

Goodwin agreed and said his players just woke up and realized that they were underachieving.

“We put our concentration on a couple of areas,” Goodwin said. “For example, we’ve been striking out way too much, especially with runners in scoring position. We only had one strikeout tonight and I think the guys took it upon themselves to come out and play with energy and passion.”

The Colts will return to action on Saturday, as they host rival Fort Collins in a doubleheader that begins at 1 p.m. The second game is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
　　
　

Tough night for Colts

Richard Anderson photos

The Laramie Colts continued to struggle, dropping two official games on Sunday to Cheyenne. The two teams completed Friday's suspended game and the first-place Grizzlies prevailed 10-5. In the regular-scheduled game, Cheyenne, which is now 7-2 on the season, rolled to an 18-4 win. Laramie has now lost five of its last six games and stands at 4-6 on the season. Pictured at top, manager Ryan Goodwin (22), talks to pitcher Andrew Schied (81) and he rest of the Laramie infield. At left, first baseman Casey Martin watches a foul ball before getting a base hit. The Colts will return to action Monday night when they host Greeley, beginning at 6:35 p.m. at Cowboy Field.

Colts continue to struggle in the rain

Richard Anderson photo

Laramie outfielder Jesse Tierney slides in safe at third Friday against Cheyenne before the rains came to postpone the matchup to Sunday at 4 p.m.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Mother Nature turned on the Laramie Colts once again … literally.

What was appearing to be a decent Friday night for baseball, changed in a hurry when the weather system that was south of Laramie moved east, then bounced back, returning with vengeance for a good 25-minute rainstorm that proved to be too much for Cowboy Field to handle. It was called with two outs in the top of the sixth and Cheyenne lead Laramie 5-3.

The game will pick up Sunday at 4 p.m. before the regularly-scheduled 6:35 p.m. matchup again with the Grizzlies.

Laramie manager Ryan Goodwin has not only been frustrated with some struggles with his team, but with the uncharacteristic weather that has plagued them in this early going. The Colts (3-3), have played just one game -- the season opener at Cheyenne -- where there hasn’t been a rain delay or rain out.

“It’s always been something every single time,” Goodwin said. “It has just been horrendous so far. I’m actually telling the guys, ‘wait until July.’ We need July to get here a lot sooner.”

Goodwin has also been a little displeased with the way things have turned against the Colts, who dropped a weather-hampered doubleheader to Greeley on Wednesday.

The Colts seem to be in an early funk, for whatever reason. The team’s struggles are on the mental side, Goodwin said.

“There is a lot of stuff going on that maybe to the naked eye, you don’t understand or see what is going on,“ he said. “Those little small things. We’re not doing well right now. We’re trying to get by on pure talent and I think we are starting to realize that you can’t do that. We have to pick it up with the mental aspects of the game. If and when we do, we’ll be a talented team. Right now we’re going through that funk and hopefully the lights will pop on here pretty soon.”

Typically, Goodwin said that the Colts, in his previous two years at the helm, have gone through a little funk at about Jubilee Days in early July.

“Usually, we have gone out to a big lead and everybody gets comfortable. I don’t know if we just aren’t comfortable, but it is a situation where we aren’t playing very good,“ Goodwin said. “We’re trying to figure it out. To me, it is not am physical effort thing. I believe the physical effort is there. The mental aspect has to turn on sometime. When it does, we’ll be a really good team.”

Friday against Cheyenne, the Grizzlies seized the momentum in the sixth on a RBI triple by Kaleb Browner and a run-scoring single by Sam Radhill. Browner also had a two-run double in the fourth.

Laramie, which had just three hits, scored twice in the third and once in the fifth to tie the game. Second baseman Eric Cain ha a two-run double in the third for the Colts.

Laramie pitcher Nathan Hardy was struggling with his control, as he had four walks and four hit batters to go along with the 10 Cheyenne hits.

“Nathan Hardy is a guy, with his fastball, who tries to live on the inner third (of the plate),” Goodwin said. “The umpire we had behind the plate tonight doesn’t give the inner third. When the umpire doesn’t give him the inner third, he is going to struggle. We’re going to have to finds a way for him to adjust.”

The Colts will try again on Saturday at Greeley with a doubleheader (3:30 p.m.), before resuming their matchup against the Grizzlies on Sunday.

Despite their struggles, Goodwin said that if they can get locked in mentally, they can come back and win this game.

“If we can get that first guy out, then we will have 12 outs to play with. Our lineup is explosive enough where we can easily do that,“ he said.

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.

Colts avenge loss to Foxes

by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

The young Mountain Collegiate Baseball League (MCBL) season has so far been plagued by inclement weather; Monday’s game between the Laramie Colts and Fort Collins Foxes was no exception. Rain, lightning, and some hail fell onto Cowboy Field, which caused a rain delay in the middle of the fifth inning.

However, a little ray of sun shined from the baseball Gods on Cowboy Field and the game continued on, ultimately resulting in a 10-3 victory for the Colts. With the win the Colts now sit atop the MCBL standings at 3-1, while the Foxes drop to 2-3.

The Colts jumped out to a 1-0 lead after the first inning and never looked back, largely in part to great hitting. Laramie compiled 14 hits on the day for eight runs batted in.

The Colts were cruising along a 7-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth with the bases loaded and two outs, when a bizarre sequence took place. With third baseman Eric Krznaric at the plate, each Laramie base runner ran half way to their next bases and were all tagged out for a triple-play to end the inning. Why did this happen? Coach Ryan Goodwin told his players to get tagged out on purpose.

“I intentionally killed our momentum,” Goodwin said. “I knew if we didn’t get through that (fourth) inning, if the rain was heavier than what actually came, then we could totally have to make that whole game up. I ran us into that triple-play; I’m not proud of what I did, but I knew for us to get that win, to assure it; I wanted to do that.”

If a game goes to a fifth inning, then the contest becomes conclusive, meaning the team who is winning at that point will win the game if the game cannot be continued. Anything less, then the game would be postponed or cancelled. Cancellation would take away any chance of a win for that game.

Pitcher Taylor Henry quickly got the Colts out of the top of the fifth with three straight outs to end the inning. The game was delayed after that.

Nearly 45 minutes later, the rain cleared up enough to play ball with the Colts up to bat. However, it was the Foxes who came out of the delay fired up. After quickly getting out of the fifth-inning, the Foxes dominated the sixth. Fort Collins scored three runs off of four hits to cut the margin to 7-3 and drew the Colts into a 6-4-3 double play in the bottom the sixth to get out of the inning unscathed.

“In a way I kind of screwed up, because I gave them a reason to come back fired up after the rain delay,” Goodwin said. “I just have to commend our guys, especially the guys that came in. I felt like we were flat once we got going again and when we brought our reserves in, they picked us right back up.”

By the seventh inning tempers started to flair between the two rivals as F0rt Collins pitcher Ryan Kruse beaned Laramie in fielder Eric Dejong. To Dejong’s dismay he threw down his helmet and started to walk toward the mound, while Kruse threw down his glove and started walking toward home plate. Both men were separated and Dejong took his base, while having a few words with Fort Collins catcher Nick Wiggins.

The eighth inning saw the Colts retake control of the game as Kruse was ejected for beaning Laramie second baseman Lucas Calderon. From there the Colts would score three runs off of three hits for three RBI against Fort Collins pitcher Bobby Kelley to take a 10-3 lead. The Foxes would get no closer.

“It was basically a complete turnaround. The score was very similar, but we were on the losing end last time,” Colts hitting coach Mike Overman said. “We came out and swung the bats good, we got really hot, but the rain delay hurt us a little bit. We had a lot of momentum heading into the rain delay.

“We attacked fastballs tonight and hit them for the most part, we didn’t miss fastballs when there was a good pitch to hit, so we did really well."

One of the better hitting performances for the Colts came from catcher Robert Greene. He was 3-for-3 on the day with a single and two doubles, one of which bounced over the center field wall for a ground-rule double, which sent a runner home.

“We’ve been coming out and hitting on our own and getting a lot of swings in,” Greene said. “We’ve been anxious to play against some real pitchers. We’re just trying to see good pitching and put the ball in play and we’re doing that pretty well.”

The Colts will be in action again Wednesday when they take on the Greeley Grays at Cowboy Field with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.