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.”