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.”