[Editor's note: This thread will be used to provide updated reports on both the 2010 Wyoming Babe Ruth state tournament in Powell and the Powell Pioneers' progress in the American Legion North District tournament being held in Cody. The most recent information will appear at the top, immediately under this note.]
12:15 a.m., "The Day After" -- Powell was unable to defend its North district title, falling 12-2 to Gillette in a contest that was stopped after eight innings due to the run rule.
Starting more than an hour after the scheduled 7 p.m. first pitch, the Pioneers were never able to get going. Four early errors led to four unearned Gillette runs as Powell was playing in catch-up mode for the entire night. Scotty Jameson did his best to keep Powell close, striking out 10 on the hill, but still took the loss. The Roughriders broke through in the eighth inning with six runs off reliever Josh Cragoe.
Powell will carry the North's No. 2 seed into next week's state tournament. The Pioneers (39-13-2) will open state tournament play against Torrington at a time yet to be announced. Other first round pairings at state will be Cheyenne-Casper, Sheridan-Laramie and Gillette-Rock Springs.
6 p.m., Championship Saturday -- The Powell Babe Ruth team earned back-to-back state titles with a 9-7 victory over Rock Springs. Tyler Patterson went 3-for-3 while Cory Heny added a 2-for-3 performance that brought in three runs for the 2010 state champs. Brendan Phister continued his hot hitting by driving home two more two-out runs.
Facing their first real adversity of the entire tournament, the Powell all-stars maintained their composure, scoring three key runs in the sixth inning to transform a 6-5 contest into a 9-5 gap heading into Rock Springs' final at-bat.
Rock Springs opened the seventh frame with three consecutive base hits, but closer Justin Lynn responded to the adversity with back-to-back strikeouts before coaxing an infield fly to send gloves and hats flying in celebration. Cooper Wise picked up his second win of the day, throwing the first five innings and striking out six.
Can't get enough of the Powell Babe Ruth state championship? Check out Tuesday's edition of the Powell Tribune for further details. Right now, The Sports Guy is going to jump in his car, grab some dinner and get over to Cody for the final chapter in Championship Saturday.
2:55 p.m., Championship Saturday -- Lovell and Rock Springs just concluded an epic semifinal battle that finished 20-16 in Rock Springs' favor. The teams entered the final inning tied at 15 before the clock struck midnight on Lovell's Cinderella story. The boys from Big Horn County have nothing to hang their heads over. Given a chance to compete on the big stage when one of the other tournament qualifiers opted not to compete, they stepped in and stepped up. It says quite a bit about the quality of District 4 baseball when the third-place team can beat out virtually everyone else in the state to earn a spot in the state championship game.
Due to the length of the Lovell-Rock Springs game, first pitch for the championship game has been bumped back to 3:20 p.m. That's just enough time to go out and round up a few dozen more fans and an extra bottle of sunscreen for the ol' ballpark.
11:45 a.m., Championship Saturday -- The Powell Babe Ruth all-stars will play in the championship game after knocking off Green River 14-3 in a six-inning semifinal affair. The team will face either Rock Springs or Lovell, who should be throwing the first pitch in their semifinal contest in approximately 10 minutes. Lovell reached the semifinals with a dramatic late-inning outburst last night to eliminate Cody and take the top spot in Pool B.
Powell was in control early, sending 13 batters to the plate in the top of the first inning, pushing nine runs across to open a huge margin. A pitching change kept Powell's bats silent from then until the sixth inning, when the tournament hosts again batted around to score its final five runs.
In the middle, the pitching rotation of Frankie Vogt, Tyler Patterson, Cooper Wise and Justin Lynn held Green River to just three runs and six hits. Wise picked up the win, throwing two innings. Lynn came in to again slam the door, pitching the final two innings for Powell, allowing one hit and fanning a pair.
Hayden Cragoe finished 2-for-4 at the plate with four RBIs. Brendan Phister was one of four other Powell batters to drive home two runs. Phister's RBIs came in the sixth inning on a two-out single that pushed the scoreboard margin into run-rule territory.
The championship game starts at 3 p.m., so there's plenty of time to call friends and family, pile everyone into the car, pick up a couple strangers on the way to the stadium and pack the stands for Powell's run at back-to-back titles.
And once that's done, you can join The Sports Guy in making the short trip over to Cody to cheer on the Pioneers in the 7 p.m. North District American Legion championship game between Powell and Gillette.
10:15 p.m., Friday -- Still haven't received word on the final score of the Lovell-Cody Babe Ruth contest, which either ended ages ago or is setting a record for extra-inning longevity. I'm guessing probably the former and that the final score simply wasn't called in. Rest assured, Babe Ruth semifinals WILL take place at 9 a.m. and noon tomorrow.
From Cody, the North district championship contest has been set. The Powell Pioneers (39-12-2) will go up against Gillette. The Roughriders had to endure some nervous moments early on as Cody grabbed the initial lead tonight, but Gillette had more in the gas tank as the game wore on and was able to put some big numbers on the scoreboard late. Cody connected for a three-run home run in the ninth inning and had two more men aboard to make a late rally, but came up short by a 14-9 final count. Powell and Gillette are both assured of a place in the State tournament next week in Sheridan. Douglas will play Casper and Cody will face Sheridan to determine the other two state qualifiers from the North. The winners of those two games will also be forced to play again to determine their seeding for the state event.
Get lots of rest tonight, Powell. It's going to be an exciting Championship Saturday on the diamond!
8:15 p.m., Friday -- Break out the lawn chairs, pack the coolers tight, grab your sunscreen and get ready for an all-day affair, you Powell baseball fans! This Saturday is Championship Saturday for the local teams. The Powell Pioneers will be playing in the district championship game while the Babe Ruth team is into the state semifinals.
For the second year in a row, Powell defeated Casper in Legion baseball district tournament action, posting an 11-3 win that will put them into the championship game at 7 p.m. on Saturday against either Gillette or Cody. As I type this, Cody leads 4-2 heading into the top of the fourth inning.
The Pioneers broke open a 1-1 tie in the fourth inning, plating four runs as the team made a full circuit through its batting order and never looked back. Colter Bostick took the win, throwing seven strong innings in which he fanned nine Casper batters. Grant Geiser threw the final two innings in relief to close out the win.
Ironically, just as the Pioneers were making it 5-1 in Cody, the Powell Babe Ruth all-stars were leading 5-1 over Laramie in their final pool play contest in Powell. With the No. 1 seed in Pool A already secure before the first pitch was thrown, the all-stars used the opportunity to give state tournament exposure to their full lineup en route to a 9-4 victory. Rock Springs edged Sheridan 13-11 to earn the No. 2 seed in Pool A.
Pool B is very much up in the air still. Green River defeated Douglas by a 13-4 margin to eliminate Douglas. Whether Green River makes it through depends on the outcome of the late game between Cody and Lovell. That game is currently 6-5 in Lovell's favor entering the fourth inning. If Cody wins, they'll be the No. 1 seed from Pool B and face Rock Springs while Green River advances to meet Powell. If Lovell wins, it would result in a three-way tie between Green River, Cody and Lovell. That tie would be broken by the fewest runs allowed in the three pool play games.
Powell's semifinal game against the eventual No. 2 team from Pool B will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Rock Springs will play against the top seed from Pool B at noon. The winners of those two games will play at 3 p.m. for the state title and the right to represent Wyoming at the Pacific Northwest Regional Babe Ruth tournament in Klamath Falls, Ore.
10:50 p.m., Thursday -- Cody defeats Douglas by a 13-5 count at the North District American Legion baseball tournament in Cody. Gillette cruised past Lovell by a 26-7 final count. That sets up the following games for Friday. Jackson and Sheridan will play in a 10 a.m. elimination game. Lovell and Douglas will meet in a 1 p.m. elimination contest. In the championship semifinals, Powell and Casper meet in a rematch of last year's district championship game at 4 p.m. with Gillette taking on the host Cody Cubs in the 7 p.m. nightcap.
10:10 p.m., Thursday -- Another day of baseball action has come to an end at the 2010 Wyoming Babe Ruth state tournament with Cody defeating Douglas by a 6-4 final count. Douglas had two runners aboard with two outs in the seventh inning, but could not come up with the hit needed to bring them both in to tie the contest. With that result, the standings going into the final day of pool play are:
Pool A -- Powell (2-0), Sheridan (1-1), Rock Springs (1-1), Laramie (0-2). Powell is assured of a place in Saturday's semifinals and, I believe, due to head-to-head wins over both Rock Springs and Sheridan, also assured of the No. 1 seed. Rock Springs and Sheridan meet in a game that will determine the other team to advance to Saturday's single-elimination semifinals.
Pool B -- Cody (2-0), Green River (1-1), Lovell (1-1), Douglas (0-2). Cody and Lovell meet on Friday in an all-Basin pairing while Green River and Douglas will play in the other contest. A myriad of possibilities exist in this bracket, including scenarios that see three teams tie at 2-1 for the two semifinal spots or three teams tied with identical 1-2 records for the No. 2 seed. Both games in this bracket carry huge implications for Saturday.
6:30 p.m., Thursday -- Powell's baseball teams pulled off a Sheridan sweep today as post-season baseball tournament action continued. The Powell Pioneers took their first step toward a repeat North District title with a 13-11 win while the Powell Babe Ruth all-stars remained perfect in pool play with a 16-4 win that required just five innings.
The Pioneers' victory contained more than its needed share of drama as Powell fell behind 6-0 in the first inning and didn't record its first hit as a team until the fourth inning. Once the cobwebs were dusted off the bats, it didn't take Powell long to equalize. The Pioneers scored four in the fourth and three more runs in the fifth to tie the contest before outscoring Sheridan 6-4 the rest of the way.
Dallas Robirds finished 3-for-5 at the plate. Tyler England, Josh Cragoe and Auston Carter each drove home two runs. Jake Beuster earned the win on the mound for Powell after tagging in for Carter in the first inning. Beuster threw 7.1 innings before handing the ball off to Scotty Jameson, who threw a scoreless ninth inning for the save.
In Babe Ruth action, Justin Lynn recorded Powell's only extra-base hit with a double, but the all-stars added nine singles, including two each off the bats of Frankie Vogt, Cory Heny and Tyler Patterson. Vogt also picked up the win on the mound with three innings of work before Hayden Cragoe threw the fourth and Lynn closed things out in the fifth. Powell led just 7-4 entering the bottom of the fourth inning, but sent 15 batters to the plate and scored nine runs to bring the run-rule and early stoppage into play after Sheridan was unable to score in the top of the fifth.
Powell now sits alone atop Pool A. Other scores from the day include Rock Springs' 6-3 victory over Laramie. Green River handed the Big Horn Basin its first state tournament loss with a 6-4 win over Lovell. Cody and Douglas are playing the late game tonight.
Both Powell teams play at 4 p.m. on Friday. The Pioneers will face Casper, which won a 10-6 contest against Jackson to open the Legion tournament, in the first of two semifinals at Cody. Powell's Babe Ruth squad will take on Laramie, with a win sending the team through to Saturday's semifinals as the top seed from Pool A.
9:45 p.m., Wednesday -- Day 1 is in the books at the 2010 Wyoming Babe Ruth state tournament and it was a Big Horn Basin sort of day. Teams from District 4 dominated on the diamond as Powell dispatched Rock Springs by a 12-2 final in the day's final game. Earlier, it was Cody posting a 10-5 win over Green River while Lovell, a late addition to the tournament field, proved it belonged with a 12-1 blowout of Douglas. Sheridan topped Laramie 9-3 to open the tournament.
For Powell, Justin Lynn drove in three runs in the first two innings to help the defending state champions open a quick 6-0 lead on Rock Springs. Solid pitching made sure the tournament hosts were never threatened. Cooper Wise earned the win, working four innings in which he allowed just three hits. Lynn slammed the door late, giving up two unearned runs while striking out six in three innings of relief work to get the save.
Powell did not walk a single batter in the contest. Wise and Lynn combined to need just 67 pitches to complete the full seven-inning game. By comparison, Rock Springs' final pitch count stood at 150 for the night.
On Thursday, the American Legion district tournament gets started in Cody with the Pioneers facing Sheridan at 1 p.m. Meanwhile, pool play will continue at the Babe Ruth tournament in Powell with Powell and Sheridan scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. The winner will own sole possession of first place in Pool A at day's end.
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