Gillette National put together a three-run sixth inning for a come-from-behind 8-7 victory over the Laramie 9-10 All-Stars Thursday in Powell.

The rally came after Laramie had scored four runs in the top of the sixth for a 7-5 lead at the Wyoming Little League State Tournament.

Laramie 9-10 manager Matt Lehning admitted it was a heart-breaker for his team.

“These guys came out and never gave up. Down going into the top of the sixth, we were able to put some runs together, got the lead, and we tried to close it out. Give the credit to the other team, give the credit to Gillette. They come out, hit the ball, but I’m proud of the boys.”

The 9-10 All-Stars trailed 3-0 early but rallied and tied it in the fifth. Gillette National answered with two runs in the fifth for a 5-3 lead.

In the sixth, Laramie took advantage of an error and two passed balls for four runs and that 7-5 lead.

The 9-10’s got the first out in the sixth when James Vasek recorded a strikeout. What followed was an error, a single, a hit batter and another single that brought in two runs and tied it at 7-7. Another hit batter loaded the bases before Gillette National got the game-winning hit to right field.

Vasek led the offense with two hits and scored twice, but he was also the losing pitcher.

This was Laramie’s first loss this post-season.

Lehning said, “I don’t know how they’ll react, to be honest. These guys haven’t been put in this situation. It, of course, was hard on the guys. They all wanted to win, but now we gotta bounce back. I think as far as the kids go, though, they’ve got pretty short memories, and we’ll get back after it.”

Laramie will play a loser-out game against Big Horn Friday at 1 p.m. The 9-10 All-Stars already have a win over Big Horn on Wednesday, 9-3. The winner of this game will move on to face Gillette National in the 9-10 championship game Saturday at 9 a.m. To win a state title, Laramie must win Friday and then beat Gillette twice on Saturday.

Statistical information courtesy of GameChanger

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