Laramie Drops Two Games at CABA World Series
The Laramie Rangers lost their first two games of the CABA World Series in Cheyenne Tuesday, as their losing skid hit four in a row.
Laramie (13-26) fell to the Colorado Roughnecks 17’s by a final score of 12-4. That was followed by an 18-6 loss in five innings to EnFuego Baseball Academy from Seattle, WA.
Manager Aaron Lozano was actually pleased with his squad’s approach to both games.
“The guys played loose today (Tuesday), and they don’t always play loose. I felt like hanging in with the Roughnecks, I think that’s a beatable team, it’s a game that we could win. The EnFuego team, they’re just phenomenal. The guys played loose and that helps (moving forward).”
In Tuesday’s opener, the Roughnecks scored four runs in the first and never trailed. They built a 6-1 lead through four innings.
The Rangers rallied with three in the fifth. Tyler Oppie had a big two-run triple to right-center field. Michael Schutterle followed with an RBI-single. Laramie closed the gap to 6-4.
The Roughnecks answered right back with five runs in the sixth. They had three hits and took advantage of five walks. Three of those were with the bases loaded. Laramie managed just two baserunners after that.
Lozano praised the Roughnecks’ approach at the plate.
“They’re one of the more disciplined hitting teams we’ve seen this year. A couple of times where we see like a 3-2 pitch that Caleb (Eaton) throws, but they don’t bite on ‘em. Pretty much every team we’ve played this year swings at that pitch. Maybe they put it in play, maybe they strike out, but these guys are disciplined. They let those pitches go by. They wait for their pitch.”
Oppie had a pair of triples and two RBI’s to lead the offensive attack. Caleb Eaton, Ben Ruckman, and Mahlon Morris added two hits apiece. Eaton suffered the loss on the mound.
In game two, EnFuego took a 5-1 lead after two innings. A two-run home run in the fourth by EnFuego’s Kelly Corl made it 7-1. Laramie scratched out a run in the fourth before EnFuego exploded. They scored 11 runs on nine hits and sent 15 guys to the plate in the fifth inning. That made it 18-2.
Lozano said, “Another team that just pounds the ball. We’ve seen (Tyler) Oppie give up some doubles, some triples this year, but we’ve never someone hit the ball as hard as these guys did against Tyler. That just goes to show you how good they can be.”
Laramie finally got their first hit of the game in the fifth and rallied with four runs, but fell short. The game ended early due to the 10-run mercy rule.
Lozano added, “The bats were not awake until it was a little too late.”
Aidan Morris had a two-run double that paced the offense. Oppie started and lasted four innings, but he was the losing pitcher.
EnFuego scored 18 runs on 19 hits. That included seven extra-base hits.
These two losses came after the Rangers were swept at North Platte, NE last Friday, July 5, in a doubleheader. Those scores were 5-4 and 9-8, and Laramie lost both games in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Rangers will look to stop their losing skid, as they play their third pool play game in the CABA World Series Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. versus the Rocky Mountain Oysters from Arizona. The game is at Powers Field in Cheyenne.
KOWB (AM 1290) will broadcast Wednesday’s game from the Capital City. David Settle will call the action. Coverage will start on the radio, online, on the KOWB App, as well as Amazon Alexa-enabled and Google Home devices at 2:15 p.m.