Major League teams sweep Powell

The Office Shop Cardinals took care of the Powell Cards 14-4 Saturday morning at the East Little League Complex in Lovell.

Branson Robison went 2-3 with a RBI bunt and a homerun and scored two runs. Zane Horrocks also had a homerun and scored a run. CJ Pickett went 2-4 with a single and a double and scored two runs and Jess Wambeke went 2-3 with two singles.

On the mound, Wambeke pitched two innings, striking out four Powell batters and allowing three hits, four walks and four runs. Zeke Newman relieved Wambeke and struck out seven batters, allowing four hits, no runs and two walks.

[caption id="attachment_9922" align="alignright" width="199"] Office Shop Cardinals pitcher CJ Pickett winds up for a pitch during the championship game of the School’s Out Tournament Saturday at AMCOL field.
Sam Smith photo[/caption]

“Coming off a 23-5 win two days previous, I think our boys came out a little overconfident and started the first inning in a 3-0 hole,” coach Justin Moss said. “However, we rebounded nicely and only gave up one more run as well as scoring four in the second, four in the third and five in the fourth to finish off the game by mercy rule, scoring one in the fifth to finish the game 14-4.

“We battled back nicely and Zeke Newman was especially dominant pitching for us,” Moss said. “Zeke didn’t allow a run and struck out seven in his three innings pitched.”

Next, the Cards defeated the Powell Royals 13-3 to go to 13-1 on the season.

Trace Moss went 2-2 with two doubles and Horrocks went 1-2 with a homerun. Aden Mayes went 1-3 with a triple.

On the mound, Moss pitched 2 1/3 innings and struck out seven batters and allowed three runs and a walk. Pickett relieved Moss and pitched 2 2/3 innings, striking out seven batters and allowing no runs and no walks.

“Our pitching has been really good all year, but CJ Pickett was especially good today,” Moss said. “He located his fastball and kept hitters off balance with changing speeds.”

The Cowley Lumber Indians defeated the Powell Giants 8-7 in the Saturday afternoon game to improve to 7-8 on the season.

Tyler Nichols went 2-3 with two singles and scored a run and Ezra Harlow also went 2-3 with a two-run RBI double and a second double and scored two runs. Dallen Mangus went 1-3 with an RBI single and a run.

Mangus pitched four innings on the mound, struck out six batters and allowed six runs and a walk. Lane Herman relieved Mangus and struck out two batters and allowed a run in two innings of work.

Thursday, the Cards defeated the Powell Cards 23-5.

“Every player on the team had a hit tonight,” Moss said. “We were led by Jess Wambeke who went 3-3 with a triple, two RBIs and three runs scored. Aden Mayes went 3-4 with an inside-the-park homerun, a triple, three RBIs and three runs scored and Branson Robison went 3-3 with a triple, two RBIs and three runs scored.

“Branson Robison and Trace Moss pitched perfect innings in the second and the fourth with three strikeouts,” Moss said.

The Indians defeated Otto 16-3 Friday at the Constitution Park field.

Nichols went 3-3 with a single, an RBI double and a second double and scored three runs, and Tyson Christiansen also went 3-3 with a single, an RBI single and a double and scored two runs. William Spann went 1-2 with an RBI triple and scored a run.

On the mound, Bo Arnold pitched 2/3 of an inning, struck out two Otto batters and allowed four walks and a hit. George Higgins relieved Arnold and pitched 2 1/3 innings, striking out four batters and allowing no walks and no runs. Jacob Mangus closed the game, pitching one inning and striking out one batter.

“Tyler’s been crushing the ball, being 8-8 in the last three games,” coach Doug Arnold said. “The hitting is contagious and they’re coming down with a case of hititis and we hope there is no cure.”

The Indians played a doubleheader in Worland Thursday and defeated the Worland Brewers 9-2 in the first game.

“Tyler Nichols started and struck out six straight batters,” Arnold said. “He was relieved by Bo and he pitched a clean third. Finishing the game was Tyson and Jacob, who closed with eight pitches.”

In the second game, the Indians defeated the Worland A’s 11-1.

“Dallen Mangus started and threw three clean innings and allowed one run,” Arnold said. “Jacob Mangus closed the game with three pitches. That one bad inning we left at home.”

Monday’s games

Monday, the Cards took care of Greybull 16-1.

Wambeke went 3-4 with an RBI and three runs, and Moss went 3-3 with a triple and an RBI and also scored three runs. Horrocks went 2-3 with a double and a homerun, four RBIs and three runs, and Mayes went 2-2 with two RBIs and also scored three runs.

On the mound, Robison pitched 3 2/3 innings, struck out six batters and allowed three walks. Ralph Moreno relieved Robison and pitched the final out.

“We came out strong tonight scoring six runs in the first,” Moss said. “We adjusted the batting order about a week ago, moving Wambeke to leadoff, and it has paid dividends. Jess has really started hitting and setting the table for the hitters behind him. We are scoring more runs and RBIs have gone up.

“Our pitching has been very good this season and Robison was excellent tonight,” Moss said. “We are looking forward to fine tuning two more games and having a good week of practice to prep for the interleague tournament.”

The Indians defeated Otto 5-4 Monday in Otto.

“Jacob Mangus pitched a complete game and gave up two earned runs,” Arnold said. “Tyler was 2-2 and Lane had a big first-inning double. Dallen Mangus had a solid hit. We didn’t hit it a lot, but we hit enough to win.

Tuesday’s games

Tuesday, the Indians defeated Worland in a low-scoring affair 2-1 at the East Little League Complex.

Nichols and Harlow both went 1-2 with a single and a run, and Mangus also went 1-2 with a single. Herman went 1-1 with a double and Kobi May also had a double.

“That’s by far our best game of the year,” Arnold said. “It was a quality win. That’s the third game in a row where we’ve won by one run. Our player of the game was Ezra Harlow, who pitched 4 1/3 innings and struck out 11 batters and allowed three hits, one run and a walk. It was a complete team win. We appreciate our umpires who have been with us all season long. It’s a thankless position.”

Also on Tuesday, the Cards took care of the Powell Giants 11-0 at the Constitution Park field.

Wambeke went 2-3 with two RBIs and Robison went 2-3 with a double and three runs.

CJ Pickett pitched five innings, striking out 13 Powell batters and allowing two hits and a walk.

“CJ Pickett was terrific tonight,” Moss said. “His pitching line tells just how good he was. Offensively we scored 11 runs but we really didn’t break out until the fifth inning. We played a little small ball tonight and Larry Woodington and Amos Monterde did a good job executing on two bunts. It’s good to see us do some little things right at the end of the season. We hope to keep our streak alive going into the interleague tournament next week.”

The Indians will face the Powell Cards today (Thursday) at the Constitution Park field at 6 p.m.

Minor League

Saturday’s Minor League action kicked off with the Bank of Lovell Pirates falling to the Powell Red Sox 8-5 at the East Little League Complex.

The AMCOL Red Sox fell to the Powell Dodgers in a close game 13-12 in Powell.

Next, the TCT Angels defeated the Powell A’s 8-7 to get their third win of the season.

“I’m proud and speechless,” coach Shang Clendenen said.

The Lovell Dental Dodgers defeated the Powell Diamondbacks 5-4 in Powell, also on Saturday.

The Wilson Brothers Construction Tigers fell to the Powell Orioles 12-11, also in Powell Saturday.

Friday, the Angels defeated Otto 15-14 at the Constitution Park field to get their second win of the season.

Also on Friday, the Dodgers defeated the Tigers 8-3 at the East Little League Complex.

“I’m proud of my kids,” coach Ryan Mangus said. “They had a tough loss the night before. We played great defense and had a great pitching performance from Trey Wambeke as well as some big hits.”

Thursday’s games had the Red Sox defeating the Pirates 7-6 and the Angels defeating the Dodgers 6-5 for their first win of the season.

“The kids felt amazing,” Clendenen said. “They were just beside themselves and that was just what we needed. Our hitting was phenomenal, the pitching was amazing and we came together.”

Monday, the Tigers defeated Otto 11-10 in Otto.

Tuesday, the Angels defeated the Pirates 15-10 at the East Little League Complex to get their fourth win of the season.

Also on Tuesday, the Tigers tied with the Red Sox 8-8 in Cowley.

The Dodgers and the Angels will face each other Thursday at 6 p.m. at the East Little league Complex.

The interleague tournaments will be played next week with the Minor League tournament in Lovell and the Major League tournament in Powell.

By Sam Smith