Mustangs C squad competitive at state tourney

The Lovell Mustangs C all-star team played strong baseball as host of the American Legion Class C State Tournament in Cowley over the weekend, although they didn’t put a check in the win column, dropping two close games.
Thursday night, the Mustangs fell to a strong Laramie team, 3-1, and in a loser-out game Friday afternoon, the home squad fell to Douglas 10-9.
Game one Thursday was a pitchers’ duel as Lovell starter Kyson Crosby went toe to toe with a trio of Laramie hurlers.
The two teams battled to a scoreless tie for five innings as Crosby dominated the Laramie bats with a wicked curve ball while Lovell hitters had a tough time catching up to Laramie starter Dorrell’s high-octane fastball.
“This C state tournament was a little unlike the past two that I’ve been a part of,” coach Greg Rael said. “It seemed that all eight teams were pretty evenly matched. In the past there’s always been that one dominant team that would run through the tournament.
“We faced the best pitcher that we’d seen all season long in our first game against Laramie. Kid was tough. I think we only had one hit against him. Kyson pitched a great six innings of baseball. We were right there with them until the final inning. That was a tough loss for our boys, but we didn’t have much time to think about it because we played Douglas the next day.”
Laramie broke through with a run in the top of the sixth on a triple and single, but Lovell tied the score in the bottom of the frame. Taevyn Gruell was hit by a pitch, advanced on an outfield error, reached third on a hit batter when Aaiden Walker took one for the team and scored on a single by Easton Morgan.
Laramie scored two in the top of the seventh thanks to a pair of hit batters, a single, a passed ball and a fielder’s choice ground out. Gruell doubled with two out in the bottom of the frame but was left stranded.
Crosby allowed three runs, two earned, in 6 1/3 innings of work on seven hits and no walks, striking out five. Kannon Owens recorded the final two outs.
Gruell had two of the team’s four hits, while Rocco Rael and Morgan had the other two hits.
Laramie went on to win the state title with a 10-7 win over Cheyenne on Monday.
One-run loss
The second game was a slugfest. Lovell and Douglas were tied 3-3 when Douglas plated five runs in the top of the fourth, aided by a pair of errors. The never-say-die Mustangs rallied for three runs in the fourth and three in the fifth, only to see Douglas score two in the sixth to regain the lead and go on to win 10-9.
After Douglas opened scoring with two runs in the top of the first off Lovell starter Dallin Bischoff, the Mustangs cut the lead in half with a run in the bottom of the second on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Grant. Douglas added a run in the third, but Lovell tied the score with two in the bottom of the inning on a two-run double by Crosby.
Douglas plated five in the fourth, the Mustangs answered with three in the bottom of the frame on a two-run single by Owens and an error. After reliever Rael settled down to blank the Cats in the top of the fifth, Lovell took the lead in the bottom of the inning, 9-8, on an RBI single by Rael and a two-run base hit by Gruell.
Douglas scored two in the top of the sixth, tying the score on a triple and RBI single, then taking the lead on a two-out infield error. Lovell had three runners on base in the sixth inning and one in the seventh but could not score as Douglas advanced in the tournament, 10-9.
Bischoff allowed two runs in his two innings on the mound on three hits and no walks, striking out one. Rael allowed eight runs, five earned, in five innings on 11 hits and two walks, fanning a pair.
Rael went 3-4 at the plate with three runs scored and an RBI, and Crosby was 3-4 with two RBIs. Mac Morgan, Owens and Gruell also had hits.
“I thought we matched up better against Douglas,” Coach Rael said. “We saw the ball better at the plate, and our boys were taking advantage of that. We came up one run short, but they left it all out on the field.”
The Mustangs finished the season 20-15 and will lose Jaxson Miller, Rael, Bischoff, Crosby, Jaxen Baxendale and Kade Durtsche to ineligibility for C level baseball as they move up to the A team, some already playing in A games this season.
“Baseball’s a grind,” Rael said. “There’s a lot of different things these boys could be doing with their summer, but they choose to play baseball. Families in general sacrifice a lot for their son or sons to play the game, both time and money.
“Seems like we’re always getting compliments on our facilities in Cowley. Big props to Ray Peterson and the Town of Cowley. It’s always a bittersweet feeling to see the season come to an end. It’s been a fun group to coach, but I’m definitely looking forward to hitting the mountain with my family, spending time with my girls before they head back to college.”