Padres capture interleague Minors tournament

Three strong Lovell teams battled for supremacy throughout the regular season in the Minors Division of the Big Horn County Little League standings, but it was the Padres who captured the title with a win over the Cubs Thursday night in the championship game.

Powell teams and a Greybull squad also participated in the tournament, which was held at the Lovell Northeast Little League fields.

According to coach Stephen Anderson, the Padres beat Greybull in the first round Monday, June 15, 13-0 as Danny Henderson, Neko Hernandez and Esson Anderson combined for a shutout on the mound.

Anderson said Kameron Ohman had the big hit of the night, an RBI triple, and the defense was strong in the shutout.

“We fielded really good, especially in the second inning (when Greybull put some runners on base),” Anderson said. “The defense really stepped up.”

The Padres next stopped the Trash Pandas from Powell, who had dispatched the Powell Space Cowboys in the first round. The Pads prevailed over the Powell squad 18-6 on Tuesday evening.

Once again, Henderson, Hernandez and Anderson split time on the mound, Coach Anderson said, and remarkably Henderson and Anderson hit back-to-back inside-the-park homeruns in both the first and second innings as the Padres plated four runs in the first and nine in the second.

Tux Mills rapped three hits in the game, Jett Harris two.

Cubs roll

The Cubs, meanwhile, crushed the Lugnuts of Powell in the first round, 25-0. Grayson Walker, Kali Jameson and Joshua Slabbert each pitched one inning, head coach Jake Walker said, and the Cubs banged out 19 hits, scoring 16 runs in the first inning and nine in the second.

Quade Tew had four hits in the game, Jax Anderson, Jameson and Isaac Frescoln three apiece, Walker and Ezra Hopkin two each.

In a Lovell-Lovell battle, the Cubs topped the Royals 9-4 in the semifinals Tuesday evening, breaking a 2-2 tie with three runs in the third inning and four in the fourth. Jameson picked up the win on the hill with four innings of strong pitching, and Walker pitched the fifth. Jameson had three hits in the game, Slabbert two.

Title game

The Padres topped the Cubs 9-7 in the championship game Thursday night as Esson Anderson struck out 13 and allowed just four hits and two runs while walking none in 5 1/3 innings of work, Coach Anderson said.

“He pitched a heck of a game, definitely his best game of the year,” the coach said. Harris recorded the final two outs after Anderson reached the pitch count barrier and reliever Henderson hurt his shoulder. Henderson gave up some runs but got out of trouble to get the save as the Cubs rallied for five runs in the bottom of the sixth.

“It was a little stressful, but he (Harris) stepped up like a champ and finished her off,” Anderson said.

The game was tied 1-1 when the Padres scored four runs in the top of the third to lead 5-1 as Esson Anderson hit a two-run single and Mills also drove in a run.

Later, leading 6-2, the Padres seemingly put the game on ice with three in the top of the sixth to lead 9-2 before the Cubbies rallied for five in the bottom of the frame.

Walker pitched 3 1/3 innings for the Cubs, Jax Anderson 2 2/3. Jameson had three hits in the game, Jax Anderson two.

“Esson Anderson was pretty dominant,” Coach Walker said. “When Daniel (Henderson) hurt his shoulder, we started hitting.”

The three Lovell teams – Padres, Cubs and Royals – were evenly matched this season, each finishing with eight wins, Coach Anderson said.

“All three of us, on any given day, could have taken the championship,” he said, noting that his team benefited from the hard-fought game between the Royals and Cubs in the semifinals that forced the Cubs to throw a top pitcher or two longer than the Padres had to use their top aces.

The all-star teams have been formed, and Lovell will host the Stars and Stripes Tournament this weekend at the Northeast fields. The Minors all-stars will play Saturday only, meeting Cody at noon and Powell at 2 p.m.

The district tournament for the Minors is July 8-11 in Pinedale. Big Horn (Lovell) will meet Cody July 8 at 2 p.m. and Pinedale July 9 at 11:30 a.m. in pool play. Teams will then be seeded into a bracket on Friday and Saturday, July 10-11. Also in the tournament are Rock Springs, Powell, Afton, Bridger Valley and Green River.