Rich's sometimes disjointed rambling

I've said it before and I'll say it now: There's nothing like spending some time at the ballpark in the summer. If you get a chance, go to Cowboy Field this weekend for the first Dooley Oil Classic American Legion baseball tournament. The tourney will run through Sunday evening. The host Laramie Rangers took on Dothan , Ala., Saturday night, with Dothan coming away with a 1-0 win. What a game! Possibly one of the best I have ever watched on the American Legion level. Dothan has competed in the American Legion World Series twice in the last four years. Other quality teams competing include Wheatland , Cheyenne Post 6, Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs), Sand Creek (Colorado Springs) and the Colorado Bandits and State Farm (Boulder County). The Rangers received a scare Friday night when Jordan Rhodine dove back hard to third base on a pick-off attempt and hurt his knee. All indications are, however, that the injury is not serious. It's always refreshing to see Legio...

The Laramie Rangers AA American Legion baseball team bounced back from being no-hit Saturday by Watertown , S.D., at the Rich Hinseth Agency Tournament in Rapid City, S.D., by splitting on Sunday. Laramie edged Great Falls, Mont., 6-5 before falling to Wheatland 6-5 in eight innings, The Rangers were 2-3 in the tournament and are 7-16 on the season. Against Great Falls, Laramie bounced back from a 5-2 deficit with four runs in the top of the seventh, then survived a bases-loaded, one-out rally by Great Falls when starting pitcher Coley Wilson induced a double play to end the game. Mike Garner had two hits and three RBI to pace the Rangers, while Max Schoen also added two hits. Laramie had nine hits in the game. Wilson picked up the win on the mound, scattering 10 hits. In the second game of the day, Laramie jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, but saw the Lobos score three times i n the third inning for a 4-3 advantage . Laramie tied the game with a run in the fifth and...

Laramie High School's Stephen Michel keeps on bringing home the hardware. Last week Michel was named the G atorade Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year, and on Saturday, he was selected the Milward Simpson Award boys' winner. All this while competing and placing in the NIKE National Outdoor High School Championships over the weekend in North Carolina. Lovell's Kristen Scheffler was also named the female Simpson Award winner Saturday at the Wyoming Sports Hall of Fame banquet in Casper. Both Michel and Scheffler will be competing at the University of Wyoming -- Michel in track and field and Scheffler in basketball . Michel set three overall outdoor track and field state meet records as a senior. He shattered the existing state records in the 100 and 200 and also broke his own state record in the triple jump. He also won the long jump as a senior. In indoor track, he won six state championships in his career, including four as a senior (55, 200, long jump and tri...

It proved to be a tough morning at the ballpark for the Laramie Rangers on Saturday at the Rich Hinseth Agency Tournament in Rapid City, S.D. Watertown , S.D., pitcher Nate Vanlaecker no-hit the Rangers in the 8-0 win that ended in the fifth inning because of the eight-run rule. The loss dropped Laramie to 1-2 in the tournament and 6-15 on the season. The Rangers had just four baserunners in the game on four walks. Vanlaecker struck out two Laramie hitters. This was the third no-hitter in this tournament, as a pair of Rapid City Post 22 (varsity) hurlers have achieved the task as well. Watertown had plenty of offense to back up Vanlaecker, with 12 hits off of Laramie sgtarter Jordan Rhodine and reliever Jason Rodriguez. Watertown broke the game open with a five-run third inning. Laramie will look to close the tournament strong, facing Great Falls, Mont., Sunday at 12:30 p.m. and Wheatland at 3 p.m.

The Rapid City Split Squad used a four-run third and held off the Laramie Rangers 6-4 Friday morning during the second day of the Rich Hinseth Agency Tournament. Laramie led 2-1 before Rapid City took the lead in the third inning. Laramie came back with two more runs in the fifth to cut the lead to 5-4, but Rapid City added an insurance run i n the bottom of the frame. The Rangers are now 1-1 in the tournament and 6-14 on the season. Jon Sorenson paced the Rangers with two singles and a double for two RBI, with Sean Gardea , Skyler Joy and Coleton Wilson all adding two hits. Laramie outhit Rapid City 9-5. Max Schoen was the tough-luck loser on the mound for Laramie, giving up five hits and five runs in 3 1/3 inning. Mike Garner pitched the final 2 2/3 inning. Laramie faces Watertown , S.D., today at 10 a.m., before taking on Great Falls, Mont., at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday and Wheatland at 3 p.m.

The Laramie Rangers AA American Legion baseball team used the big inning to their advantage this time, as well as the outstanding pitching from Coleton Wilson, in running past Merced , Calif., 12-1 in five innings to open the Rich Hinseth Agency T ournament on Thursday in Rapid City, S.D. The Rangers, 6-13 on the season, have had the misfortune of giving up one bad inning in losses this season, but scored nine runs in the third inning and never looked back. Wilson did the rest on the mound with a four-hitter. Left fielder Sean Gardea had a big game for the Rangers , with four singles and a pair of RBI. Shortstop Skyler Joy, first baseman Mike Garner and third baseman Max Schoen knocked in two runs each for the Laramie offense. Wilson, meanwhile, gave up one run on two hits in the first inning , but yielded just two hits the rest of the way, walking one and striking out two. The Rangers will face Rapid City Post 22 at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, before playing Watertown , S.D., Satu...

Gathering around the water cooler early on Wednesday, talk was on Game 6 of the NBA Finals. After the Celtics blowout, the discussion probably ended with a "thank goodness" that there will be no Game 7. For the most part, the much anticipated Lakers -Celtics reunion was somewhat of a dull event. Give credit to the Celtics, they were the better team. The games as a whole, however, were not what most people had hoped for, especially those, including me, that were wanting the series to be somewhat of a nostalgic rehash of the old days. Did this series bring in old NBA fans who had grown tired of the current show? The ratings might have been up, but I doubt it. I can speak for myself in saying that I am not much more of a NBA fan than I was a month ago and I was just luke warm then. We'll see, but I'm glad the season is over. By early afternoon, the water cooler talk turned to Tiger Woods, when it was learned that he is out for the season because of pending knee surge...

The Laramie Rangers Prep American Legion baseball team rolled to a doubleheader sweep of the Fort Collins Hawks in Fort Collins League baseball action on Wednesday in Fort Collins. In the opener, Laramie scored seven runs in the seventh inning to pull away, 19-8. The Rangers led for much of the game, although Fort Collins enjoyed a short-lived 5-3 advantage after two innings. Laramie scored five runs i n the third and two runs each in the fourth and sixth innings for a 12-6 lead. Laramie finished with 18 hits in the game, led by Tyler Loose with three singles, one double and two RBI. Abel Casas , Taylor Boggess , Dylan Watson, Tommy Johnson and Tyler Warren all had two hits in the contest for Laramie. Hunter Wick got the win on the mound, giving p six hits and six runs in four innings, with Watson and Casey Stangle combining for the final three innings. The second game, the Rangers scored nine times in the sixth inning for the 15-8 victory. Laramie had 13 hits in the game, with C...

The Laramie Rangers AA American Legion baseball team and Wheatland's A squad tangled in a slugfest on Tuesday in Wheatland , with the Rangers taking a wild 18-13 win in the opener and the Lobos capturing the nightcap, 18-8. The two teams combined for 51 hits in the two games, including 32 in the opener. In the first game, Wheatland came out with eight runs in the first inning off of Laramie ace Coleton Wilson . The Rangers, however, responded with 12 runs in the third and the two teams were tied at 13-each after three innings. Laramie closed the scoring with a single run in the fourth, two in the fifth and two more in the seventh. The Rangers had 17 hits in the game, including two home runs each by Jon Sorenson and Mike Garner. Both had five RBI in the contest. Wilson and Jason Rodriguez both had three hits in the contest, with Rodriguez knocking in three runs. The defending A champion Lobos took the second game with a big nine-run fifth inning. Wheatland was only up 9-8 g...

It was an up and down day for two of the Laramie Rangers American Legion baseball teams on Saturday. The Rangers A team earned its first two wins o the season at Cowboy Field, as it topped Powell 5-0 and 12-7. The A squad is now 2-2 on the season. In the first game, the Rangers A team rode the shutout pitching of Brody Hilgencamp , who scattered five hits. The Laramie offense finished with three runs in the fourth and two more in the sixth. In the second game, Laramie opened with three runs in the first inning and led 7-0 before Powell made a late push. The Rangers had 13 hits in the gave, with Nolan Carter picking up the win on the mound. The Rangers A team returns to action on Tuesday when it hosts the Wheatland B team in a twinbill that begins at noon. The Laramie AA team couldn't match Friday's sweep of WESTCO when it fell to Mountain View, Colo., 12-11 and 14-7. The two losses dropped the Rangers AA team to 4-10 overall. In the first game, Laramie used a seven-run fou...

About three weeks into the season and playing away from home, what's another day or two for the Laramie Rangers. The Post 14 AA team was scheduled to open its home slate on Wednesday, but as (bad) luck would have it, the rains came early and often late Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, and later in the early afternoon. Laramie manager Sean McKinney had to make a decision by noon so WESTCO ( Scottsbluff - Gering , Neb.) wouldn't waste the trip. As it turned out, it was a good decision. The Rangers and Zephyrs will try again Friday at Cowboy Field, with the doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m. Laramie is 2-8 on the season, with both of its wins against the Zephyrs on May 18 in Scottsbluff . Prep beats Poudre The Laramie Rangers Prep team got back on the winning side on Monday night with a nice 10-7 win over Poudre in Fort Collins. Laramie, now 4-8 on the season, built a 7-2 lead after a six-run second inning. Unlike Saturday's 11-9 loss to the Rocky Mountain Titans in which ...

The Laramie Colts opened the Mountain Collegiate Baseball League with a solid 9-4 win over the Greeley Grays Sunday night at Cowboy Field. Laramie, under second-year manager Ryan Goodwin, scored a pair of runs in the first inning and single runs in the third and fourth, and after Greeley cut the lead to 4-2, scored three runs in the sixth and two more in the eighth. Two former Laramie Rangers -- center fielder Josh Warren and pitcher Peyton Davis -- contributed in the opening win. Warren had three hits to le ad the way -- a double and two singles -- knocking in two runs in the three-run sixth and another RBI single in the eighth. Davis pitched an inning of scoreless relief, giving up one hit. Laramie returns to action Monday night (7 p.m.) at Cheyenne, before returning home Tuesday night (6:35 p.m.) against Fort Collins.