The Gillette Roughriders came from five points back Saturday afternoon to beat the Casper Oilers 9-8. With the win, the Roughriders advance to take on Cheyenne Post 6 in the state championship Saturday night beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Power’s Field.
The Riders got off to a slow start, falling behind 4-0 in the first inning, and they were down 5-0 going into the sixth.
In the bottom of the sixth, however, the Roughriders came alive. With one out, Drake Kelley started the Rider’s rally by hitting a single up the middle of the field. Then, Dalton Cowen doubled to right center, but was thrown out attempting to stretch the play into a triple. Nonetheless, the Roughriders were on the scoreboard as Kelley came across home plate.
With two outs, the Roughriders would go on to score four more runs in the sixth to tie the game.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Riders would put up four more runs to take the lead for the first time all day. Yet, the Oilers were not going to go down without a fight; after all, the losing team was going home for the year.
With runners on third and second and no outs, Alex Hill singled to right field to bring the Oilers within two points of tying up the game. Hill would ultimately score from third when Delane Doyle grounded out to second.
The Riders secured the victory when Zack Mathson grounded out to second to end the game.
For Gillette, Dalton McCann batted 3-4 with three RBI’s and one run. Also, Westin Hinkel was 3-1 at the plate with two runs scored.
Andrew Kaufman started on the mound for the Riders, throwing four innings, giving up eleven hits, five runs, and striking out one.
In the fifth, Westin Hinkle took the mound and ultimately earned the win. Hinkel pitched four innings, giving up three hits, two runs, and striking out three. Dalton Cowen stepped up to the mound to close the game out for Gillette, giving up one hit and one run to earn the save.
With the win over Casper, the Gillette Roughriders advance to the state championship against Cheyenne Post 6. If the Riders are going to be state champions, they will have to defeat Cheyenne two times in a row, while Cheyenne only needs to beat Gillette once. Post 6 already defeated the Roughriders once during the state tournament when they shut out Gillette 10-0 Friday night.
The championship begins Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. at Power’s Field in Cheyenne. You can catch the game on News/Talk 1270-AM KIML and online at http://www.network1sports.com/station/kiml#menus beginning at 6:45 p.m. with the Shell Food Mart pregame show.
If the Roughriders defeat Post 6 Saturday night, these two teams will face off in the final game of the season on Sunday, at 2:00 p.m.
