CHEYENNE – The Torrington Tiger C-NE squad wrapped up the season with a fourth-place finish at the state tournament on Saturday afternoon.
On Thursday afternoon, the Tigers began the state tournament with an 8-1 win over the Jackson Giants.
Jackson scored first in the bottom of the first inning on passed ball, and it wasn’t until the top of the third inning when Torrington managed to tie the game at one apiece.
Starting pitcher Ryan Moorehouse tied the game in the top of the third with a two-out single, scoring Anthony Moser, who had been hit by a pitch.
Torrington broke the tie in the top of the fourth with two runs courtesy of an error which scored two runners.
“We got runs when we needed to and played defense when we had to,” Tiger coach Mike Harberts said. “That kid was throwing really well. He was locating in places our kids didn’t want to swing. It took them a little bit to warm up and realize they’ve got to take what they are given and try to generate runs that way. We finally got to playing Torrington baseball and started putting runs on the scoreboard.”
The Tigers added a run in the fifth and sixth innings before capping off the game with three runs in the top of the seventh.
Moorehouse struck out five Jackson batters, pitching 6 1/3 innings. Holden Hackett came on in relief to record the final two outs.
“He gave up four hits and one run. The team obviously had his back, and they came through big,” Harberts said of Moorehouse. “He’s up and down sometimes, and today, he was spot on. He went 104 (pitches) and 6 1/3 innings. He certainly led this team to that ‘W’ today.”
Moser and Landre Greiman had two hits apiece. Both of Moser’s hits were doubles, and he drove in two runs and scored twice.
The win advanced the Tigers to the winner’s bracket side of the tournament, facing tournament host Cheyenne Indians.
“These guys are going to be stoked going into the second game. It’s been a while since Torrington has won a game at state,” Harberts said. “These guys are excited to get that opportunity to continue in the winner’s bracket. We understand going forward we are going to face even better teams on this side. We’ve got to use that energy that we built (Thursday).”
The game started an hour late due to a weather delay in the prior game, but Cheyenne got the best of the Tigers, handing Torrington a 13-7 loss.
The Tigers looked to jump on the home team early. Greiman led off the game with a single and came around to score on a single by Moorehouse.
It proved to be the only run for the Tigers until late in the game. Cheyenne tied the game in the bottom of the first and scored three in the second to take a 4-1 lead.
The Indians held on to the lead until the top of the fifth when Mac Hibben led off with a walk. Moser followed it up with a single. Hacket was hit by a pitch, and Greiman singled to load the bases. Moorehouse doubled to tie the game at four, and a Cheyenne wild pitch put the Tigers in front 5-4. A balk brought in the final run of the frame for Torrington.
Moorehouse led the way with three hits, while Moser and Greiman had two hits apiece in the loss. Greiman was tagged for the loss in relief of starter Wyler Fisher.
Cheyenne battled back with nine runs in the sixth to put away the Tigers, dropping them to the consolation side of the bracket.
The loss left the Tigers needed two wins to make it to championship Sunday. They opened Saturday with the Green River Knights, and Torrington dominated the game 13-4.
Hibben and Fisher led the team with three hits each, while Drew Kramer, Greiman and Moorehouse had two hits apiece. Greiman also had two RBIs.
Hackett was credited with the win, striking out three, pitching the complete game.
The win moved the Tigers on to face Casper, and it proved to be the end of the tournament run for Torrington in a 17-1 loss.
The Tigers committed five errors in the loss and tallied only two hits.
Moser and Cook had one single each, and Cook was tagged with the loss, striking out three over 4 2/3 innings.
Gillette ultimately defeated Cheyenne in the championship game on Sunday afternoon, 13-12.
The Tigers finished the season with a 20-8 record.
