Laramie All-Stars Fall Just Shy of Titles

Both Laramie Little League baseball All-Star teams lost in their bid to win a state championship last Saturday in Gillette.

The Laramie 11-12 year old All-Stars lost to Gillette, while the 9-10 year old All-Stars lost to Cody for a second straight year.

9-10 All-Stars

After battling back through the loser's bracket with wins over Gillette National and Riverton, Laramie faced Cody for the title. Just like last year, Laramie took the opening championship game, but lost the second one.

Laramie exploded for 11 runs in the third inning and held off Cody 13-12. Billy Jenkins doubled and homered in the big inning and finished with 5 RBI's. Jaedyn Brown and Brandon Chavez added four hits apiece, as Laramie forced the "if necessary" game.

In the second one, Cody jumped all over Laramie. They scored 17 runs in the first three innings and won 24-12. The game was shortened to five innings due to the mercy rule.

Laramie tried to rally with nine runs in the fourth, but had already surrendered 21 by that point. Chavez had a pair of hits and two RBI in defeat.

11-12 All-Stars

Laramie faced the same scenario in this age division. In order to win the state title, they had to beat Gillette twice.

Unfortunately, Laramie never got that opportunity. Gillette won the game on a walk-off home run in the bottom of the sixth for a 7-6 win.

Laramie had early leads of 2-0 and 3-1, but Gillette rallied. They tied in in the third at 3-3. Then, Gillette took the lead with three runs in the fourth. Laramie answered with three run in the fifth. It was highlighted by Ryan Chamberlain's two-run home run.

That set up Gillette's heroics, as they edge Laramie and advance to the Northwest Regional in San Bernardino, CA.

Just a week earlier Laramie had beat Gillette twice in the District Tournament, but Gillette won both meetings during the State Tournament.