Mustang C squad wins three of four

The Lovell Mustangs C team powered to the title game of the Powell Tournament over the weekend but fell in the finale.

Still, a 3-1 record propelled the Mustangs to a 9-8 record on the season, boosting over the .500 benchmark for the first time this season. The Mustangs have won six out of their last seven games.

“Our C team had a great weekend of baseball in Powell,” coach Greg Rael said. “We’ve been practicing since the end of March, and you can see all the time the boys have been putting in starting to pay off.  For the most part we played mistake free baseball, which is huge in any sport. The last game against Green River kind of nipped us a little with errors.”

Lovell opened with the Powell Pioneers Friday and edged the host team 5-3, then clobbered Cody 14-7. Saturday, the Mustangs shut out Green River 10-0, then met the Knights in the championship game, this time falling 7-3.

“What I’ve noticed over the past two tournaments that we’ve played in is that most teams are limited on pitchers,” Rael noted. “We’ve pitched nine kids on our team this season, and we pitch seven of them regularly. It’s nice at this level when you can use just one pitcher per game. The tricky part is finding enough innings for all of them and keeping the ball rolling.

“Our approach at the plate has been better, too. Coach Munch (Michael Jameson) has done a great job teaching our approach at the plate and a two-strike approach. When we swing the bat we’re typically in good shape; it’s those backward Ks (called strikeouts) that are hard to swallow.”

The Mustangs were tied with Powell 3-3 in game one Friday but scored two runs in the top of the sixth to go ahead as Kyson Crosby slammed the door on Powell with two innings of hitless relief on the mound.

Mac Morgan led the Mustangs with two hits, with one run and one RBI, and he also started on the mound, allowing three runs on six hits and just one walk in five innings of work. He struck out six. Taevyn Gruell and Rocco Rael each had a hit, and Kannon Owens drove in two runs.

Aaiden Walker and Dallin Bischoff scored two runs apiece.

Game two

The Mustangs plated four runs in the first inning and eight in the second en route to a 14-7 shellacking of Cody. Rael was hot at the plate, going 4-5 with three RBIs and a run. Crosby was 3-5 with two runs and an RBI, Owens 2-3 with three runs and an RBI. Finishing with one hit each were Mac Morgan, Hudson Miller, Gruell, Easton Morgan and Ryan Grant. Owens ripped a triple, Crosby a double.

Owens started on the bump for Lovell and allowed three runs on two hits and one walk in 2 1/3 innings, striking out two. Bischoff went 4 2/3 innings, allowing four unearned runs on two hits and two walks, fanning four.

Win number three

Crosby threw a three-hit shutout against Green River Saturday as the Mustangs clobbered the Knights 10-0.

Leading 1-0, the Mustangs broke the game open with six runs in the third inning, then cruised to the win via the 10-run mercy rule. Lovell had just four hits but benefitted from six walks and two hit batters, plus some wild pitches.

Lovell hits came off the bats of Mac Morgan, Owens, Gruell and Easton Morgan. Owens, Gruell, Walker, Easton Morgan and Grant had one RBI each.

Crosby threw only 65 pitches in five frames, allowing three hits and walking four. He fanned just one and received plenty of defensive support behind him.

Title game

Playing Green River again for the championship, the Mustangs led 3-0 after four innings, only to see the lead evaporate as Green River plated one run in the fifth, four in the sixth and two in the seventh. Lovell left the bases loaded in the fourth.

Rael, Gruell, Miller and Crosby each had one of Lovell’s four hits, and Gruell had two RBIs.

Rael took the loss on the mound, allowing seven runs, four earned, on 10 hits and three walks in 6 2/3 innings, fanning three. Easton Morgan got the final out.

Up next

A road trip to Sheridan Wednesday afternoon was next on the schedule for the Mustangs, and they are also scheduled to play a doubleheader in Worland Saturday at 4 p.m.

“We don’t have any conference games over the next couple weeks,” Rael said. “It’ll be a good time to work out some of the kinks and just let the boys play.”