Mustangs win two at state tournament, place in top four

A strong performance in postseason tournaments has cemented the 2024 season as a success for the Lovell Mustangs as they wrapped up the year with a 2-2 record at the Class A State American Legion Tournament after going 3-1 at the West District tournament.

Playing in Powell for the state tourney, the Mustangs stopped Torrington 13-3, fell to host Powell 8-4, eliminated Evanston 9-5 and fell to Cody 4-3.

“I’m extremely proud with how we finished,” manager Michael Jameson said. “You know, we were kind of up and down the start of the year. I think we were kind of underachieving to begin the year, and it was extremely frustrating. But I think that last six weeks of the season, we really put it together.

“I just wanted so bad for these boys’ sake to have an opportunity to play in a state championship game. But overall, I’m extremely proud with how they finished the year and how they were able to come together and just finish out the year and play well.”

Jameson said the team jelled late in the season.

“Once we were able to get everybody there and locked in, we were able to really get rolling, as far as our lineup and things like that,” he said. “I’m proud of the depth we were able to develop with a lot of guys playing a lot of baseball and getting a lot of at-bats and opportunities. Hopefully, that will continue to help us down the road. But, yeah, once we were able to get everybody on board, we were able to really make some noise and make some improvement. So hopefully we can get those guys all to buy in and be back next year and ready to go.

“We had multiple guys throughout the lineup step up at different times. Blake Wilson had a big game for us at districts against Evanston with three or four hits, and Matthew (Newman) last night (Monday). Up and down the lineup, we were able to get guys contributing. That makes it tough (on an opponent) when you’re able to do damage at any time, score runs and put things together.”

Torrington opener

The Mustangs started the tournament well with the 10-run win over the Torrington Tigers, the third seed from the East District, on Saturday afternoon. Lovell banged out 14 hits in the game and received solid pitching performances from Lafe Files, Jacob Bischoff and Alex Hedges.

Lovell never trailed in the game. The Mustangs scored three runs in the top of the first inning on RBI singles by Tucker Jackson and Files and a run-scoring double by Owen Walker.

Torrington plated two off Lovell starter Files in the bottom of the frame, but Lovell gained some breathing room with four runs in the top of the third to lead 7-2. Matthew Newman drew a bases-loaded walk, and Bischoff followed with a two-run double. Newman then scored the seventh run.

The Tigers scored an unearned run in the bottom of the third, but that was the end of the scoring for Torrington as Files, Bischoff and Hedges put zeros on the scoreboard for the rest of the game.

The Mustangs put the game away with five runs in the fifth to lead 12-3 and added a 13th run in the seventh. Carlos Rodriguez ripped a two-run base hit in the fifth, and both Cash Wassmer and Hedges hit RBI singles.

Files allowed three runs, two earned, on six hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings of work, striking out two. Bischoff and Hedges each threw 1 1/3 innings of hitless ball the rest of the game.

Bischoff, Wassmer, Files, Walker and Newman had two hits each for the Mustangs, and Bischoff drove in three runs, Rodriguez two.

“Torrington is a very talented team. We saw them early on, and we’ve kind of been keeping tabs on them,” Jameson said. “They’ve been winning a lot of baseball games against a lot of teams over on the other side of the state. And I think the biggest thing for us was to get those first three runs right off the bat. I think that really gave us some confidence, just get that momentum early.

“That was the big key to that game. We got on them early, and we were able to get that starting pitcher out of the game and get to the bullpen. And then we were able to continue to tack on runs. I thought our pitchers threw a great game for us. Lafe was excellent for us, and then both our relievers, with Jacob and Alex coming in.”

Loss to Powell

The Mustangs gave the eventual champion Powell Pioneers all they wanted on Sunday night, leading 4-2 before a bad fifth inning spelled doom in the 8-4 loss.

Lovell trailed 2-0 early, then rallied for a run in the third and three in the fourth to take the two-run lead. Rodriguez hit a two-run single in the fourth, and Jackson singled to score Kyle Wilson.

Jackson started on the mound for the Mustangs, allowing only two runs in the first four innings against the hard-hitting Pioneers until the fateful fifth during which Powell scored five runs, aided by three Mustang errors and an outfield misplay. Powell added one run in the sixth to win 8-4.

Jackson allowed eight runs, five earned, in five innings on the mound on six hits and three walks, fanning five. Rodriguez and Wassmer each threw a scoreless inning in relief of Jackson.

Rodriguez and Jackson had three hits each for Lovell, Kyle Wilson two. Rodriguez drove in two runs, Jackson and Wassmer one apiece.

“The first thing that comes to mind is the effort that Tucker gave us,” Jameson said of his starting pitcher. “He came out and competed and battled and threw his heart out for us. We had a couple of defensive letdowns, not being able to make a few plays. But I’m just so proud of him coming out and competing.

“That’s a big stage to play on, probably the biggest stage we’ve played on and the biggest crowd we’ve seen. And, you know, Tucker definitely rose to the occasion and threw a heck of a game for us. Just a couple of plays here and there, and it’s a completely different outcome. I felt like we battled, and we fought and we left it all in the field.”

Evanston win

The Mustangs had a battle on their hands early against Evanston, the fourth seed out of the West, before prevailing 9-5 Monday afternoon.

Lovell batters struggled to find holes against Evanston starter Wilson, while the Outlaws scored one run in the first inning and four more in the third against Lovell starter Wassmer.

The Mustangs finally broke through in the top of the fourth when Wassmer doubled to score Rodriguez, and they heated up in the next two innings, plating five runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth. Jackson singled to score one run, and Hedges’ bases-loaded triple scored three more. A two-run single by Jackson fueled the three-run sixth.

Wassmer allowed five runs on five hits and two walks in three innings of work, striking out four, and Bischoff slammed the door on the Outlaws and picked up the win, throwing four scoreless innings and allowing just two hits and a pair of walks, fanning five.

Newman led the Mustangs with three hits, and Walker and Jackson had two hits apiece. Jackson and Hedges drove in two runs each.

“It was just one of those days where you go from facing guys who throw hard, and then, to his credit, the Evanston kid did a great job of mixing up speeds and keeping us off balance,” Jameson noted. “We struggled that first time through the order, with a lot of pop-ups and weak ground balls. That second time through the order, we were able to make some adjustments. We realized that we had to sit back a little bit, and we had a little different approach than we normally have had at the plate. The guys did a good job, and we took advantage of a few mistakes on their part and get some runs.”

Nailbiter loss

The elimination game against Cody Tuesday afternoon was a heartbreaker as the Mustangs gave the Cubs all they could handle but just fell short in the end.

Lovell jumped on Cody starter Jayvin McAlmond for three runs in the top of the first inning as Jacob Bischoff opened the game with a single, advanced to second on a ground out and moved to third on a double by Tucker Jackson. Wassmer doubled to score two runs, and after a pair of walks, Wassmer scored on a fielder’s choice grounder off the bat of Walker.

Unfortunately, the three runs were the only times in the game that the Mustangs would cross home plate.

“It was kind of similar to the Evanston game? This was another guy (McAlmond) that didn’t throw real hard, had kind of a fastball and a change-up,” Jameson noted. “And we kind of struggled to make adjustments and sit back and hit line drives. We got a lot of pop flies and not a lot of solid contact. It was one of those days where we just weren’t able to square up the baseball like we have been all year and just couldn’t add on. I think we came out pretty hot with those first three runs, and then just weren’t able to add to it.”

Lovell starting pitcher Hedges was golden on the mound. Cody scratched out a run in the second when Hedges ran into come control problems, but other than that, he put zeros on the board until the fifth inning when the Cubs pushed across two more runs to tie the score, the tying run scoring on an error.

Batting in the top of the seventh, the Mustangs had a chance when Rodriguez walked with one out. Jackson hit a line drive to left field. Cody left-fielder William Duke stretched to catch the liner just above the grass, and Rodriguez, having rounded second, retreated back to first. But Cody appealed the play, and umpires ruled that Rodriguez failed to touch second on his way back to first, resulting in the third out.

In the bottom of the seventh, the first Cody batter grounded out to Rodriguez at shortstop. The next batter, Jarrett, was grazed by a pitch to reach first. The next batter hit a hard grounder that ate up Rodriguez at short with runners advancing to second and third.

With Hedges out of pitches, Rodriguez took the mound, and with two on base and only one out, Lovell coaches intentionally walked the next batter to create a force play and brought the infield and outfield in. Kanin Phillips ripped a single to left to score Jarrett with the winning run.

The loss leaves the Mustangs at 24-25 on the season, with two ties at tournaments when a time limit went into effect. Cody went on to play Powell for the state championship Wednesday.

“I can’t say enough about the effort these guys gave. They left it all on the field,” Jameson said. “I just wanted more than anything for these guys to have that opportunity to play in a state championship.”

“I’d like to mention the crowd and how much it meant to the team,” Jameson said of the fan support during the tournament. I’m sure for a lot of the kids it was probably the biggest crowd they have played in front of.”

Jameson noted the head coaches in attendance from other sports and the fans of all ages who showed up in support. He hopes the Little League players in attendance will be inspired to take the field for the Mustangs. He also noted the huge crowd for the Powell game.

“There were so many fans on both sides,” he said. “It meant a lot to those boys. It was really a cool atmosphere. It gives you goose bumps.”

Some members of the Lovell squad will play in the Wyoming Class A East-West All-Star Game on August 10 in Green River.