Rockies win nail-biter championship with walk-off

It came down to the wire on Saturday as the Big Horn County Little League Rockies won the Majors interleague championship in walk-off fashion, 6-5 over the Rockies of Powell.

The Lovell Rockies entered the final inning trailing their opponent 5-4 on the scoreboard.

Madden Cooley lined a triple to right field to get momentum to swing in the Rockies’ favor.

Bradley Mickelson then singled on a hard ground ball to shortstop to score Cooley and tie the game at 5-5.

With two outs, Brooks Brost was the final hope to knock in the winning run as Mickelson was able to advance to third on a wild pitch after stealing second base.

On a 3-1 count, Brost hit a ground ball for a single, and Mickelson crossed the plate to ignite the celebration and clinch the title.

Cooley, Mickelson, Dane Wilson and Xaden Baxendale all had a pair of hits in the game, and Brost added arguably the most important for the nine total Rockies hits.

Wilson got the nod for the start on the mound in the title game and went 3.2 innings, striking out nine batters, walking six and giving up the five runs.

Cooley pitched the final 2.1 innings for the Rockies and blanked Powell on the board by striking out three and walking none.

The win improved the Rockies’ overall record to 16-1 on the season and earned them the gold medals.

EARLIER ACTION

To reach the championship, the Rockies swept their pool play games (2-0) and then marched (3-0) through the bracket.

The other Lovell squad, the Pirates, won both pool-play matches before falling to the Powell Rockies 7-5 in their first bracket game, ending their season with a 9-5 record.

In the Pirates final game, they received a pair of hits from Dax Mangus while Landon Asay and Kayan Owens had a hit each.

On the mound, Mangus struggled early, allowing the Rockies to jump out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning.

Brock Butler and Landen Peterson pitched in relief for the Pirates to combine for the final 2.2 innings to strike out three Rockies, walk three and give up the other two runs.