Season ends at state tournament for Mustangs C team

The Lovell Mustangs Legion C squad concluded their season at the state tournament in Evanston last week. The Mustangs (15-9) lost to the Laramie Rangers 15-4 on Thursday and the Douglas Cats 17-4 on Friday morning.

Against Laramie, Lovell held a 4-3 lead going into the top of the fourth inning before the Rangers went on an eight-run scoring spree. The Mustangs’ bats remained silent, and Laramie tacked on four more runs in the fifth.

Dane Wilson led the offensive effort for the Mustangs, going 2-for-2 at the plate, while Zander Stahl and Bradley Mickelson each added a hit in the game.

Aaiden Walker pitched the first 3.1 innings for Lovell before Wilson, Stahl and Madden Cooley came in for relief. The hurlers struggled finding the strike zone and walked a total of 17 Laramie batters, struck out three and gave up eight hits.

The opening round loss forced Lovell into an elimination game against Douglas on Friday morning. The Mustangs’ offense still struggled to put high numbers on the scoreboard but managed to score one in each of the first four innings.

The Cats led 7-3 going into the fourth inning and sealed the deal with a huge 10-run performance in the top of the frame to claim the 17-4 victory and end the Mustangs’ playoff run and season.

Mickelson finished the game going 2-for-3 at the plate for the Mustangs, while Stahl and Walker had the team’s only other hits.

Cooley, Mickelson and Harper Morgan shared pitching responsibilities for Lovell, and the trio allowed 17 runs (six earned) on 12 hits, striking out two and walking five Douglas batters.

“It’s definitely not how we wanted our season to end,” coach Jonathan Morgan said. “The state tournament has some stout teams, and I knew we would have to play our best ball to be competitive.”

Morgan said his team had the ability to compete with the other teams but struggled to execute plays in the field defensively and get timely hits when needed.

“We couldn’t seem to ever gain any momentum or consistency in either game,” he said.

Recapping the season, Morgan believes it was a good year, and he saw a lot of growth in his players.

“I think our first-year players had their eyes opened a bit,” he said. “They adapted well and got a lot of reps, and I saw improvement in each of them.”

He credited Ryan Grant and Walker for stepping into leadership roles with the group and praised the job they did in that capacity and for having productive seasons.

“I saw improvement in our second-year guys from last season until now, too,” he added. “This team was a great group of kids who have great potential. I hope they all come back out next season and continue to build Lovell Mustangs baseball.”