Topple Big Horn to take second at District

Park County was represented well at Riverton during the Wyoming Minors Little League District 1 tournament over the weekend as Cody and Powell finished in the top two slots of the 10-team field.

Powell had a close call in its first match-up, as the team eked by Big Horn by a 6-5 score.

As the home team, Powell got a first-inning run from Isaiah Woyak and saw Ethan Welch, Jacob Orr and Cade Queen come across in the third to take a 4-0 lead.

Big Horn battled its way back with two in the fourth and three in the top of the fifth to take a 5-4 lead.

Powell tied it up when Orr scored in the bottom of the inning and, after Queen struck out the side in the top of the sixth, the home team clinched it in its final at bat.

Dillon Payne singled and worked his way into scoring position for Powell, with Jacob Gibson driving him home with a single for the win.

The local all-stars carried the momentum of the win in a big way as they cruised past Lander by a 12-2, mercy-rule score to reach the title game against Cody.

The junior Cubs had made mincemeat out of their first two foes, hammering Rock Springs 21-1 and Riverton American 16-2.

And while Powell was their third consecutive victim, the 7-0 score was by far the closest any team had played Cody.

Now the fight was on in the second-place game, and the final spot to make it to state, as the future Pioneers were to face Big Horn again.

After the opening-round loss, the youngsters from Lovell and Cowley fought their way back with a 14-5 win over Bridger Valley, a 4-3 edging of Riverton American and got by Rock Springs in a 6-4 win.

But Powell wasn’t going to get into another nail-biter with its neighboring county, taking control early, with a 12-run first inning, and getting a 13-5 win to secure a trip to the state tournament.

There, the team will lace up their cleats to face the District 2 top seed Gillette Americans in the opening round.

The game will be played at the field in Lovell, with the first pitch slated for 3 p.m Wednesday.

A win would move Powell to face the winner of the Cody vs. Gillette National team at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, while a loss puts them in Thursday’s 10:30 a.m. consolation bracket game.

Powell’s Major League All-Stars didn’t fare quite as well as their younger brethren, but came back from two early losses and got back on track.

After falling by an 8-1 score against Big Horn, Powell was knocked out of title contention in a 10-6 loss to Green River.

Now in the consolation bracket, the Powell 11- and 12-year-olds lambasted Lander 17-6 and kept Kemmerer at arms length in a 10-4 win to reach the consolation title game.

There, Rock Springs proved too much for them in a 16-1 loss.

Cody would run through the tournament with 12-2 wins over both Green River and Big Horn before taking the District 1 championship over Riverton 5-3.

Riverton then topped Green River 11-1 to grab second place and reach the State Tournament in Cowley.