LARAMIE — Underclassmen delivered on a night reserved for the seniors and secured a state tournament appearance in the process.

Laramie disrupted a no-hitter more than halfway through and stopped the Cheyenne Hawks, 10-2 (five innings), in game one of a senior night doubleheader against the Cheyenne Hawks on Tuesday night at Cowboy Field.

The Rangers finished the deal with an 8-0 (five innings) triumph.

The Rangers extended their conference win streak to nine games and qualified for the Division I state tournament, set for July 24-28 in Gillette.

“The guys grinded really well,” Rangers manager Aaron Lozano said. “Kind of started off a little sluggish but they didn’t give up. They didn’t go to the tank. They made adjustments at the plate and broke through. That was nice to see.”

Jaxon Gosar, a rising junior, ended things with a two-RBI single. It capped a four-run fifth inning.

“To be honest, I didn’t realize that it was a walk off,” Gosar said. “I was just trying to get a base hit and put it in play.”

Laramie fully unlocked its offense once it reached Cheyenne’s bullpen.

Maddox Dorrell’s three-RBI triple in the fourth inning gifted the Rangers a 5-2 lead, just moments after their first hit.

“At the plate, I was trying to be aggressive early in the counts,” Dorrell said. “Try to get the early fastball for a strike and then after that, if I couldn’t do it, just adjust to what they were throwing and hit what was coming to me.”

Gosar, two at-bats later, pushed the advantage to 6-2 when he reached and Dorrell scored on an error.

Trace Looney, three at-bats before Dorrell’s triple, disrupted the no-hitter with a game-tying two-RBI double.

Laramie’s six-run fourth inning occurred after Cheyenne carried a 2-0 lead into the frame.

“Just kind of disappointed in not really playing a full five innings of baseball,” Hawks manager Sonny Bozza said. “Feel like we came out pretty good the first three innings and kinda started to shoot ourselves in the foot the next two defensively. Not helping our pitcher out.

“Just talking to our guys about having to stay locked in for the full game was a big thing.”

Two towering hits displayed Troy Nelson’s power.

Nelson, a Cheyenne Hawks designated hitter, gifted his squad the first-inning lead with an RBI double. He doubled it two innings later when his fly ball fooled center fielder Dorrell into an error and scored Chase Aragon.

Cheyenne Hawks starter Alex Vines allowed four earned runs, four walks and three hits in four innings. Vines struck out three.

He threw 3⅓ innings of no-hit ball.

“(Vines) just fills up the strike zone,” Bozza said. “The ability to throw both his fastball and his off-speed for strikes has been huge and mix it up for batters. Keep them a little off balance.”

Laramie starting pitcher TR Richardson earned the complete game win. He struck out five, allowing four hits, an earned run and two walks.

Game two

Laramie starting pitcher Larsen Wesnitzer recorded a two-hit complete game win. He struck out four and walked two.

Laramie opened with a 2-0 lead before scoring six runs across the fourth and fifth innings.

Will Harris began the scoring with a two-RBI single. 

Jax McLean, Looney, Harris, Damian Gomez and Gosar each recorded two hits. Richardson added a hit.

The Rangers (28-30-1 overall, 11-3 Senior Legion South Conference) will host Gering (Nebraska) at 2 and 4 p.m. Wednesday.

The Hawks (33-16, 8-4) will visit Green River at 1 and 3 p.m. Saturday.