A lengthy winning streak continued at the most opportune of times.
Maddox Dorrell struck out 10 as the South No. 3 seed Laramie Rangers routed the North No. 2 seed Gillette, 9-3, during the opening round of the Wyoming American Legion Division I State Tournament on Friday in Gillette.
It marked the Rangers’ ninth consecutive win.
They will play the South No. 1 seed Cheyenne Sixers at 7 p.m. Saturday in the winner’s bracket.
Dorrell fooled the Roughriders in bunches as his strikeout tally blossomed to double digits against 18 batters faced. He allowed one hit, one earned run and walked three in 4â…“ innings.
Nine unanswered runs, plus five runs in the sixth inning, gifted Laramie the separation it needed.
The comeback started in the third inning when TR Richardson tied things with an RBI groundout before Larsen Wesnitzer scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball.
The Rangers tacked onto the lead in the fourth inning when a Jaxon Gosar RBI double made things 3-1. Trace Looney scored on a passed ball in the fifth inning and pushed the advantage to 4-1.
That extended to 9-1 in the sixth inning. Richardson scored Gosar on a sacrifice fly, then Jackson Bailey and Dorrell scored on an error. Looney scored on an error, which slid the lead to 8-1 before Quade Gill scored Will Harris on an RBI double.
Laramie’s offensive outburst answered Gillette’s run in the first inning when Caisen Schilling scored Riley Hawk on a single.
Gillette cut into the 9-1 deficit in the sixth inning on an Ethan Hecker RBI single and a hit by pitch that scored Kobe Craig.
Laramie reliever Damian Gomez allowed two hits, two earned runs and a walk in an inning. Gomez struck out two.
Richardson allowed a hit and a walk in 1⅓ innings. Looney recorded a strikeout on the final pitch — his only pitch of the game.
Gosar led with three hits in the No. 9 spot. Harris logged two hits. Bailey, Wesnitzer, Looney and Gill each recorded a hit.