Knights fall to Riverton, RS at invite

Despite a strong showing early on, the Green River Knights were unable to gain momentum in their home tournament over the weekend.

The Knights took sixth in the Green River Knights Invitational Tournament. Head coach Stub Hatfield said the team struggled with errors and and walking batters during their game with the Riverton Raiders. During the previous week, the Knights beat Riverton twice, defeating the Raiders 21-17 in their first game and 13-7 a second time.

While the Knights fell to the Riverton Raiders 12-5 in a non-conference game Friday, the team rallied to win against the Rawlins Generals 9-5 that same day. The Knights were able to breeze by the Jackson Giants 8-6 and Steamboat Springs, Colo., 13-3 on Saturday. However, errors and injuries would severely hamper the team Sunday against their rivals from Rock Springs, who powered through the Knights in a 10-3 game.

"We played lousy," Hatfield said. "We looked bad."

Due to injuries on the team, Hatfield said players were forced to play positions unfamiliar to them. Hatfield said he expected the team's batting to compensate for the drawback, but the Knights struggled with scoring.

The coming weekend allows the Knights to get some additional practice time in before the team travels to Jackson for a tournament during the Fourth of July weekend. Hatfield said the team is working to strengthen up its defense prior to the tournament. The team has worked on batting in the past, but Hatfield believes a stronger defense will serve Knights well in Jackson. The Jackson tournament attracts teams from not just Wyoming, but Idaho and Montana as well.