Knights win 1st game in state tourney

It’s the Green River Knights time to shine at the state tournament in Lovell.

The Knights traveled to the tournament Tuesday morning and competed in the first round against the Lovell Mustangs that night. The Knights scraped out at win against Lovell 6-5, with Green River advancing to play the Cody Cubs tonight. For head coach Stub Hatfield, the key to victory in the tournament relies upon good baseball and limiting walks.

“If these kids play ball ... if we can just quit walking people, we can win,” Hatfield said.

Going into the match against Lovell, Hatfield said the team has played tough during the past few weeks, earning convincing wins against larger teams.

While pitching has given the Knights some troubles during the past few weeks, hitting has helped make up for that shortfall. The team has five players who are hitting .400 and above, with one batter recently scoring two grand slams during the conference match against the Riverton Raiders two weeks ago.

A grand slam in itself is a rare treat for baseball fans, but two from the same batter in the same game is almost unheard of. It was something Hatfield hadn’t seen in more than 40 years coaching and playing. Hatfield said the feat was only accomplished once in the major leagues. Fernando Tatis, a player for the St. Louis Cardinals, scored two grand slams during the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers April 23, 1999.

Going into the fourth inning of their first ballgame against Riverton July 8, the Knights and Raiders were tied 1-1. During that inning, Isaiah Munoz would hit his first grand slam and rotate back to the plate for a second.

“They couldn’t believe it,” Hatfield said about the hit. “Including the other team.”

By the end of the inning, Green River earned a 10-run win over Riverton. Munoz has 13 home runs for the season and is hitting a .435 batting average, however he isn’t the only strong batter on the team. Hatfield said Tyler Vendetti, Brendan Hopkins, Andrew Munoz and Mccadden Mikesell are also hitting above .400, with Hopkins batting a .424 average. Hopkins so far has hit five home runs throughout the season, with Andrew Munoz also notching five, while Vendetti has hit three.