The Green River Knights baseball season came to an abrupt end last week as the Knights lost their first two games of the double elimination state tournament.
In two close games, a one run loss in the opener Wednesday to the No. 3 seed from the North, the Riverton Raiders 2-1, then exchanging leads for 10 innings with the Cody Cubs, before finally being eliminated by the two-time defending state champs 14-13.
In their first game Wednesday Green River was the victim of some outstanding pitching by Dalton Baldes of Riverton, who went the nine-inning distance, throwing 140 pitches giving up seven hits and just one run while striking out 13. Green River also had good pitching, holding Cody batters to just four hits but one extra run led to the loss.
In the loser-out game Thursday the Knights jumped out to a one run lead as leadoff batter Tyler Vendetti walked and Brendan Hopkins brought him home with a double. Only one batter reached base for either team in the second and third innings. In the fourth inning, Hopkins got things started with a base hit to left and was brought home with a two run homer by Andrew Munoz for a 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, Cody struck back for two runs when Green River gave up three singles and a balk to make it 3-2 in favor of the Knights. In the top of the fifth the Knights got another run as Ian Ebert singled to left, Vendetti drew a walk, Mikesel followed with a single, but Hopkins grounded out driving in Ebert and it was 4-2 going into the bottom of the fifth. Cody came back in the inning to score four runs and go ahead 6-4. Neither team scored in the sixth.
In the top of the seventh, two Knights reached base on Cody errors and singles by Hopkins and Zumwalt and a walk to Munoz resulted in the Knights scoring four runs to regain the lead. In the bottom of the seventh Cody came right back on two walks, three singles and an error to go up 10-8. In the top of the eighth, the Knights went three up and three down. In the bottom of the eighth, Cody came back once again with a two run homer a runner reaching on an error a sacrifice fly and a stolen base to go up by five runs 13-8.
Down by five runs going into the ninth, the Knights made a great comeback to tie the score on Andrew Munoz’s second homer of the game, singles by Zumwalt, Taliafero, Ebert, a wild pitch a hit batsman and two walks to tie the game 13-13.
In the bottom of the ninth Cody was held scoreless and the game went to extra innings. In the tenth the Knights went three up and three down. Cody was able to put together a walk, a single, a sacrifice bunt, and an infield single to score the game winning run 14-13 in a heartbreaker for the Knights to end their season.
Reported scores show the Knights ending the season with a very respectable 33-18 record with two players, Tyler Vendetti and Brendan Hopkins making First Team All State for the second year in a row and two players making second team All State, Blake Gelinas and Andrew Munoz.
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