The 2019 Wyoming American Legion Baseball Class ‘AA’ State Tournament was trimmed to six teams on Saturday in Gillette.

Casper and Gillette moved on in the winner’s bracket, while Evanston and Jackson survived elimination games to advance to day three on Sunday.

The Oilers trailed twice early but rallied for a 9-4 victory over the Sheridan Troopers.

Sheridan’s Race Johnston hit a solo home run to left field on the game’s second pitch. The Troopers added a run in the second for a 2-0 lead. After Casper’s Corbin Kirk hit an opposite-field home run and trimmed it to 2-1, Sheridan added a pair of runs in the third inning. Jaron Brewer came through with a two-run single for a 4-1 advantage.

Casper got one back in the third on Carter Young’s RBI-single. The Oilers took the lead in the fourth with four runs and padded their edge with three more in the sixth inning. Dylan Johnson’s two-run triple tied the game, while Harrison Taubert followed with an RBI-triple and gave the Oilers their first lead at 5-4. A sacrifice fly made it 6-4, Casper. A pair of RBI-singles and a sacrifice fly added the three runs in the sixth for a 9-4 victory.

Johnson and Kirk led the Casper 13-hit attack with three hits apiece. Johnson had two RBI’s, as did Young and Garrett Clasen. Zander Mcfee got the win on the mound. Taubert and Kirk threw 2.2 innings of scoreless relief.

Brewer’s two hits and two RBI’s led the Troopers. Sheridan had just five hits in the game but walked eight times. Quinn McCafferty tossed 116 pitches in 5.2 innings but took the loss.

Johnson and Casper manager Josh Simms spoke with WyoPreps’ David Settle after their victory.

Casper moves on to the semis to face the Gillette Roughriders, who were 19-5 winners over the Laramie Rangers in the other winner’s bracket game Saturday night. Meanwhile, Sheridan will take on Jackson at 1 p.m. Sunday in an elimination game.

The Riders scored 16 runs over the final three innings and beat Laramie for the fifth time this season.

Gillette scored one in the first and two in the third for a 3-0 advantage. A six-run fifth inning made it 9-0. The Riders had three hits in the frame but took advantage of three walks, a hit batter, and a sacrifice fly. Three runs in the sixth made it 12-0. An error by the Rangers, three walks, and a hit put Laramie in a deep hole.

The Rangers stayed alive with five runs in the bottom of the sixth. Mahlon Morris had an RBI-double to deep left field and Michael Schutterle added an RBI-double to right-center.

Gillette came right back with seven runs in the seventh. It was highlighted by Hayden Sylte’s inside-the-park two-run home run.

Kaleb Lewis led the Riders with two hits and six RBI’s. Jake Lacey, Caleb Driskill, and Tanner Richards added two hits apiece. Gillette used five pitchers in the victory. Starter Bode Rivenes got the win.

Riders skipper Nate Perleberg was pleased to see his team break out offensively.

Laramie had five runs on 10 hits. Janson Adair had three hits. Darek Squires started and suffered the loss.

The Rangers fall into the loser’s bracket and will play Evanston at 4 p.m. Sunday.

The first game on day two of the ‘AA’ State Tournament saw Evanston rally for a 7-2 victory over the Cody Cubs.

The Outlaws scored seven times in their final three at-bats. Brendan Thompson and Kendall Cummings had RBI-singles in the fourth that tied the game at 2-2. Gus Allred and Thompson added RBI-hits in the fifth that gave Evanston a 4-2 lead. Ryan Fisher’s RBI-single in the sixth made it 5-2, and that was followed by Allred’s two-run double to center field.

Cody had scored on a sacrifice fly in the first inning for a 1-0 lead. Their second run came in the fourth on an Ethan Johnston RBI-single.

The Cubs out-hit Evanston 11-to-10 but left 10 runners on base. Five Cody players had two hits each.

The Outlaws were led by Allred’s two hits and three RBI’s. Seth Lloyd went 6.2 innings and was the winning pitcher. He helped himself with a pair of hits offensively.

In the second elimination game, the Jackson Giants rolled past the Rock Springs Sand Puppies, 14-1, in six innings.

Jackson’s victory was highlighted by home runs from Quentin Bruno and Nate Fairbanks. The Giants had 15 hits and six of those were extra-base hits. Bruno and Gus Armijo had three hits apiece. Fairbanks had three RBI’s, while four other Jackson players drove in two runs each.

Jackson jumped out to a 7-0 lead after three innings. Seth Christiansen had a pair of RBI-doubles, while Parker Bleggi added a two-run double.

Rock Springs scored on an RBI ground out in the fourth, which trimmed the Giants lead to 8-1. A sacrifice fly and a bases-loaded walk made it 10-1 in the fifth. Fairbanks went deep with a three-run shot to left field, and Bruno followed with a solo shot to left two batters later.

Parker Bleggi got the win on the mound. He went four innings and allowed one run on one hit. Bleggi walked three and struck out two.

Rock Springs had just two total hits but did draw five walks. Domanik Gunyann was the losing pitcher.

Cody and Rock Springs were eliminated from the tournament with their second loss.

More From WyoPreps