GREEN RIVER — The Rock Springs Lady Tigers closed the regular season Monday with a rivalry sweep over Green River, winning 14-1 and 17-9 at Veterans Park ahead of this weekend’s South Regional Tournament in Rock Springs.
The day also featured a major milestone for Rock Springs pitcher Rilynn Wester, who surpassed 300 career strikeouts during the doubleheader.
Rock Springs improved to 14-14 entering postseason play, while Green River finished the regular season 5-23 after showing steady improvement over the second half of the year.
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In the opener, the Lady Tigers used a fast start and consistent offense to secure a 14-1 victory in five innings.
Rock Springs scored five runs in the first inning, capitalizing on an error before getting RBI contributions from Ruby Florencio, Payton Tomison, Berkley Garner and Taylor Flores.
The Lady Tigers added four more runs in the third inning, highlighted by a three-run groundout from Wester and another RBI single from Flores.
Flores continued her strong day at the plate by going 3-for-3, while Jemma McGarvey also recorded three hits. Rock Springs finished with 13 hits and played clean defensively without committing an error.
Wester earned the win in the circle, allowing just one run while striking out seven over five innings as she reached the 300-strikeout milestone for her career.
Green River collected several solid individual performances despite the loss. Jocelyn Shantz and Payton Shantz each had two hits, while Michael Burns drove in the Lady Wolves’ lone run.
The second game turned into a much more offensive contest, with Rock Springs pulling away late for a 17-9 win in a time-limited five-inning game.
After a scoreless first inning, the Lady Tigers erupted for nine runs in the second. Payton Tomison and Berkley Garner each drove in two runs, Tarin Anderson added a two-run single and McGarvey delivered the biggest hit of the inning with a three-run home run to left field.
Rock Springs continued to build its lead with two more runs in the third before scoring six in the fifth.
McGarvey finished with four RBIs, while Anderson added three RBIs of her own. Flores again sparked the lineup from the bottom of the order with three hits, while Wester, Florencio, Wallendorff and Garner all had multi-hit games.
Wester earned her second win of the day after throwing three scoreless innings to start the game.
Green River continued to battle offensively late in the contest, scoring five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning behind RBI doubles from Hadlee Mortimer, Bentlee Aimone and Cassie Kelley. Brinley Luth turned in one of the top performances for the Lady Wolves, finishing with three hits, including a triple and double.
Despite the sweep, Green River showed noticeable growth over the final month of the season after a difficult start. The Lady Wolves picked up five wins after opening the year 0-14 and became far more competitive offensively heading into the postseason.
Rock Springs now turns its attention toward hosting the South Regional Tournament, where the Lady Tigers will look to build momentum after finishing the regular season on a four game win streak.
