BILLINGS, MT — The Green River Knights will venture outside Wyoming this week as they travel to Billings, Montana, to compete in the Buffalo Wild Wings Legion A Tournament.
The four-day event begins Thursday and features teams from Wyoming, Montana and Canada, giving the Knights an opportunity to test themselves against unfamiliar opponents as the season approaches its midway point.
Green River enters the tournament with an 8-12 overall record after splitting a home doubleheader with the Cheyenne Eagles earlier this week. The Knights snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 10-2 victory in the opener before falling 4-2 in the nightcap.
The tournament schedule opens Thursday evening when Green River faces Fort Macleod from Alberta, at 5:30 p.m. The Knights will then play twice Friday, taking on the host Billings Cardinals at 3 p.m. before returning to the field later that evening against Lethbridge, Alberta, at 8 p.m.
Green River’s scheduled games conclude Saturday against the Sheridan Jets at 8 p.m. Match-play games will then be held Sunday, with opponents and game times determined by results from earlier in the tournament. The event will provide Green River with a different challenge than it has already faced.
Several Wyoming teams are scheduled to participate in the tournament, including Lovell, Powell, Sheridan and Cheyenne.
For the Knights, the trip presents an opportunity to build momentum after ending their lengthy losing streak earlier in the week. Green River opened the season 7-4 before hitting a difficult stretch but showed signs of improvement in its split against Cheyenne.
The tournament also comes during the first season under Wyoming Legion Baseball’s revised structure following the elimination of the separate Class A and AA designations. With teams adjusting to the new format, events such as the Billings tournament offer additional opportunities to gain experience against a wide range of competitors.
By the time the Knights return home, they will have faced opponents from three different regions and potentially played as many as five games in four days, a stretch that could help shape the remainder of their summer season.
