BILLINGS, Mont. — The Green River Knights 18U varsity baseball team wrapped up the Buffalo Wild Wings Tournament in Billings, Montana with a 2-2 record over four games, showing flashes of offensive firepower but struggling to close out a pair of matchups in the late innings.
Green River opened tournament play Thursday with a come-from-behind 8-4 win over Lovell. Trailing 4-2 entering the bottom of the sixth, the Knights strung together five hits and a sacrifice fly to push across six runs and take the lead for good. Dom Hamel, Brody Fuller and Karson Hansen each drove in two runs. On the mound, Davy Puckett tossed five strong innings in relief, giving up just two runs and three hits to earn the win.
But the Knights couldn’t carry the momentum into Friday, falling 7-1 to the Post 4 Razorbacks from Pocatello, Idaho after a costly seventh inning. Green River held a narrow 1-0 lead heading into the fifth before surrendering two runs, then allowed five more in the final frame. James Hartman struck out eight in six innings but took the loss despite a solid performance. The Knights were held to just one run on six hits.
Green River bounced back Saturday morning with a 7-2 win over the Sheridan Jets. The Knights jumped out early with three runs in the first and two more in the second, never looking back. Travin Brown and James Hartman each tallied two RBIs, and Hamel picked up the win on the mound, limiting Sheridan to two runs over five innings. Green River was flawless in the field and aggressive on the bases, stealing seven bases.
In their final game of the tournament, the Knights dropped a 10-6 decision to the Fort McLeod, Alberta Royals. Green River briefly reclaimed the lead in the top of the fourth but gave up six runs in the bottom half on just one hit and multiple defensive miscues. Brody Fuller gave up seven earned runs over three and one-third innings, and the Knights couldn’t recover despite contributions from Korbin Nielson and Zane Kovick, who each drove in a run.
The Knights finished the weekend at .500 and will look to regroup at home as they host the annual Knights Invite this Thursday through Sunday.