GREEN RIVER — The Green River Knights kept their season alive Friday afternoon, rallying from an early deficit to defeat Wheatland 11-5 in an elimination game at the Wyoming American Legion Division II State Tournament.
After falling to Jackson in Thursday’s opener, Green River responded with a strong offensive performance, collecting 15 hits to advance in the loser’s bracket. The Knights will face the loser of Friday’s Riverton-Cody matchup at 1 p.m. Saturday with another win-or-go-home contest awaiting.
Batting first as the tournament’s lower seed, Green River opened the game with a leadoff walk but couldn’t take advantage. A double play erased the baserunner before a groundout ended the inning.
The Knights then ran into trouble defensively in the bottom of the first. An error allowed Wheatland’s leadoff batter to reach before the Lobos capitalized with two outs. Kenny Raser’s single to left scored Nolan Schaffner after another error in the outfield, and Braxton Becker followed with an RBI single to give Wheatland a 2-0 lead.
The score remained unchanged through the second inning before Green River began to chip away in the third.
Oliver Akin battled back from an 0-2 count to draw a leadoff walk. After advancing to third on a wild pitch during Corwin Paoli’s at-bat, Akin tagged up and scored on Paoli’s sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 2-1.
The Knights pulled even in the fourth inning when Korbin Nielson lined a single to center field, bringing home Landon Smart to tie the game at 2-2.
Green River seized control in the fifth.
Three straight singles to open the inning sparked the rally. Travin Brown scored on a wild pitch during Akin’s at-bat before Akin delivered an RBI single to score Brylan Ginestar and put the Knights ahead for good. Moments later, Smart doubled to left field to plate Akin and extend the advantage to 5-2.
The Knights kept the pressure on in the sixth when Ginestar lined a single to score Davy Puckett and Sam Dockter before Aiden Mandros followed with a line-drive single to center, driving in Akin and Ginestar as Green River stretched its lead to 9-2.
Wheatland answered with one swing in the bottom half of the inning. Ben Smialek launched a three-run home run to trim the deficit to 9-5, but the Knights quickly regrouped and retired the next three batters to prevent the Lobos from building any further momentum.
Green River added two insurance runs in the seventh when Ginestar delivered another RBI single, bringing home Puckett and Nielson for the final 11-5 margin.
Smialek led Wheatland offensively, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs on his sixth-inning home run.
One day after managing just three hits against Jackson, the Knights erupted for 15 hits while recording nine RBIs, drawing five walks and striking out only three times. Green River also stole four bases and limited Wheatland to three earned runs.
Korbin Nielson led the Knights offensively, going 4-for-4 at the plate with one RBI.
Mandros handled the bulk of the work on the mound, throwing 94 pitches while allowing just two walks. Draiven Houchin closed out the victory in dominant fashion, retiring the side in order in the seventh inning while striking out two on only 11 pitches.
With the win, Green River extended its season and advanced to another elimination game. The Knights will face the loser of Friday’s Riverton-Cody contest at 1 p.m. Saturday for a chance to continue their run through the loser’s bracket.
