ROCK SPRINGS — The hosting Rock Springs Lady Tigers moved within one win of a state tournament berth Friday at the 4A South Regional Softball Tournament before falling in the semifinal round to Cheyenne Central at the Wataha Recreational Complex.
Rock Springs opened the tournament with a 7-1 victory over Wheatland before falling 10-2 to Cheyenne Central later in the day.
The split sends the Lady Tigers into an elimination game Saturday morning against Torrington at 10 a.m. A win would secure Rock Springs a spot at next week’s state tournament and advance the Lady Tigers into the third-place game against either Laramie or Wheatland at 1 p.m. A loss would end their season.
TRN Media will livestream Saturday’s Rock Springs games with audio-only coverage on SweetwaterNOW’s Facebook page.
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Rock Springs opened the tournament with one of its strongest performances of the last few weeks behind a dominant outing from Tarin Anderson and Rilynn Wester.
Anderson hit two home runs and drove in five runs as the Lady Tigers defeated Wheatland 7-1 in the opening round.
After Wheatland scored first in the top of the first inning, Anderson immediately answered with a two-run homer in the bottom half to give Rock Springs the lead for good. She added another two-run blast in the third inning as the Lady Tigers continued to create separation offensively.
Wester handled the rest in the circle, striking out 13 batters while allowing just four hits and one run across seven innings, raising her strikeout total to 140 on the year ahead of the semifinals.
Rock Springs advanced to the semifinal round against Cheyenne Central with a chance to clinch a state berth Friday evening, but the Indians capitalized early and never allowed the Lady Tigers to settle in offensively.
Central scored three runs in the first inning, aided by a pair of Rock Springs errors, and gradually extended the lead throughout the game on the way to a 10-2 win.
Despite the loss, Wester and Ruby Florencio continued to produce offensively. Wester collected three hits from the leadoff spot, while Florencio added two more hits for the Lady Tigers.
Cheyenne Central also pressured Rock Springs on the bases throughout the game, totaling six stolen bases.
The Lady Tigers now turn their attention to Saturday’s elimination matchup against Torrington, the same team that eliminated Green River earlier Friday.
Rock Springs enters the day still one win away from returning to the state tournament on its home field.
