ROCK SPRINGS — The Rock Springs Lady Tigers kept their season alive Saturday morning and finished the day with a trip to the state tournament.
Facing elimination to begin the second day of the 4A South Regional Softball Tournament, Rock Springs defeated Torrington 9-0 before rallying past Wheatland 5-4 later Saturday to secure the No. 3 seed from the South heading into next week’s state tournament in Cheyenne.
Rock Springs will face Natrona County, the No. 2 seed from the North, at 4 p.m. Thursday in the opening round of the state tournament.
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The Lady Tigers leaned heavily on standout pitching throughout the day, led again by Rilynn Wester.
After entering Saturday with 144 strikeouts on the season, Wester struck out 10 batters in the shutout victory over Torrington to move to 154 strikeouts for the year.
Rock Springs wasted little time taking control in the elimination game.
The Lady Tigers scored four runs in the first inning after Marley Adams singled home a run, Ruby Florencio drove in two with a groundout, and Jemma McGarvey added a solo home run.
Rock Springs added another run in the second before extending the lead in the fourth inning behind a Taylor Flores RBI double and a two-run homer from Wester.
Wester handled the rest in the circle, allowing just three hits across seven shutout innings while walking one.
The win advanced Rock Springs into the regional third-place game against Wheatland, which earlier Saturday upset top-seeded Laramie.
Wheatland grabbed the early momentum in the state-qualifying matchup behind two home runs from Landri Vaughn, taking a 3-0 lead through three innings.
Rock Springs answered in the bottom of the third, capitalizing on defensive miscues before Tarin Anderson and Florencio each drove in runs to give the Lady Tigers the lead.
Senior Ruby Florencio started in the circle and earned the win, allowing three runs over four innings before Wester entered in relief to close out the victory.
Wester recorded five strikeouts in relief, pushing her season total to 159 entering the state tournament.
Rock Springs finished the regional tournament by winning two consecutive elimination games after falling in the semifinals Friday to Cheyenne Central.
Now, the Lady Tigers head to Cheyenne with momentum after battling through the back side of the bracket to earn a state berth.
