WESTCO splits games at Firecracker Tournament

Well, sort of.

WESTCO, which has been on a tear recently, continued to play well in both of its games Thursday; however, a couple miscues in the final inning in the first game left WESTCO with a split of its games instead of a sweep.

Loveland, Colo., managed to scrape three runs across in the final inning to defeat WESTCO 5-4, but the Zephyrs quickly bounced back with a big 9-2 victory against Laramie.

WESTCO has now won 10 of its last 12 games.

``Our guys seem to be gaining a little bit more confidence, and we seem to be getting a little bit better each game,'' Zephyrs coach Mark Moran said. ``The big thing now is to just keep improving.''

Sparked by another stellar pitching performance by Michael Hoppes, WESTCO had little trouble moving past Laramie. Making the win even more impressive was that Laramie threw its best pitcher.

WESTCO wasted no time jumping ahead, scoring two runs in the opening inning. The Zephyrs then added another run in the second to take control.

``I thought getting those early runs was a big key,'' Moran said. ``It really puts a lot of pressure on the other team when you take a lead like that, especially when your pitcher is holding them in check.''

The Zephyrs put the game away in the fifth inning, when they exploded for six runs on four hits, two walks and one hit by pitch. Zac Rada got the surge started with a walk, and then Garrett Deeds was hit by a pitch. Chase Wickard singled to load the bases, and then Trevor Papczun walked to bring in Rada. Joe Huck followed with a single to score Deeds and Wickard, and then Nate Goodwin singled to bring home Papczun. Huck also scored on the play when the ball got by the centerfielder. WESTCO's final score of the inning came when Hoppes singled in Goodwin.

Moran said he was glad to see his team play so well against Laramie after losing a heartbreaker against Loveland. Hoppes helped spark WESTCO's attack, giving up just three hits and striking out nine. He also came up big at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two RBIs.

``It was a really good recovery,'' Moran said. ``Laramie threw their number one kid at us - he's really good - but I thought we competed at the plate very well.

``I think it is hard to bounce back 20 minutes after you just gave a game away. But our guys did a really nice job of putting [the Loveland] game behind us. We got locked into the second game and played a lot better.''

Moran liked what he saw from his team in the first game, too, except for the last couple innings. WESTCO held a 4-1 lead after five innings, and the Zephyrs threatened to move in front even more in the sixth inning. But Loveland escaped any more damage late in the sixth inning, and the Colorado foe then started its comeback by scoring one run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Loveland then really came alive in the final frame, tallying three runs - helped by a couple Zephyrs' errors - to prevail.

``In the first game we really blew a game we should have won,'' Moran said. ``That was disappointing.''

Tyler Patrick led WESTCO at the plate against Laramie with a 3-for-3 effort and two RBIs.

WESTCO (15-17) will continue play in the Laramie Tournament today at 2 p.m. against the Colorado Bandits, a talented team made up of graduates from several high schools. WESTCO will then be off Saturday, before competing in a placement game Sunday at Laramie.

Thursday's Games

Zephyrs 110 110 0 - 4 7 4

Loveland 000 101 3 - 5 7 2

WP-Posegate. LP-Papczun.

Zephyrs 210 060 0 - 9 10 2

Laramie 000 020 0 - 2 3 1

WP-Hoppes. LP-Carter.