GREEN RIVER — The Evanston Legion A baseball team may have gone 2-2 at the West District Tournament in Green River over the weekend, but they won the games that counted, earning a berth in the Class A State Baseball Tournament in Powell next week.

The Outlaws (22-20) opened the tournament Friday with a 10-3 win over Riverton, but fell to defending State Champs Powell Saturday, 13-3. Squaring off against Green River Sunday in a loser-out scenario, the Boys of Post 41 came out on top in a wild one, 14-9; exhausted, the Outlaws fell to Lovell to close out the tournament Sunday night, 16-3.

“We did what we needed to to get in,” said Outlaws skipper Nick Small. “I thought Gavin [Oliver], Walker [Wilson} and Ryder [Wilson] pitched really well for us. We had some timely hitting out of the middle and bottom of the lineup — that scored some critical runs for us. The Big Dogs got on base, and the middle and bottom of the order moved them in — that’s how you win ball games.”

As the No. 4-seed out of the West, the Outlaws will open the State Tournament Saturday against Casper, the No. 1-seed out of the East.

“The team is pretty excited — the kids are still hungry, and I think we’re going to be better than most people think we’ll be,” Small said. “We have a pretty good 1-2-3 punch with our pitchers, and we’re hitting the ball really well right now. We’ll fine-tune a few things on defense over the next couple of days, but I think it’s going to be a fun state tournament.”

Outlaws 10,

Riverton 3

The Outlaws — behind a stellar outing on the mound by starting pitcher Gavin Oliver — opened the West District Tournament on a high note Friday, beating Riverton 10-3.

Oliver gave up just two runs on three hits (one earned) over 5.2 innings, striking out nine; Small said it might have been Oliver’s best outing of the season.

“Gavin dominated that game on the mound for us,” Small said. “I think that’s one of the best games he’s thrown in his career — I say that just about every time he pitches, it seems like. To hold Riverton to three hits — they have a pretty powerful lineup, so that was impressive.”

After a scoreless first inning, the Outlaws exploded for six runs in the bottom of the second; they added one run in the bottom of the fifth, and three runs in the bottom of the sixth to secure the win. Ryder Wilson picked up the save, holding Riverton hitless over 1.2 innings.

The Outlaws pounded out 10 hits in the contest, led by a 2-for-4, 3 RBIs performance by Braxton Bauer, who hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth.

Gavin Oliver (2-for-4, double, 2 RBIs), Tyson Bateman (2-for-4, run scored) and Damian Kaman (2-for-4, 2 RBIs) also had multi-hit games for the Outlaws. Ryder Wilson doubled for his one hit of the game; he also knocked in a pair of runs and scored once. Jackson Osborne and Jayden Windley collected a hit apiece.

“This was the game where the middle and the bottom of the lineup really carried us,” Small said. “That, and two-out hits were really the keys in this one. We scored all six of those runs in the second inning with two outs. Realizing that with two outs, the inning isn’t over has become an identity for this team.”

Powell 13,

Outlaws 3

Squaring off against the defending State Champs Saturday, the Outlaws kept things close against Powell for most of the game, before a 7-run inning for the Pioneers in the bottom of the sixth sealed the deal, handing Evanston a 13-3 loss.

Walker Wilson pitched well for the Outlaws against a lineup of heavy hitters, giving up 10 runs on 11 hits (all earned), and striking out three. Damian Kaman pitched in relief, allowing three runs on one hits, and striking out one.

“I thought Walker pitched well — that’s a pretty potent lineup to throw against,” Small said. “One-through-5 in that lineup are All-State kids, and probably three of them are going on to play college baseball somewhere. Just one of those games where they had a little more horsepower.”

Evanston scattered six hits over six innings, led by Gavin Oliver, who went 2-for-3 – including a home run — with 2 RBIs and a run scored. Walker Wilson (1-for-2, 2 runs scored), Braxton Bauer (1-for-3, RBI), Jacson Osborne (1-for-3) and Kaman (1-for-2) collected a hit apiece.

Outlaws 14,

Green River 9

Facing a win-or-go-home scenario Sunday afternoon, the Outlaws punched their ticket to the State Tournament, beating I-80 rivals Green River in a wild one, 14-9.

Evanston started the game strong, plating three runs in the top of the first to take an early lead. The Knights answered with seven runs in the bottom of the first to take the lead 7-3, a lead the host team held until the top of the third. The Outlaws were able to retake the lead with five runs in the top of the third, they added three more runs in the top of the seventh to seal the 14-9 win.

“What a rollercoaster of a game, right?” Small said, laughing. “You come out and score three runs, and you think things are going well, we’re right on track. They came back and put seven on us, and it was a dogfight the rest of the way.”

Small said it’s been the team’s MO as of late to roll over in games like this – he was proud of the way the Outlaws battled back to get the win.

“The boys dug a little deep, and found a way to get the job done,” he said. “Ryder coming on to pitch in the second inning — what a job he did. He really took control of the game, and that was key — he was able to slow the game down, and let his teammates settle in.”

Ryder Wilson came on in relief of struggling starter Jacson Osborne in the second inning and pitched the rest of the way, allowing two runs on two hits (neither earned), and striking out six to pick up the win.

The Outlaws finished with 14 hits in the contest, led by three hits apiece from Ryder Wilson and Jacson Osborne; Osborne knocked in three runs, while Wilson crossed the plate three times.

Walker Wilson (2-for-4, 3 runs scored), Gavin Oliver (2-for-3, double, 2 RBIs), Tyson Bateman (2-for-4, 2 RBIs) and Damian Kaman (2-for-4, RBI, 2 runs scored) also had multi-hit games for the Outlaws. Braxton Bauer doubled for his one hit of the game; he also knocked in three runs and scored twice, while Jayden Windley finished with a hit and an RBI.

“Being able to punch 14 runs across — it’s hard to lose when you score that many,” Small said.

Lovell 16,

Outlaws 3

Emotionally spent after the wild win against Green River, the Outlaws closed out the tournament with a 16-3 loss to Lovell in the third-place game Sunday evening.

“We struggled a bit on the mound that game, and defensively, we kicked the ball around,” Small said. “It was hard to get them engaged, knowing they had already qualified for state. I would have liked to see a little more fight in them, but it is what it is. It was one of those games where I knew going in it was gonna be us or Lovell that won by 10.”

Tied 3-3 after three innings, the Mustangs broke the game open in the top of the fourth, plating nine runs to pull away for good. Damian Kaman took the loss, giving up 10 runs on seven hits (3 earned), and striking out four over three innings of work. Braxton Bauer pitched two innings in relief, allowing six runs on five hits, and striking out three.

Evanston managed just four hits in the contest, led by Bauer, who went 2-for-3, with a solo home run. Gavin Oliver also homered for the Outlaws, while Ryder Wilson had the team’s only other hit, knocking in a run.