EVANSTON — Fresh off their Silver Bracket Championship at the Pocatello Wood Bat Classic the week before, the Evanston Legion A baseball team closed out the home portion of its schedule last week at Ross Kesterson Field, sweeping a doubleheader from Riverton Tuesday, but dropping a pair of games to I-80 rival Rock Springs Thursday and Sunday.

The Outlaws (17-15-1) began the week in impressive fashion, routing the Riverton Raiders 14-1 in the opening game of Tuesday’s twin bill. Riverton kept it close in Game 2, though Evanston earned the sweep with a 6-5 win.

The Outlaws welcomed Rock Springs to town Thursday evening for a non-conference matchup, falling to the Stallions 6-3. Post 24 returned to Evanston Sunday afternoon for the Outlaws’ final home game of the regular season, and — behind a 15-run first inning — spoiled Evanston’s Senior Day festivities by handing the home team a 17-6 loss.

“Riverton was awesome, the kids played really well,” said Outlaws manager Nick Small. “We got two huge conference wins there. The Rock Springs games — I guess you could call them trap games, they don’t really mean anything. I was a little disappointed with the effort Thursday — it was a little ‘Two steps forward, one step back’ kind of thing. We just got two big wins, but you still have to put the work in — you can’t just show up to these other games. You have to have a little grit and fight in you. But the boys were tired, I get it. They’ve been playing a lot of baseball. And Sunday — that was just a bad day.”

Outlaws 14, Riverton 1

Behind a dominating performance on the mound by starting pitcher Brecken Rich, the Outlaws routed visiting Riverton 14-1 in the opening game of Tuesday’s twin bill at Ross Kesterson Field.

Rich allowed just one earned run on five hits and struck out five over five innings of work, while the Outlaws collected seven hits in the contest, plating four runs in the first inning, five runs in the second and five runs in the third.

“Brecken came out, and was throwing really well,” Small said. “He had a lot of offense behind him, and it kind of set the tone for the second game.”

Ben Lail collected two hits, while Brackin Lail, Gavin Oliver, Jacson Osborne, Jaden Windley and Damian Kaman each had a hit, with Windley smacking a triple and knocking in three runs; Oliver had a double and an RBI. Kaman finished with two RBIs.

Outlaws 6, Riverton 5

Game 2 of Tuesday’s doubleheader appeared headed for disaster for the home team, as the Outlaws spotted Riverton a quick 5-0 lead over the first two innings.

Evanston slowly chipped away over the remaining five innings, however, with Jacson Osborne providing some late-inning heroics, knocking in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth with a walk-off double.

“Our starting pitcher didn’t quite have his stuff, but we were able to make a quick pitching change,” Small said. “We held the damage to five runs, and slowly chipped away — the boys kept it within reach, and pulled off a walk-off win.”

After struggling offensively in Game 1, the Raiders got off to a fast start in Game 2, plating three runs in the top of the first and two runs in the top of the second, while holding Evanston scoreless in both.

The Outlaws finally got on the board with a run in the bottom of the third. Gavin Oliver tripled to right, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Osborne to make it 5-1. Held scoreless in the fourth, Evanston scored twice more in the bottom of the fifth — singles by Brackin Lail and Osborne gave the Outlaws baserunners, and poor fielding by Riverton on a Brecken Rich ground ball enabled both to score, cutting the Raiders’ lead to 6-3.

The Outlaws brought the game back to even in the bottom of the seventh, courtesy of an RBI triple by Rich, and a sac fly by Jaden Windley, allowing Rich to score the tying run. Knotted at 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth, Damian Kaman and Brackin Lail both reached on singles, and with two outs, Osborne doubled to center, scoring Kaman for the 6-5 win.

Evanston pounded out 14 hits in the contest, with five Outlaws collecting multiple hits. Brackin Lail went 3-for-5 with a run scored, while Osborne finished 2-for-3 with a triple, a double and 2 RBIs. Jaden Windley went 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI, Rich was 2-for-4 with an RBI and Ben Lail was 2-for-5. Oliver finished 1-for-4 with a triple and a run scored, while Tyson Bateman and Kaman each collected a hit.

Oliver started on the mound for the Outlaws, allowing five runs on six hits (four earned) and striking out three over two innings. Brackin Lail came on in relief and picked up the win, pitching six shutout innings and allowing just three hits, striking out eight.

“The boys showed a lot of maturity in coming back like that — staying focused and doing what needed to be done to get the win,” Small said. “I was very proud of their effort.”

Rock Springs 6, Outlaws 3

Thursday’s non-conference matchup against visiting Rock Springs was a pitcher’s duel for most of the game, before a late-inning offensive explosion by the Stallions gave Post 24 a 6-3 win.

“I think we were a little tired,” Small explained. “Coming off Pocatello, then right into the Riverton games, it was a lot of baseball in a short amount of time. We just didn’t execute well at the plate — we didn’t move runners in when we had the opportunity. We weren’t locked in like we should have been.”

The Outlaws took an early 1-0 lead, plating a run in the bottom of the first when Ben Lail — who led off the game with a single — eventually scored on a wild pitch. Rock Springs brought the game back to even with a run in the top of the second, and the score remained 1-1 until the top of the fifth.

With three runs in the top of the fifth and two more in the top of the sixth, the Stallions appeared in control with a 6-1 lead. Evanston battled back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth, courtesy of an RBI single from Ben Lail and a wild pitch that scored Brecken Rich. That was as close as the Outlaws would get, as Post 24 returned home with the 6-3 win.

Evanston managed just five hits in the contest, with Ben Lail and Gavin Oliver collecting two hits and an RBI apiece; Rich had one hit and scored a run.

Roan Appel got the start on the bump for the Outlaws, allowing one unearned run on two hits and striking out three over two innings. Jaxon Corbett, Ryden Childs and Damian Kaman all pitched in relief, with Childs saddled with the loss, allowing three runs on three hits (one earned) and striking out two.

Rock Springs 17, Outlaws 6

Sunday was Senior Day for the Outlaws, as well as the final home game of the season at Ross Kesterson Field. Rock Springs returned for another non-conference game, and behind a 15-run first inning, handed the Boys of Post 41 a 17-6 loss.

“Not a whole lot to say on that one,” Small said. “That’s how baseball is, sometimes.”

The first inning notwithstanding, the Outlaws played well, outscoring Rock Springs 6-2 the rest of the way. Evanston finished with seven hits, led by an RBI triple from Damian Kaman and a single and 2 RBIs from Gavin Oliver. Also collecting hits were Ben Lail, Brackin Lail, Jackson Osborne, Jaden Windley and Josh Moio.

Brecken Rich took the loss on the bump for the Outlaws; Jaxon Corbett, Damian Kaman and Brackin Lail all pitched in relief.

The Outlaws took time to honor their seniors — Super Seniors Ryder Wilson and Gavin Oliver, and Seniors Brecken Rich, Jackson Osborne, Damian Kaman, Ben Lail and Brackin Lail — for their contributions to the program.

“Just like last year’s group, this year’s group is pretty special — they’re the ones I started my coaching career with,” Small said. “I’ve followed them all the way through, and they’re just a great group of kids. I love them all to death. Just a fun group of kids.”