The Evanston Outlaws got off to a promising start in last week’s AA State Tournament in Rock Springs, outlasting a talented Laramie team 3-2 in the opening round of double-elimination play.

But as expectations rose, so did the talent level of the teams the Outlaws faced. Evanston squared off against eventual tournament champion Cheyenne on Thursday and managed just one hit, losing in a rout 14-0.

Looking to keep their tournament hopes alive in loser-out action Friday against Sheridan, the Outlaws found their bats but struggled in the field — Evanston’s season came to an end with a 15-5 loss.

“The first day of the tournament went well — we battled hard and got the win,” said Outlaws manager Chad Thompson. “Unfortunately, we picked the wrong time of the year for our bats to go silent. That was our downfall.”

Thompson gathered his team together on an adjacent field following the loss to Sheridan, giving coaches and players alike a chance to reflect on what was a crazy — but memorable — season.

“This was an unusual team — we didn’t have a standout superstar,” Thompson said. “And that’s a good thing. Any given day, it was somebody different that stepped up and made things happen.”

Thompson said the end of a season is never easy, especially for those who have played their last game of Legion ball. The Outlaws dealt with a number of obstacles to make this season a success, not the least of which was the spectre of the COVID-19 pandemic hanging over their heads.

“Unless you win your last game of the season, it’s always a disappointment,” he said. “But that group did some special things this year, with no one expecting them to do it — winning the conference title, earning the No. 1 seed, winning that first game at state. They did some special things with just being a group of ballplayers that love the game.”

“They’re definitely a fun group to be around,” Thompson added. “Whatever happens in the future with me or the program, this group will definitely hold a special place in my heart.”

Cheyenne Post 6 14, Outlaws 0

After a thrilling 3-2 win over Laramie in the tournament opener Wednesday, the Outlaws were brought back to earth Thursday against Cheyenne Post 6. The eventual state champions feasted on Evanston pitching to the tune of 10 hits — including a pair of home runs — en route to a 14-0 win.

“Cheyenne is just an all-around good team,” Thompson said. “We had some opportunities to do some things in that game, and we didn’t. A few things go the other way, and it’s a different ball game. But Cheyenne played extremely well.”

Cheyenne wasted no time getting runs on the board, plating three in the top of the first inning. Reid Gross — filling in at shortstop for Jagger Mitchell, who got the start on the mound for the Outlaws — had Evanston’s lone hit of the ball game, a single in the bottom of the first.

“Cheyenne pitched well — it seemed like anything we did hit, we hit right at somebody,” Thompson said. “We ran ourselves out of a couple of innings — some baserunning blunders. You just can’t make those mistakes against any of the teams in AA — they’ll make it hurt, and Cheyenne certainly did.”

After a rough first inning on the mound, Mitchell settled in to start the second, and seemed to find his groove. But the right-hander’s day unraveled in the top of the third — after hitting the leadoff batter, Mitchell gave up an RBI double and a two-run homer back-to-back, ending his day. When the dust settled on the top of the third, Cheyenne held a 9-0 lead.

Post 6 added to their lead with five more runs in the top of the fourth to push their lead to 14-0. With the Outlaws unable to get anything going at the plate, the game was called after the fifth due to the mercy rule.

“There wasn’t a whole lot working for us,” Thompson said. “We made some errors defensively, and they [Cheyenne] capitalized.”

Mitchell was saddled with the loss on the mound, giving up seven runs on six hits (all earned) in two innings of work.

“I felt Jagger was pitching well, we just couldn’t do anything to back him,” Thompson said. “We decided to pull him when we did, so he’d be available to throw again later in the tournament. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to that point where we could get him back on the mound.”

Casey Periman, Jordan Schneider and Derek MacDonald all made an appearance in relief, with MacDonald pitching a scoreless inning in the top of the fifth.

Gross’ single in the first inning was the Outlaws’ only hit. Gus Allred, Clayton Moyles and Ethan Beus all reached base on walks, while Mitchell reached on an error.

Sheridan 15, Outlaws 5

Friday’s loser-out game against Sheridan was a better day at the plate for the Outlaws, who pounded out 11 hits in the contest.

But Sheridan answered with 15 hits of their own and were able to score runs in bunches, ending Evanston’s season with a 15-5 loss.

“They would send out a punch, and we’d punch back,” Thompson said. “When you go back and look at the box score, I think there were only five earned runs out of the 15 they scored. That hurts — that’s something at this level you just can’t recover from.”

The game got off to a promising start, with both teams plating a pair of runs in the first. Singles by Reid Gross and Gus Allred set the stage for Clayton Moyles, who knocked in both baserunners with a line drive to center field for a double.

Sheridan took the lead for good with three runs in the top of the second, and two more in the top of the fourth. Down 8-1 in the bottom of the fifth, the Outlaws broke their scoring drought with an RBI single by Allred, scoring Gross to make it 8-2.

Sheridan continued to pile on the runs, adding five in the top of the sixth and two in the top of the seventh. Down 13-3 in the bottom of the sixth and in danger of losing by the 10-run rule, the Outlaws earned themselves one more inning — Brenden Thompson singled, then scored on a misplayed ball off the bat of Ryan Fisher to make it 13-4.

Evanston scored once more in the bottom of the seventh — after Jagger Mitchell was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, Moyles singled to put a runner in scoring position for Thompson. In his final at-bat as an Outlaw, Thompson singled to left to score Mitchell, cutting Sheridan’s lead to 15-5.

“We play solid defensively, and it’s a 5-4 or 5-5 ball game,” coach Thompson said. “Anything can happen. It just wasn’t there for us.”

The Outlaws finished with 11 hits in the contest, led by three players with multi-hit games. Moyles went 3-for-4 with a double and 3RBIs, while Allred helped his own cause at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI. Thompson was 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored; Fisher, Gross and Caysen Smith rounded out the hitting with one apiece.

“Clayton Moyles hit the ball well, Brenden hit the ball well,” Thompson said. “We were getting baserunners, we just couldn’t get them across the plate.”

Allred got the start on the hill for the Outlaws, giving up 13 runs on 14 hits and striking out four in six innings. Only five of those 13 runs were earned.

“I felt like Gus pitched well enough for us to win the ball game,” Thompson said. “But again, just too many errors in the field. When you allow 15 runs — and only five of them are earned — that’s not on the pitcher.”

Ryan Fisher took the mound in relief for the final time as an Outlaw, giving up two runs on one hit in one inning of work.