WHEATLAND – The Lobos gained two splits on the Wheatland diamond last week in a rare four-game homestand.

On June 27 Douglas came down the corridor to play the Lobos and the dogfight continued as this year, both teams have been pretty evenly matched. In game one, the Lobos held a 3-0 lead through four innings with Ryland Petroski throwing heat and picking up five strikeouts. The Cats gained two runs back in the fifth inning, but that’s as far as Douglas could go as Head Coach Braden Fagenbush brought in Kade Preuit who closed the door and gained the save with five strikeouts of his own in the 2.1 innings pitched.

Preuit, Jake Hicks and Aric Suko all had hot bats and picked up three hits apiece on offense which was part of a 14-hit team barrage and on defense the one-two punch of Petroski and Preuit put the cats out for the win by a score of 5-2.

In game two of the night, the back and forth continued and with a slim lead, the Cats held on to win the game 9-7. A four-run second inning sealed the deal for Douglas as well as four Wheatland errors for the game. Hicks continued his torrid pace at the plate collecting three more hits. Langdon Goodrich took the loss for the Lobos, pitching two innings.

“Douglas is a very tough team in our conference they are loaded with veteran talent and very deep on the mound,” Fagenbush said. “They are very aggressive at the plate so we have had to make some adjustments on the mound but I believe our pitchers have made those. They swing it very well and keep our defense very active.”

Wednesday night brought cross county rival Torrington to Wheatland and the two games played could not have been more different. In the first game Torrington put together two solid innings of offense sending 6 runners across the plate in each inning while managing to get only three hits against Torrington pitching. Goodrich took the loss getting shelled in the first inning while Matthew Wakurri took his lumps in the third inning with each pitcher giving up six runs. The final score was 12-2.

The second game was Wheatland’s turn to hit and they accounted for 10 runs on 14 hits as Preuit was pitching a complete game allowing only 3 runs and striking out nine Tigers in the process. Goodrich led the team with three hits and Hicks accounted for three RBIs.

“Torrington is also a very tough team in our conference and a team that never gives up,” Fagenbush said. “If you let them stay in games they will find a way to beat you. They are pretty good defensively and get better each time we have played them. I think we are starting to come together as one unit. We have had some very tough competition that has given us no other choice but to get better. I really like where we are at on the mound. We are throwing a lot of strikes and staying very efficient when it comes to our pitch counts. These guys are working their tails off to have an approach at the plate and understand what the job is ahead of them. We play in a very tough and competitive conference where you have to show up each game if you want any chance of winning.”

Wheatland 5 – Douglas 2

2B: J Hicks, K Preuit, TB: J Anderson 2, R Petroski, A Warren, N Schaffner, A Suko 3, J Hicks 4, K Preuit 4, CS: J Anderson, HBP: A Warren, SB: A Suko, LOB: 7

Douglas 9 – Wheatland 7

2B: L Goodrich, A Suko, N Whitfield 2, R Petroski, HR: L Goodrich, TB: L Goodrich 6, A Suko 3, J Anderson, J Hicks 3, N Whitfield 4, R Petroski 2, SAC: N Schaffner, SB: J Hicks 2, LOB: 6

Torrington 12 – Wheatland 2

2B: L Goodrich, TB: A Suko, R Petroski, L Goodrich 2, HBP: A Suko, LOB: 4

Wheatland 10 – Torrington 3

2B: J Hicks, R Petroski 2, K Preuit, TB: J Hicks 3, A Suko 2, L Goodrich 3, N Schaffner, R Petroski 4, N Whitfield, K Preuit 3, M Wakkuri, CS: K Preuit, HBP: K Preuit, SB: R Petroski, N Whitfield, K Preuit, A Warren, LOB: 6