No one knew what to expect for the inaugural meeting between Riverton and Lander in American Legion action Wednesday night at Roy Peck Field.
The Lander Legends and Riverton Raiders met in a C Division double-header beginning late Wednesday afternoon with Riverton taking the first game 13-2. The night cap was an entertaining affair, filled with errors, hits and wild action. The two teams clawed away at each other for four innings in a game that ended in a 22-22 tie.
The game was the first for Lander in almost two decades in American Legion play and with only a single practice per week, the Legend coaches didn’t know what to expect. They were pleasantly surprise at the outcome.
Lander led Riverton in the opening game 1-0 going into the bottom of the third inning when Cody West reached on a single, then advanced to score on singles from Pax Hollinghead and Hunter Kihn.
Riverton answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for good. Blake Gantenbein reached on a walk, then scored on a double by Wyatt Jackson to tie the game.
With two outs Branson Saltsgaver and Landon Hughes hit singles, with both players scoring.
The wheels came off the Legend cart late in the game yielding four and then six runs by the Raiders in the fifth and sixth innings. The game was called via the 10-run rule with the Raiders jumping ahead 13-2.
In the late game, 11 pitchers combined for both teams with Lander ripping 20 hits, and Riverton 11.
The Raiders led 15-6 after a 12 run burst in the bottom of the second inning, but the Legends answered with a 14-run flurry in the top of the third to take a surprising 20-15 lead. Lander eventually led 22-16 entering the bottom of the fourth inning, but Riverton rallied with six runs to tie the game at 22 and coaches decided to call it a night.
Lander Legends C 0 0 1 0 0 1 – 2 5 0
Riverton Raiders C 0 0 3 0 4 6 – 13 15 0
Lander Legends – Cash Chance 0-3, Cody West 1-3 S, Pax Hollingshead 2-2 2S, Hunter Kihn 2-3 S 2B, Jace Hammond 0-1, William Oland 0-2, Timmy Schell 0-2, Hayden St. Clair 0-2, Dane Kramer 0-0, Ramsey 0-2 Martinez, Gage 0-1 Toups, Rylan Groenke 0-0, Totals 5-22
Riverton Raiders – Jameson Spradlin 2-4 S 2B, Beau Anderson 0-2, Brayden Baker 1-3 S, Blake Gantenbein 1-2 2B, Wyatt Jackson 3-4 2-2B S, Kaelem Winters 2-3 2B S, Jackson Larsen 1-2 S, Colter Heikkila 2-3 2S, Trenton Weber 1-3 S, Dane Cox 0-1, Branson Saltsgaver 1-1 S, Landon Hughes 1-1 S, Addison Trujillo 0-1, Mahi 0-0. Totals 15-31
WP – Brayden Baker (48) 3H, 7K, 2BB, Jackson Larsen (43) 2H, 4K,1BB
LP – Cody West (55) 4H, 5K, 2BB, Pax Hollingshead (49) 5H, 2K, 3BB, Hunter Kihn (28) 6H, 1K, 1BB
Lander 3 3 14 2 – 22 20 0
Riverton 3 12 1 6 – 22 11 1
Lander Legends – Cash Chance 3-5 3S, Cody West 2-3 2S, Pax Hollingshead 4-5 4S, Hunter Kihn 4-5 2S 2-2B, Jace Hammond 1-2 S, William Oland 1-2 S, Timmy Schell 0-0, Hayden St. Clair 0-2, Dane Kramer 2-3 2S, Ramsey 1-1 2B, Martinez, Gage Toups 0-0, Rylan Groenke 1-2 S, Totals 20-30
Pitching: Wiliam Oland (30) 2H, 2K 1BB, Gage Toups (43) 3H, 1K 5BB, Timmy Schell (18) 1H, 0K, 3BB, Cash Chance (53) 3H, 2K, 6BB, Rylan Groenke (8) 2H, 1K, 0BB. Totals 11H, 6K, 15BB
Riverton Raiders – Jameson Spradlin 0-0, Beau Anderson 3-3, Brayden Baker 1-1, Blake Gantenbein 0-2, Wyatt Jackson 0-2, Kaelem Winters 0-1, Trenton Weber 1-3 S, Dane Cox 0-1, Branson Saltsgaver 1-1, Landon Hughes 2-2, Addison Trujillo 1-2, Mahi 2-2, Kolton Martinez, Ryan Cox 0-2, Cameron Eder 0-0, Vincent, Boss Littleshield 0-1, Totals 11-22
Pitching: Blake Gantenbein (42) 5H, 2K, 1BB, Beau Anderson (7) 1H, 1K, 0K, Jackson Larsen (25) 4H, 1K, 2BB, Rylan Kelly (3) 8H, 0K,2BB, Jameson Spradlin (24) 1H, 1K, 1BB, Winters (6) 1H, 0K, 0BB