Rams Win Tight Game Against Lakewood in a Forfeit

The ball parks in the Broomfield Industrial Sports Complex are nicknamed the "Field of Dreams." Every ballplayer who plays on the finely manicured lawns gets a chance to see what it feels like to play in a big-league type park. Dugouts are below ground, there's a huge score board, and a microphone system for calling plays. For the boys on Les Willson's Green Mountain Rams baseball team, life doesn't get much better than this.

The Rams played its first game of the Jefferson County Championship Tournament against Joe Lucero's Lakewood Tigers, a team that represented the Southern Division of Jefferson County baseball. Jake Staley took the mound for the Rams and proved once again why he's the team's ace. The first inning saw two runs score off some impressive hits by the Tigers, but Staley didn't allow it to shake his composure.

Acting as the home team, the Rams were up to bat in the bottom half of the inning. Staley was the lead-off batter and he hit a hot grounder that was fielded by the short stop. Two-hole hitter Arley Anderson drew a walk. He scored the first run for the rams when Alex Haussmann laced a double to deep right field. Inspired, Wyatt Featherston decided to have a little hit of his own. He hit a Ruthian blast over the left-field fence. Austin Jones was the next batter to tatoo the ball, and he also hit a double into deep left field. At the end of one inning the score: Rams 3, Tigers 2.

Staley contained the Tigers for the next two innings and didn't allow a run. The only tally for the Rams in these two innings came from Haussmann, who hit a single, and scored when he stole home.

In the top of the 4th, the Tigers bats gained some life and the drove two runs home. Catcher Joe Anderson hit a single to keep the Rams in the game. He scored off the bat of Center Fielder Garrett Storm, who belted another ball into the deep outfield.

Staley held the Tigers to no runs in the fifth inning, but it was clear that he was losing steam in the hot sun. As he got up to bat, though, he laced a single up the middle to get on board. Arley Anderson smacked a line drive to send Staley home. Anderson stole second, and Haussmann drew a walk, as did Featherston. That set up a bases loaded situation for Trevor Willson.

Willson answered the call with a hard hit ball up the third base line. But the Tigers executed perhaps the best play we've seen all season long. The third baseman stepped on the plate, forcing Haussmann out. Then he threw the ball on a rope before Willson crossed the plate. Out number two. Then, to make the triple play, the second baseman tagged Featherston out to end the inning.

The Tigers were excited when they came up to bat and quickly loaded the bases and scored three runs to tie the game. The Rams defense succeeded in getting two outs, when the ballgame took an unexpected turn. In a play that the Tigers had executed twice in the previous innings, the third base runner was sprinting for home before the pitcher was set to throw the ball to the batter. Staley threw a bullet to Catcher Joe Anderson to prevent the go-ahead run. With a swoop of his glove, Anderson tagged the runner out. Tie ball game.

That's when the opposing coaches and parents lost control of their emotions. Lead by several aggressive parents, the Lakewood fans let out a loud and raucous protest to the umpire. Ultimately, the tournament director forced the Tigers to forfeit the game to the Green Mountain Rams.

At the after-game meeting, the coaches used the opportunity to talk about sportsmanship to the Rams and their parents. "I don't care if you're 10 years old or 100," coach Steve advised. "In sports, you do your playing on the field. Not with your mouth."