GM Rams Roll Over Pomona in 24-2 Slugfest

The Rams' bats were on fire last night as the team took on the Pomona Panthers in a game that brings them one closer to the League Championship. With each passing contest the Rams are becoming a more cohesive unit and you can feel the excitement -- and confidence --building within the dugout.

Tonight's game featured several breakout performances including three doubles and a single by catcher Joe Anderson and a monster hit by centerfielder Garrett Storm. The dugout erupted in cheers when Storm smashed the ball, because every player on the team knows how it feels to break free from struggling at the plate.

Way to hit the ball, Garrett

Joe smashed three doubles and a single.

The game began with a series of walks as the nervous Pomona pitcher had trouble finding the strike zone. Austin Jones, Arley Anderson and Alex Haussmann drew three consecutive walks to begin the game. Finally, Wyatt Featherston found a pitch and hit a single, driving two runs home. Next, first baseman Trevor Willson walked, followed by Storm. Jacob Staley and Joe Anderson both hit singles, followed by a walk by Benjamin McHugh.

The top of the order hit for the second time in the inning. This time, four consecutive batters hit singles: Jones, Arley Anderson, Haussmann and Featherston. The Rams scored 11 runs in the inning.

Wyatt Featherston then took the mound for the Rams and made short work of the Pomona batters. One run scored off of a walk, and he struck three batters out.

In the second inning the Rams produced another five runs. Staley hit another single, Joe Anderson sent him home off of double. Jones and Arley Anderson both drew walks, setting up a bases-loaded situation for Haussmann. He drilled a line drive to center field and sent all three runners home before Coach Dave stopped him on third base. Featherston walked and stole second and third base before stealing home.

Like the bottom of the first, Featherston struck three batters out, while allowing one walk. No runs were scored.

In the third inning, the Rams continued to pile up runs. Staley hit his third single of the night, Anderson hit his second double, followed by a double by McHugh. Jones lined a single, and Haussmann cracked a double. Featherston, Storm, and Staley all singled. Joe Anderson and Ben McHugh each hit another double, bringing the total to 24 runs for the Rams. The inning mercifully ended when Jones hit a pop fly.

In the bottom of the third inning, the Panthers got their first hit of the game. The runner scored, bringing the game to it's final total: Rams 24, Pomona 2.

"Lights Out" for Brighton in Suspended 11-2 Route

To many people the Brighton Youth Baseball Complex is an "oasis on the prairie." The lush green fields and majestic lights were funded three years ago by the Baseball Tomorrow Fund and the Colorado Rockies, with the promise of night games for little leaguers across the state.

To the Green Mountain Rams, however, those same bright lights -- and the darkness that followed when they shut off at exactly 9:30 p.m. last Wednesday light -- will forever be a reminder of an opposing coach refusing to give in to common sense. Instead of conceding an 11-2 ballgame with two-outs at the bottom of the sixth inning, the coach of the Brighton Bulldogs chose to use the official "Rules" of baseball to suspend the game and give his team the slimmest chance at a win.

It all began when the Rams took the field at 7:45 p.m., with lead off batter Austin "Jonesy" Jones hitting a hot single off the opposing Brighton pitcher. Next, Arley Anderson grounded out. Alex Haussmann threaded the needle and drove Jones home. Wyatt Featherston hit a single, and sent Haussmann around the bases. Trevvor Willson and Jake Staley both drew walks. A single by Catcher Joe Anderson drove them home. The inning ended with the Rams scoring 5 runs.
Staley took the mound for the Rams and began a masterful pitching effort that baffled the Brighton batters. One after another, the players struck out or hit balls fielded by the pitcher. Only two runners made it home over the five and one-third innings played. In fact, for a three-inning period, it was literally a one-man show-- Jake Staley -- for the Rams. Quipped his father Coach Scott Staley: "He's giving the rest of the team a night off."

Once he settled down, the Brighton ace also had a great game, as he held the Rams to one more run in the second through fifth inning. In the sixth inning, though, the teams bats came alive and they added another five runs, bringing the score to 11-2.

As Staley came to the mound to finish the game, he struck out the first two batters he faced. The next batter was hit by the pitcher, and stole second and third base. When Staley faced the seventh batter in the Bulldog's linup, the lights went out and the team was in the dark -- quite literally.

The Bulldog's refused to call the game. It will pick up at a later date, with the Bulldogs down 11-2, a runner on third base, and two outs.