Julian Romero’s double in the bottom of the 7th inning drove in Colter McAnelly for the winning run in the win over Maine.
Cheyenne (Wyo.) Post 6 had already set history by advancing to this year’s American Legion World Series.
On Friday afternoon, Post 6 set some more with the state’s first ALWS victory in dramatic fashion as Julian Romero hit a two-out, two-strike walkoff game-winning double to score Colter McAnelly from first base for a 2-1 victory over Ellsworth (Maine) Post 207.
It was Romero’s second walkoff hit in seven days as he hit a walkoff winner in a 4-3 victory over Fort Collins, Colo., that advanced Cheyenne into the Northwest Regional title game.
“Julian has had a lot of clutch moments,” Cheyenne coach Ty Lain said. “He had a walkoff winner in the regionals just like that, so he’s had some big moments for us and that was cool to see him do it here for Wyoming’s first win in the American Legion World Series.”
Romero earlier had Cheyenne’s first hit in the 2023 ALWS with a first inning single to centerfield after Post 6 was on the wrong end of history in Thursday’s 4-0 no-hit loss to League City (Tex.) Post 554 and right-hander Jacob Cyr. Cheyenne is the first team from Wyoming to ever reach the ALWS.
In Friday’s historic victory, Nolan Horton’s RBI single to left drove in Kaden Anderson in the bottom of the second inning for a 1-0 lead before Ellsworth knotted the score on Hunter Curtis’ sacrifice fly in the third inning.
The rest of the game was a pitcher’s duel between Cheyenne’s Bradley Feezer and Ellsworth’s Peter Keblinsky.
Feezer threw a two-hitter with seven strikeouts and retired the last 12 batters he faced.
“Today, with the humidity being a little different than Wyoming, I think it helped my pitches move a little bit more,” Feezer said. “I thought my curve ball was really sharp. The fastball was working too.”
Keblinsky lasted until two outs in the bottom of the seventh before being replaced after exceeding the 105-pitch count limit with two outs and nobody on. The right-hander yielded three hits and struck out five.
Cheyenne’s McAnelly reached on a two-strike hit by pitch and Romero had his game-winner on a two-strike pitch off Ellsworth reliever Miles Palmer.
Keblinsky and Wyatt Bragdon had the base hits for Ellsworth, which is off until Sunday's 1 p.m. game against League City, Tex., that closes its pool play.
Romero's two hits led Cheyenne's four-hit offense. Post 6 closes out its pool play on Saturday at 7 p.m. against defending ALWS champion Troy, Ala.
- Baseball