It was a “Homecoming” on the road for Riverton Raider first baseman Brayden Baker. Baker lives in Lander and is a senior at Lander Valley High School, but he plays for the Riverton Raiders. Baker lit up the scoreboard in the fourth and fifth innings with a pair of solo home runs, the first over the right field fence and the second over the left.
Riverton won the game 11-7.
It was a long evening with a dozen pitching changes between the two teams. Riverton opened with Beau Anderson on the mound, followed by six other Raiders. Lander countered with Jacob Bush and also with six relief pitchers.
The Raiders took a 2-0 lead after their first at-bat behind three singles. Jameson Spradlin, Anderson, and Addison Trujillo all hit ground balls into the outfield.
The Raiders led 4-0 entering the bottom of the third when William Oland hit a high fly ball to left field that scored Grady Eagle. Eagle opened the inning with a double, followed by Douglas Mowrey with a single. The Legends had the bases loaded after Jacob Bush walked, but that was it.
Riverton looked to be in control, adding three more runs at the top of the fourth for a 7-1 lead.
Finn Peterson, Grady Phillips, Eagle, and Mowrey all walked as Spradlin had problems finding the strike zone. Spradlin struck out Dane Kramer but yielded another run on walk by Jacob Bush for 7-3 score.
Colter Heikkila came on in relief and struck out William Oland with the bases still loaded. Gage Toups ripped a line drive to center field that scored two runs.
Lander was back in the game at 7-5.
Riverton returned the “walking” runs favor in the fifth. Brayden Martin reached on a single, and moved to third on a double by Paxton Yeates. Grady Eagle was on the mound for the Legends. He walked Landon Jevne to load the bases and yielded two runs when Basyn Anderson and Brayden Baker drew walks. The score moved to 10-5.
Riverton’s final run came when Colter Heikkila scored on a passed ball. Heikkila reached on a single, stole second base, advanced to third on a passed ball, and then came home.
A double by Oland and a single by Eagle, combined with a pair of walks, gave the Legends two more runs for the final 11-7 score.
RIVERTON 2 1 1 3 1 2 1 – 11 14 0
LANDER 0 0 1 4 0 0 2 – 7 7 1
Riverton Raiders – Jameson Spradlin 1-4 S, Brayden Baker 2-3 2-HR, Beau Anderson 3-5 3S, Colter Heikkila 2-5 2S, Addison Trujillo 3-5 2-2B, S, Brayden Martin 2-3 2S, Paxton Yeates 1-3 2B, Cameron Jevne 0-3, Landon Jevne 0-0, Basyn Anderson 0-3. Totals 14-34
Lander Legends – Grady Eagle 3-4 2B 2S, Douglas Mowrey 1-4 S, Dane Kramer 1-4 S, Jacob Bush 0-2, William Oland 1-3 2B, Gage Toups 1-3 S, William Winn 0-3, Issac Oland 0-1, Finn Petersen 0-1, Karson Webber 0-1, Tatum Eagle 0-0, Brandon O’Neal 0-1, Grady Phillips 0-1. Totals 7-27
WP: Beau Anderson (1) 2H, 2K, 0BB, Paxton Yeates (1) 0H, 2K, 1BB, Brayden Martin (1) 2H, 1K, 2BB, Jameson Spradlin (.1) 0H, 1K, 5BB, Colter Heikkila (.2) 1H, 2K, 0BB, Addison Trujillo (1) 0H, 2K, 0BB, Brayden Baker (2) 2H, 5K, 2BB
LP: Jacob Bush (1) 3H, 1K, 1BB, William Oland (1) 1H, 2K, 2BB, William Winn (1) 2H, 0K, 1BB, Gage Troup (1) 3H, 1K, 0BB, Douglas Mowrey (1) 2H, 2K, 0BB, Grady Eagle (1) 2H, 3K, 3BB, Grady Phillips (1) 1H, 1K, 2BB