CHEYENNE — The Cheyenne Hawks kept their Wyoming Class AA state championship hopes alive with a statement win over the Jackson on Tuesday at Powers Field.
After falling to the elimination bracket with a loss to Casper on Monday, the Hawks responded with a well-rounded performance, combining strong pitching, timely hitting, and a late offensive surge to take down the Giants 10-1.
Alex Vines set the tone early for Cheyenne, retiring the side in order in the first and holding Jackson hit-less through 5⅓. He struck out seven, walked five and gave up just one run on 89 pitches before leaving the game after being hit by a line drive.
“I just came out trying to fill it up, pitch people backwards (by throwing off-speed pitches) and getting ahead in the count,” Vines said. “We have all the momentum we could possibly have, so we’re at an all-time high going into (Wednesday).”
Bridger Moritz closed it out in relief, allowing one hit in 1⅔ scoreless innings.
The game stayed quiet through the first few innings, with just two combined hits (both from Cheyenne) through three. Jackson threatened in the fourth after putting runners on the corners, but center fielder Mason Maggard shut it down with a clutch catch.
Kayden Tafoya sparked the Hawks’ momentum with a triple in the bottom of the fourth, which was his fifth of the season. Tafoya led the offense, going 3-for-4 with two RBI.
“Usually I get stressed out during state, but I’ve been relaxed all weekend,” Tafoya said. “I knew I wasn’t going to see many fastballs, but I knew if he was going to give me one, I would have to do something with it.”
Gage Broda brought in the first run of the game in the fifth with a sharp grounder to short, followed by Tafoya’s two-run single. The Hawks blew the game open one inning later, scoring five runs on four hits while capitalizing on defensive miscues. The Giants ended the game with four errors.
The excitement didn’t stop there. Cooper Hassler doubled in a run, Broda scored on a wild pitch and Moritz was hit by a pitch to bring in another. Reid Horton drove in two more with a single, and Caleb Moore added two RBI of his own to bring the Hawks’ lead to 10-1.
“It is super nice to be able to have more of our fans here since it’s in Cheyenne. I know that helps the guys out a lot,” said first-year Hawks manager Sonny Bozza. “Hopefully this gives us a little momentum going into (Wednesday). We’ve been locked in all tournament, but I think this one really helped us get hyped.”
Cheyenne stayed patient at the plate, drawing six walks. The Hawks backed it up with sharp defense, turning a game-ending double play and finishing with no errors.
Jackson didn’t record a hit until the final inning, and its lone run was the only blemish on an otherwise dominant night for the Hawks.
The Hawks look to keep their season alive in another elimination game against Gillette at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at Powers Field.