By Alex Kuhn
Sports Editor
Worland Wildfires picking up steam
Share
Tweet
DAILY NEWS/ Alex Kuhn
Wildfire Vivian Mosbroker hauls in a pop fly while teammate Korah Butler backs her up during a game against Lander on June 19 at Newell Sargent Park.
WORLAND - The season started slowly for the Worland Wildfires 16U team, but over the last couple of weeks the team has found their rhythm and have strung together strong performances.
Opening the season in Gillette at the Battle of High Plains tournament the Wildfires matched up against other 16U and 18U teams from Wyoming and Nebraska. Things did not go well as they went 1-5 and committed 25 errors in six games.
The Wildfires were shutout in against the Casper Voltage, 8-0, lost to the Casper Cobras 9-6, the Gillette Blue Jays 15-3, the Scottsbluff Bomber 12-0 and the Voltage 11-1.
Worland's lone victory in Gillette avenged their 9-6 loss to the Cobras with a 16-2 win. It was the Wildfires best game of the entire tournament as they committed one error and recorded 11 hits. Rylee Wagner, Vivian Mosbroker, Kylie Fronk and Emily Rosen each logged two hits. One of Wagner's hits was an inside-the-park home run. Brooke Hellyer picked up the win from the mound.
The Gillette tournament was a rough start to the season but the Wildfires pitching staff of Zoe Fernandez, Hellyer and Wagner got the team back on track quickly.
"Our pitching staff continues to improve with Brooke Hellyer our No. 1. Zoe Fernandez and Rylee Wagner are pushing her real hard as they have increased the speed in their fastballs with offseason work. Both are working on consistency in the strike zone to help lighten the load that Brooke has carried the last couple of years," said Wildfires 16U coach Dave Coronado.
The Wildfires went on to win six straight games by defeating Riverton four times and Greybull twice. As part of their Riverton city league play, Worland swept Riverton during their May 29 homestand winning 10-4, then 15-9.
On June 5, the Wildfires traveled to Riverton for another double-header, winning both of those contests 8-1 and 12-6. Then on June 14 in Greybull Worland swept another double-header, beating Greybull 15-6 and 20-1.
In their 20-1 victory over Greybull, the Wildfires had 12 hits and were led by Carmyn Buckman who had three hits, including an inside-the-park grand slam.
While the Wildfires bats were popping and the pitching dominant, what was most impressive during their six-game winning streak was their sharp defensive play. After committing 25 errors over six games in Gillette, Worland flipped it around and only had 10 errors during their winning streak.
That level of improvement is what Coronado is looking for as the season marches on.
"[Our] defense continues to improve and we'll need to continue that performance to compete with the Billings and Rapid City teams in the tournament. The girls are working raising their intensity in competition and keeping it their while playing. They understand how vital it is especially when playing defense and making every play whether routine or difficult," said Coronado.
