Trout move to consolation bracket

The Platte Valley Trout All-Star team is now in a position where, if they lose one more game, they take an exit out of the District 2 Tournament.

On July 15, the Trout had a tough loss to Laramie 10-0. According to Platte Valley Head Coach Ben Spaulding, Platte Valley came out a little nervous and tense. He said It showed when they first went up to bat.

“We had two great hits from Jackson Kopasz and Beckett Spaulding In the 1st inning,” Spaulding said. “Shortly after, we got punched with a double play that quickly deflated the team. Trayton Johnston found his groove in the 2nd inning but had already burnt through pitch counts and was pulled in the third inning, which means that he won't be able to pitch until Friday.”

Spaulding said Thayne Berger relieved Johnson and had two strikeouts making his first debut as a pitcher in an All-Star game. According to Spaulding, mental errors are what hurt his team.

“The only runs that were scored against us, were based on our own errors,” Spaulding said. “I think our kids have a potential to stay in the fight and move very far in the tournament. With one loss, we do have an uphill battle but we just have to overcome the mental game and limit the amount of errors that we have in a game. I think they are more than capable of heading to the finals and there's some work that we need to do to help him get prepared mentally for that for the next game.”