T-Birds fall to elimination bracket, still alive at state
May 17—GILLETTE — The path to Cheyenne East's first softball state title in school history won't be an easy one.
The Thunderbirds split a pair of games at the Wyoming state tournament Friday, beating East No. 1 seed Campbell County 6-2 before falling to East No. 2 Thunder Basin 16-6 in five innings.
The latter dropped East to the elimination bracket, but the team's hopes for a championship trophy are still alive going into the final day of the season.
The T-Birds have another date with the Camels at 9 a.m. in a win-or-go-home contest to decide who will face Thunder Basin in the title tilt. The winner between East and Campbell County needs to beat the Bolts twice to win the state title.
"It's really important (to understand we're not done yet), especially for the younger girls," senior Aleah Brooks said. "There's a lot of players in starting positions that haven't been in these big moments before, so it's really important for us leaders to tell them that we can make a comeback."
East has to do something that's never been done before in order to win a state title. Since high school softball was sanctioned in Wyoming in 2021, Campbell County (2021) and Thunder Basin (2022, 2023) have won every state championship.
Safe to say, the T-Birds are more than motivated to dethrone Gillette at the top of the softball podium.
"Our upperclassmen and our five starters that were in that championship game last year all really want this one," Brooks said with a smile. "... We always like beating Gillette teams."
Thunder Basin clinched a spot in the title game via the 10-run mercy rule win over the T-Birds. The Bolts plated six runs in the bottom of the fifth to end the game two innings early.
East led during the top of the first inning after a two-run home run by Brooks, but the Bolts stormed ahead with four runs in the bottom of the frame and never relinquished the lead.
The Bolts added to their lead in bunches, including a five-run third inning and a six-run sixth.
East inched back with an RBI triple from Gracie Oswald, followed by an RBI single from Rylee Stephenson to get back within one in the third, but Thunder Basin's five-run outburst swung the momentum back to the Bolts.
The T-Birds added a pair of runs with a sacrifice fly from Stephenson and an RBI single from Madelyn Artery in the fifth, but it would be all Bolts the rest of the way.
"We did some good things that game, but we didn't have consistent innings," East coach Adam Galicia said. "... Some of them, it's their first time of playing in games of this level, and (the moment) got a little bit bigger than them, and they got a little shell-shocked. ... We can either go home tonight and just be defeated, or we can come back tomorrow and be ready to go."
Stephenson took the loss in the pitcher's circle, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits in 1 2/3 innings. Lillian Vallejo pitched two innings of relief, allowing four runs on five hits. Taylor Hollibaugh closed out the game in the circle, allowing seven runs (six earned) on five hits in two-thirds of an inning.
Brooks and Stephenson led the T-Birds at the dish, driving in two runs apiece. Brooks and Oswald combined for four hits, three of which went for extra bases.
"We just have to highlight the good moments and take the good things that we did and take that into tomorrow," Brooks said. "We know that we're a good team, and we can come back and win three games tomorrow."
Rematch set
The T-Birds went into state as the East's No. 3 seed, starting the tournament with an 11-5 win over West No. 2 Rock Springs on Thursday. The momentum carried over, as East scored in each of the first four innings against the Camels on Friday morning.
Brooks homered in the first inning again, giving the T-Birds an early 2-0 lead. An RBI single from Artery stretched the lead to four in the top of the third, but Campbell County answered with a pair in the bottom half of the inning.
Vallejo was able to hold the lead in the circle, earning the win with a complete game. She allowed just two runs on three hits while striking out seven on 99 pitches.
With the Camels next on the schedule again, Friday's win gave East plenty of confidence going into Saturday's rematch.
"We know we can compete with any team here," Galicia said. "We just have to go home, get a good meal, get cleaned up and refocus. I think we'll be all right tomorrow. We'll be all right."
The T-Birds made it to championship Saturday for the first time last season, beating the Camels before falling to Thunder Basin in the championship game. With the exact same path to a state title in front of East, Galicia wants his players to understand what's at stake when they return to the fields Saturday morning.
"We've got seven or eight core players that have all been in big games and all been in big situations, and they've all been in tournaments," Galicia said. "... I'm counting on those players to lead this team, get the other girls excited and show them, by example, what it takes to get it done.
"... We have two seniors that are big parts of this team, so there's high motivation there. We have a coaching staff that knows we're capable of doing it, so there's high motivation there.
"I think our motivation level is pretty good, but we have to be able to do it as a team, one through nine. It can't just be one through six, it has to be the entire team getting it done."
Let the news come to you
Get any of our free email newsletters — news headlines, sports, arts & entertainment, state legislature, CFD news, and more.
Explore newsletters
Alex Taylor is the assistant editor for WyoSports and covers University of Wyoming athletics. He can be reached at ataylor@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @alex_m_taylor22.
