Colter McAnelly strikes out 19, Sixers win third straight state title

SHERIDAN, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) - In Colter McAnelly’s last start on the mound against Gillette, he struck out 17 hitters. He got the nod again Friday in Sheridan against the Riders with a third straight state championship on the line for the Post Six Sixers.

The Utah baseball commit started his day with a chocolate croissant from Starbucks.

“I was just really feeling the chocolate croissant today and asked my mom to bring it to the hotel,” said McAnelly after the state championship game. “She brought it, and I was like, ‘It’s gonna be a good day.’”

“A good day” might be underselling it for McAnelly. From the bottom of the first inning to the final out of the game, McAnelly proved himself to be nearly untouchable on the hill.

Kaden Anderson, McAnelly’s batterymate, drove in a run with a long single to left field, and that would be more than enough offense for the way McAnelly was dealing.

“Off the bat, he was ready to go,” said Anderson after the game. “He was riled up on the bus. In the pen, I thought he was going to take my arm off catching. He was dialed in. It was fun to see.”

In the first inning, he registered two strikeouts. He notched three more K’s in the second inning to bring his total to five. The strikeouts didn’t slow up.

After four innings, McAnelly had double-digit strikeouts. He was sitting at 16 after finishing 6 innings. Every single Gillette was a strikeout victim.

The Sixers lead 4-0 entering the bottom of the seventh inning. Dominic Lopez had multiple RBI doubles, and Ethan Reisdorfer had an RBI single to help stretch the lead.

It was the thought that counts. McAnelly took some extra time between pitches on the mound in the bottom of the seventh inning, but he showed he had plenty in the tank. He struck out the final three hitters of the game with a mixture of fastballs and breaking balls that tied the Riders in knots.

With the final swing and a miss, a dog pile ensued on the mound with McAnelly buried at the bottom. The Sixers stand atop the state after he posted seven innings pitched and 19 strikeouts with only a pair of walks and hits allowed.

“[Colter’s] really has been that guy all year, and he was able to throw three pitches for strikes [today],” said Ty Lain, Post Six’s manager. “[He has] good velocity and keeps guys off balance, and he’s extremely difficult to hit, and he showed that again today.”

With the 4-0 victory, Post Six won its 19th state championship in the last 22 years. It was their third consecutive.

“This is a very old team. We’ve got four college guys [and] eight seniors. To be able to send a lot of those guys off on the right note here has been awesome,” said Lain.

Post Six’s Julian Romero was named the MVP of the state tournament.

Next, the Sixers will head to Gillette next week for the American Legion AA Northwest Regionals.

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