Moo open up championship series with two games at home
Kayden Anderson is hitting .325 since joining the Moo in July. (File photo/Mindy Wittig)
Fremont, Nebraska - It took all 52 games of the regular season, but the Fremont Moo will have a chance to defend their Independence League title beginning Tuesday night at Historic Moller Field. In 2023, the Moo defeated the Casper Spuds three games to two, and it will be the same two teams competing for glory this season.
Casper has been by far the most consistent team in the ILB this season. The Spuds have known they were in the championship for over a month now, after rolling to a first-half title. But they didn’t slow down and it led to yet another big performance in the second-half. Earlier this weekend, Casper clinched the second-half title as well to finish the year with a 41-9 record, nine games better than other team.
The Moo had a more complicated path, needing to have the second-best overall record for a championship berth. Entering the final day of the regular season, Fremont, Spearfish and Hastings were all in contention. But the Moo were the only team to win on Sunday and clinched the berth with a 33-19 record.
The Spuds enter the season with a rare loss in their last game. The Oahe Zap got past the Spuds in game three 8-7, nearly coming back down 8-1. It was a game where Casper did not stress any of their big arms to prepare for the championship series. Casper took games one and two of the series easily, with a 8-4 game one win and 20-5 win in game two that included four RBIs from Matt Marsic.
Casper has been extremely consistent on offense this year, hitting .311 on the year. Leading the way is Elijah Reeves, who is hitting .407 in 108 ABs. Reeves returned to action this past weekend after missing two weeks. Josh Phillips has been the most electric bat in the league, with a massive 10 home runs. He splits the RBI lead with Dylan Schlotterback, both with 54.
On the mound, Ty Vollmar has been the ace, rocking a 6-1 record in seven starts with a 2.571 ERA. Josh Phillips (2.455 ERA) and Hamilton Moye (3.857) have the lone two saves this year for Casper.
The Moo meanwhile enter this series coming off the biggest season of the year. Entering a weekend set in Spearfish, the scenario was simple: two wins and you’re in. During a shootout in game one, the Moo were outhit 14-13 but still were able to take a 12-9 win.Fremont could clinch the title on Saturday, but Javier Marcial walked it off for the Sasquatch in the bottom of the tenth with an RBI single. So it all came down to Sunday, the Moo broke out a six run first-inning lead. Maneuvering through nearly four hours of weather delays, the Moo stayed ahead the whole time for a 15-6 win.
A few players have stepped up late offensively for the Moo to clinch a championship berth. Kayden Anderson (.325 BA), Jack Torosian (.321), Cooper Fuchino (.321), Jost Blount (.309), Carter Sintek (.304) and Bridger Coleman (.302) are all hitting above .300. Fuchino has the home run lead with four, with Coleman right behind with three. And the same two are atop the RBI leaderboard, with 29 RBIs for Fuchino and 27 for Coleman.
On the mound, Robert O’Malleey (4-1, 2.337) and Bobby Simmons (4-0, 6.337) are the win leaders. Alex Oliver’s five saves with a 3.375 ERA lead the bullpen.
Casper won the season series 4-2. The team splits the first four legs with two home wins each. But Casper got the last laugh with 12-3 and 10-1 wins at the end of June in Fremont.
It will be best-of-five to determine this year’s winner. Games one and two will be at 7:05 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday before the series shifts to Casper this weekend.




