The Roblin Stars were simply no match for the second-seeded Canora Supers in the first round of the Southeast Senior Baseball League (SESBL) playoffs, said Greg Andreychuk, player-coach.
The Supers won the first round of the playoffs, which took part in two games in the style of a best-of-three match, with scores of 6-1 and 16-2.
The first game took place in Canora on July 13. In the bottom of the third inning, five runs gave the Supers the breathing room needed to cruise their way to a 6-1 victory, Andreychuk said.
Derek Palagian, the pitcher for the game, was in fine form, according to a statement by Andreychuk, throwing all seven innings and allowing just one earned run, and five hits with seven strikeouts to pick up the win. The Stars were kept in check most of the night as baserunners were few and far between.
The Supers’ bats were alive with 10 hits, including two hit games by Greg Andreychuk and Zack Rakochy. Six of the hits came in the bottom of the third off Starss pitcher Greg Clark, who otherwise pitched a solid six innings.
Andreychuk said the Supers’ defensive members played very well with just one error.
The second game against the Roblin Stars was set in Roblin on July 14. The Supers began the match with its offence scoring 16 runs on only eight hits. Twelve walks and two hit batters caused the game to end in what Andreychuk called a series-clinching blowout.
Adam Korb pitched five innings, and allowed just two runs on two hits with three strikeouts. He had excellent command of the strike zone, Andreychuk said. Logan Parachoniak pitched the final two innings to complete the game with a win for the Canora Supers.
Chris Newans had a huge night at the plate with a double, a home run, and six runs batted in. Both Travis Mentanko and Brogan Legebokoff had two runs batted in doubles. Greg Andreychuk, Terry Cumming, Clint Maduck, and Logan Parachoniak each had one hit. Part of the reason for the win was that the Roblin Stars’ pitcher, Bradon Zimmer, had trouble finding the strike zone consistently, Andreychuk said.
Round Two of the Southeast Senior Baseball League playoffs came and went quickly. Andreychuk said the Supers could not solve the puzzle of the Langenburg Indians, and thus lost in two straight games in a best-of-three series.
The recent loss marks the third time in four years that the Supers have had their season ended by Langenburg.
During the first game, on July 19 in Canora, the Supers were kept from making runs by Dane Kolbyko, the Indians’ pitcher. Kobylko allowed just two unearned runs in the game, which meant the Supers lost 2-6.
Fielding and base running blunders also caused the Supers trouble in this contest. Andreychuk said. Perennial league home run king Travis Mentanko had bases loaded and two outs twice. Langenburg left Canora victorious.
Andreychuk said despite the loss, pitchers Derek Palagian and Darcy Blommaert played well in defeat.
The promising 2016 baseball season came to an abrupt halt on July 21 in Langenburg, as the Supers fell 16-10.
After scoring three runs in the beginning of the first inning, it appeared the Supers would be in fine form, Andreychuk said. Unfortunately, the Langenburg Indians’ bats came alive like never before, and the Supers found themselves trailing 7-4 after two innings.
Base-running blunders and sloppy fielding meant the team was unable to prevent the Indians’ baserunners from stealing bases, and a struggling pitching staff proved to be the Supers’ downfall, Andreychuk said. At one point, the Indians had a 15-4 lead, but in the final two innings, the Supers mounted a furious rally.
Despite the team’s efforts, in the end, the Canora Supers lost, even if they only needed three more runs to tie. Andreychuk said Phil Sobkow and Travis Mentanko waited in the wings and could have had an opportunity to score runs if the game hadn’t ended.
Although the season ended bitterly, the Supers saw great improvement from their 2015 season. The Supers had a record of six wins and eight losses in 2015, and finished the playoffs in sixth place. In 2016, the record was nine wins, four losses and one tie, which brought the team to second place.
The Supers would like to thank everyone, including the players, volunteers and fans for their support.
“The future looks bright with a good mix of veterans and youth going forward into 2017 and beyond,” Andreychuk said.
