The Yorkton Cardinals opened their home schedule in the Western Canadian Baseball League Friday evening.
The opposition was provided by their traditional rivals from Melville.
The home side would score first, notching one run in the bottom of the first inning.
The Millionaires would finally plate a run in the third to tie the game, going ahead when they scored a run in the fifth.
In the ninth a ball lost in the lights led to a triple for Melville, which was followed by three straight doubles, and then two hit batters, allowing the Millionaires to tack on three runs, for an eventual 5-1 win.
Michael Trayler was the winning pitcher for Melville, while Hut Smith was tagged with the loss for Yorkton. Smith went seven innings as Yorkton’s starter, allowing only three hits, but walking four as he gave up two earned runs.
Cardinal head coach Robbie Dombrowski said it was a good effort lost late.
“We were really good for eight innings. We’re just short of pitchers,” he said, adding the team is piecing together mound time until a few additional pitchers arrive over the next couple of weeks.
On offence, Dombrowski said they have to find a way to score more runs.
“We’ve tried everything,” he said, adding he has had players hit away, try bunts and squeezes “Nothing’s going for us right now.”
Dombrowski does think the runs will happen sooner, than later.
“It’s going to come with time,” he said.
As for the ball lost in the lights, Dombrowski said he had an infielder in right field, again because players are still coming, so he can’t put too much into the miss.
That said, that fly ball get caught, and the next double that was misplayed a bit at centre, and they are out of the ninth 2-1.
With the loss the Cardinals are zero-and-three to start the season.
