The Yorkton Cardinals missed the Western Major Baseball League playoffs, but they did end the season on a winning note, topping Regina 2-1 at Jubilee Park last Tuesday.
The win left the Cardinals with a season record of 13-27, dead last in the WMBL East Division.
That night, the Cardinals struck early, getting a run in the first inning, adding one in the third inning to lead 2-0, before the Red Sox scored their lone run in the fourth to complete the night's scoring.
Kenny Kissell had the mound to start the game for Yorkton, and would get the win-his first of the season. He went five innings, scattering five hits and striking out five. Duncan McAlpine recorded a save, hurling the last two innings, holding Regina hitless, while walking two, and striking out six.
Brother Thomas McAlpine helped on offence recording his team-leading 23rd run-batted-in.
Jordan Herbison, a veteran of the Cardinals who returned this season as an assistant coach, said while the win meant nothing in the standings, it was important to the team to finish the season with a win for the local community and fans.While the Cardinals managed only two wins in 15 games down the stretch, Herbison said it wasn't from a lack of effort from the team.
"These guys worked really hard all season, but unfortunately it didn't pay dividends for us," he said.Head coach Bill Sobkow said the season did not go as he had envisioned. "When I started recruiting these ball players I thought I had a tremendous group of freshmen players," he said.
But, once on the field, wins didn't materialize, bringing into question if the team was too young, being almost totally freshmen college players.
Sobkow said age may have been a factor, but reminded by recruiting freshmen fans get to see some outstanding baseball prospects develop. He pointed to 2008 Cardinal Nick Longmire who was drafted in the fifth round of this year's draft, and Andrelton Simmons who played here last season, and went in the second round to Atlanta.
"You can't say that with older guys," he said.
The Achille's Heel for the Cardinals all season was finding timely hits to score key runs."That was definitely one of our issues," said Herbison, who said it just didn't come easy to the team, adding " you can't be successful all the time."
With the hitting struggling, Herbison said other mistakes would put the team in trouble they couldn't overcome, ranging from a bad inning on the mound, something he admitted he had trouble with at times himself, to an errant throw, or a defensive error.
"In a long game, nine innings little things add up," he said, adding that is something he tried to get through to his players.
Herbison said while the team didn't win as many games as they wanted, it was still a good season in terms of the young college players growing in the game. Even as a four-year veteran he noted he "probably learned more this year than any in the past."
As for the team, Herbison said, "these guys learned why we lost these games."
