The Estevan Tower Wolves opened up the Saskota Baseball league with a 7-6 loss at home against last year’s champion the Carlyle Cardinals on May 19.
They turned that around with a 7-1 win on the road against the Wawota Pats on May 21.
In the home opener, Estevan fell behind early when the Cardinals took a 1-0 lead after the first inning.
In the third inning, with the score knotted at one, the Wolves starting pitcher Justin Fieber pitched out of a two-out, bases loaded jam, as the score remained tied.
After a scoreless third and fourth inning, the Cardinals regained their one-run lead in the top half of the fifth, and Estevan responded later in the inning when Clark Monroe hit a double and tied the game 2-2.
Fieber went five innings allowing two runs. Estevan struggled in the top half of the sixth inning with a new pitcher, who surrendered three runs.
“In the sixth inning, we threw a new pitcher in, and he couldn’t find the strike zone right away till the end of the inning and that’s when they got their three runs to take the lead,” Tower Wolves manager and player Jordan Fieber said.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Wolves blew a bases-loaded, none out opportunity, scoring only one run to trail 5-4.
In the seventh, Monroe was pitching for the Wolves and the Cardinals scored another two runs to extend their lead to 7-4.
The Wolves again had another golden opportunity with bases-loaded in the seventh inning but scored only two runs.
Despite the loss, Fieber said the team played well.
“Everybody was hitting the ball pretty well tonight, so for the first game of the season we can’t complain about it at all.”
Fieber added that one of the positives of the Wolves’ play was their defence.
“Our fielding was very good. There was, I think, one error in the field all game,” he said.
In the Game against Wawota, Estevan jumped out to an early lead in the second inning and led 2-0, according to player Justin Fieber.
The Wolves continued to have hot bats scoring runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
Austin Halladay was the pitcher of record, pitching four innings, and allowing no runs. Dylan Lafrentz closed the game, pitching the last two innings.
Jordan Fieber said the win was a team effort, and if they continue to make the technical plays in the field they should be competitive throughout the season.
“Everybody played good baseball, everybody put the bat on the ball and hit it hard or hit it to good places, at least,” he said.
The Wolves were scheduled to host the Redvers A’s last night. They will visit the Arcola Threshers on Thursday and host the Oxbow Chiefs June 2, and game time is 7:30 p.m. at Lynn Prime Park.
