For nearly a game and a half, the Cardinals had no answer for the Melville Millionaires.
On Tuesday night, the response finally came.
On the strength of some timely hitting the Cardinals came to life, defeating Melville 6-5 in front of the hometown crowd.
Cardinals pitcher Joie Dunyon (1-0) picked up the win after relieving starter Stephen Johnson in the sixth inning.
Johnson got the assignment after previously holding the Millionaires to one hit in his last start.
Though he was not able to duplicate that outing, Johnson still struck out six while allowing three earned runs.
Melville's Corey Sartor was tagged with the loss after coming in and allowing the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth.
The loss spoiled a good outing by Millionaires starter Wayland Moore.?Moore pitched six innings and struck out six while surrendering three runs on six hits.
A night after pitching two innings of shutout ball, Duncan McAlpine returned to the batters box and made an impact.
McAlpine went two for four at the plate, including a monster triple.
McAlpine provided the spark that the Cardinals needed, batting home two key runs in the bottom of the sixth facing a bases loaded situation.
The two runs seemed to jumpstart a stagnant Cardinals offence, which hadn't score a run in the previous 14 innings versus Melville's pitchers.
McAlpine was glad to finally get the ball rolling offensively for the Cardinals.
"I don't know if that (the bases-loaded hit) was it, but it sparked something, so I'm glad and very blessed to be the person to come through for the team like that. I'm very grateful."?
The Mills' jumped out to a 4-0 lead after five innings and things were beginning to look bleak for the Cards.
Perhaps motivated by some sloppy play, the coaches and players gathered at the third base line for a meeting of the minds during the sixth-inning stretch.
"I don't know if I can say the exact words... but we were just kind of down in the dugout and (the coaches) just... riled us up, got us to get more energy and be more positive and encourage each other," McAlpine recalls. ?
Whatever was said, it worked.
After McAlpine's two RBI's brought the Cardinals to within two, Yorkton faced a similar situation in the seventh.
With the bases loaded, again, right fielder Tanner Waite smacked a single to score another run.
However, shortstop Preston Lyon appeared to be caught on the play as he started to run to the already occupied third base.
Just as Lyon was about to be caught in a rundown, third-baseman Casey Justice threw the ball away which allowed another run to score.
Justice was charged with an error on the play.
With the score tied and all the momentum in the Cardinals favour, Melville's Mark Cochran quieted the crowd in the top of the eighth with a line-drive home run over the right field wall.
Again, the Cardinals responded.
First, Duncan McAlpine reached third base on a towering triple and later scored the tying run.
The Cardinals then went ahead on a fielding error by shortstop Joshua Federico, who was unable to corral a shot off the bat of third baseman Nic?Lindsay.
The error allowed catcher Bart Step-onovich to score and make it 6-5.
For McAlpine, who started the eighth-inning comeback with a triple, the ability to come up big in those situations is something he wants to be known for.
"That's just the kind of the situation that I really strive for. There's no better feeling than getting up there and getting the job done, just starting something off. That's the kind of hitter I would love to be and that's what I strive for," McAlpine says. ?
Stuart Pudenz pitched the ninth inning for the Cardinals and collected the save, his first of the year.
The win marked the last Cardinals home game for awhile as they now head out on an Alberta roadtrip.
The club will return home on June 24 for a back-to-back set against the Edmonton Prospects.
