Inching nearer and nearer to the middle of July, the Western Major Baseball League regular season is heating up and the race between the Yorkton Cardinals and the Weyburn Beavers for the final East Division playoff spots is one of the league's tightest races so far.
With just one game dividing the two teams from the playoffs, the two teams collided at Jubilee Park for what could only be described as one of the more crucial games in the final month of the WMBL regular season.
With a win, Yorkton would go two games clear of Weyburn who had a chance to catch up to the Cardinals. With a lot on the line and the two dugouts buzzing with anticipation in what was a playoff type atmosphere at Jubilee Park, manager Bill Sobkow handed Canora native Kody Rock the ball as the Cardinals starter as the usual reliever got the nod playing the final game of a busy weekend for Yorkton.
Rock, who has registered some quality performances for the Cardinals to this point in the season, did not have his best stuff to start the top of the first inning as the Beavers rocked Rock for a five spot to kick off the game.
The five run inning was capped off by a controversial Chris Manning home run that appeared as if it could be foul, the umpire ruled it was fair and the Beavers finished up 5-0 in the inning, firmly in the drivers seat.
Yorkton would dig deep and catch up some ground in the third inning when Sergio Perez' leadoff double was cashed in by Kameron Mizzell to earn Yorkton's first run of the game. Justin Burgess would move Mizzell to third with a double of his own before Kevin McLeod sent in Mizzell on a sacrifice to shorten the Weyburn lead to just three runs.
With one out and a runner on third, Beavers starter Ryan Shaw dug deep and got the next two Cardinals batters out as Yorkton failed to cash in Burgess and the score sat at 5-2.
Weyburn would add to that lead in the fifth, chasing Kody Rock from the mound after just four innings of work. Weyburn would add one run off of Rock before adding a second off of middle reliever Taylor Metzger on a wild pitch to re-extend the lead to five runs.
Trailing 7-2, Yorkton decided to waste no time in getting right back into the ballgame. After Mizzell and Burgess led off with walks, the Cardinals cashed in on getting two leadoff baserunners on as Kevin McLeod and Nick Gallipeau both advanced the runners with sacrifice ground outs, cashing in Mizzell after a George Santiago walk loaded the bases.
With the runners on second and third and two out, Mike Meany cranked one to the outfield for a double to send home Burgess and Santiago and cut the lead to just two.
Matt Bowles would return the favor with another line drive to the gap and Meany got the signal from third base coach John McVey to head home. After a laser of a throw from Kurtis McCallum, Meany was caught at home plate by inches cutting the Cardinals inning short and preventing what would have been a huge run.
That play proved to be the turning point of the game, as Kameron Mizzell provided what would have been the tying run with a solo shot right down the middle of Jubilee Park, taking a high pitch for a ride down the deepest part of the park for a home run to make the score 7-6 in what was a huge game for Mizzell who was fourth in the NAIA in batting average this season before heading north to the WMBL for the summer.
Matt Whitehead would keep the Cardinals in it all the way until the eighth inning when after striking out three in two innings of work, he walked the opening two batters and put the Cards in a jam.
With the bullpen worn out and a game in Regina the following night, Mizzell was enlisted to come in relief with the stakes high and he did not disappoint on what was a huge night. Throwing some hard moving fastballs, Mizzell struck out the first two Beavers batters he faced before getting the final batter to pop out weakly to first base to end the inning and keep the Cardinals rally rolling.
Matt Bowles would lead off the bottom of the eighth with a single to get the tying run on base for Yorkton before Dylan Gross reached first on an error on a sacrifice bunt by the Beavers to get Jubilee Park on its feet as Sergio Perez stepped to the plate with the winning runs on base and no outs. McVey would give Perez the signal to sacrifice bunt, but Perez would tip the first pitch foul and right into the hands of the first baseman, earning out number one and failing to advance the runners to second and third.
Still with Kameron Mizzell at the plate and Burgess on deck the Cardinals had a chance to tie things up or take the lead with just one out. Sadly Mizzell's magical night couldn't find the fairytale ending as he struck out for the second out of the inning. Burgess would fly out to end the inning and the Cards night as Weyburn would add a run in the ninth and wrap up a 8-6 win.
Still despite the loss John McVey is confident in his ballclub, saying that they all feel that this team is better than their sub .500 record indicates, "We all feel that we are better than where we sit record wise right now," says McVey. "Every player we have this season is from a winning program and we have played in a lot of close ballgames that could have went our way up until this point and the guys are gelling and I think it is only a matter of time before we show that we are a group of winning ballplayers."
Yorkton will get another chance at Weyburn Tuesday when the Beavers return to Jubilee. Yorkton also hosts the Saskatoon Yellow Jackets Friday for a doubleheader.
