Two and three day breaks are rare during a busy WMBL season.
Six-day breaks are almost unheard of.
Due to a string of rainouts, that is what the Yorkton Cardinals had to endure last week before finally resuming action on Sunday against the visiting Regina Red Sox. Unfortunately, the nearly weeklong layoff did not do the Cardinals any favours. The Red Sox took the game 11-5 in front of 434 disappointed fans.
Cardinals starter Jordan Herbison (0-1) was tagged with the loss after throwing five innings, giving up five runs on six hits and striking out four.
Red Sox pitcher Jacob Genz was credited with the win for Regina. Catcher Thomas McAlpine had two RBI's for the Cards while brother Duncan crossed home plate three times. Yorkton's Preston Lyon, one of the league-leaders in batting average, went 1-5 on the day, managing a single hit and scoring once.
With the weather finally on their side, the Cards took the field the next night against the visiting Weyburn Beavers.
The 275 fans in attendance at Jubilee Park were treated to a back-and-forth affair with Weyburn scoring in the eighth to secure a 4-3 victory.
Beavers pitcher Julien Soucy got the win for Weyburn after pitching a complete game and striking out five.
Cardinals relief pitcher Ben Sollows was saddled with the loss after giving up the go-ahead run.
First baseman Ryan Saunders had a good night at the plate for the Cards, going three for four with two RBI's.
Catcher Thomas McAlpine offensive efforts had the crowd on its feet as he delivered a a stand-up triple in the fifth inning, a hit that brought Yorkton's David Kaplan across home plate.
Despite the loss, the game could have been well out of reach in the ninth inning had it not been for the relief efforts of pitcher Duncan McAlpine.
McAlpine came on in relief in the eighth after the decisive run was scored and kept Weyburn at bay with two key strikeouts.
The outs were particularly important considering that Weyburn had loaded the bases with two-out and were threatening to add to their lead.
For McAlpine, the difficulty of the situation was one he's definitely faced before.
"In college I've been put in that situation and sometimes, I succeed, sometimes a couple runs come in. You just got to worry about making good pitches in that situation," he says.
McAlpine then came on in the ninth and struck out two more. The pitcher's throws were executed with such velocity that they completely stymied the Beavers hitting.
"I've been blessed with a great arm. I've been working it ever since I was a young kid and it's just gotten to the point where I can throw hard. It's really a blessing," McAlpine explains. ?
With the loss the Cardinals fell to 3-5 on the season. Although the game didn't produce the desired result, Cardinals manager Bill Sobkow was still enthused by his club's effort.
"Our baseball team played a heck of a game. We scored some runs, our defence was excellent. We had a couple of great bunts that we moved our runners over to second base (and) pitching was fine. It's just one of those games that you say you lost and you come out again tomorrow," Sobkow points out.
In regards to McAlpine's outstanding relief appearance, Sobkow wasn't at all surprised by his pitcher's play.
"He's a darn good pitcher."
Coverage of the Tuesday night game vs. Melville will appear in the Saturday News Review Extra section.
