The Western Major Baseball League (WMBL) Yorkton Cardinals aren't tossing in the towel yet. The team which has been the East Division basement dweller all season, has shown flashes of talent recently. Despite their season record, it's still too early to write them off as the Cardinals struggle to stave off playoff elimination. Following a split with Melville last week, the birds managed to edge out the division leading Regina Red Sox at home Sunday afternoon.
Yorkton got the ball rolling so to speak with a narrow 4-3 win over their Highway 10 rivals, the Melville Millionaires in the first game of a home and home series.
The Mils took an early first inning one run lead, adding one run in each of the seventh and eighth frames.
Yorkton tied the game in the fourth, added a second run in the fifth to take the lead and wrapped up the win with a two run eighth.
Cardinals reliever Luis Lora was credited with the win while Melville's Brenden Gilles was tagged with the loss.
Yorkton's James Green led the scoring for the Cardinals with a pair of runs on three hits.
Luis Sanchez scored a run and earned an RBI on one hit.
Yorkton catcher Jake Bailey added a run.
In the second game of the series in Melville, the Mils came out with a vengeance, scoring three runs to open the game with a 3-0 first inning lead, adding a run in the home half of the fifth inning. In battling back, the best Yorkton could manage was three runs as the Mils went on to win the game 4-3.
Melville's Garrett Kelly was credited with the win while Trevor Daggon was tagged with the loss.
Sanchez and Kevin McLeod each had a pair of hits and scored one run for the Cardinals.
Green added a run to make the final score 4-3 for Melville.
Sunday afternoon's home game against the visiting Regina Red Sox was arguably one of the most entertaining for local baseball fans with all the drama of major league baseball, including a bench clearing confrontation, a disputed call at home plate and a late inning win for the hometown favorites.
Yorkton jumped into an early two run lead after the second om runs scored by Jon Mihic and Zachary Bott.
Regina chipped away at the Yorkton lead with runs in the fourth and sixth innings to tie the game at two.
Landon Briscoe trotted in at the bottom of the eighth to give Yorkton a one run lead. Cardinals closer Max McDonald held the Red Sox off the scoreboard in the top of the ninth to clinch a narrow 3-2 win.
The win improves Yorkton's record to 12 wins and narrows the gap with the Weyburn Beavers leaving the Cardinals about a game and a half out of playoff contention.
Following the 3-2 win over the Regina Red Sox, top team in the East Division, assistant coach Jared Franklin says, the Cardinals had a low scoring percentage which hurts the team. "You can have two singles an inning, have 18 hits in the game and not score a single run," Franklin explains. Sunday afternoon the Cardinals brought home the necessary runs to claim the narrow win.
Franklin praised the work of Cardinals starter N.D. Gonzalez who he claims is one of the best pitchers in the league.
The win Sunday was big, Franklin admits. He also realizes making the playoffs will be tough. The good news, he suggests, is the Cardinals can still do it. Regina is the best team in the league record wise. "We know if we can beat them we can beat Swift Current and Okotoks," he declares.
"Even though we have a losing record, we still have a chance and we will just keep fighting," Franklin says of the Cardinals.
Franklin's assessment of what it will take to make the playoffs is fairly straightforward, "Win," he says.
One of the things the team has started to do is to play the hit and run. "We get some guys in motion, maybe move some defenders around and maybe find a hole," he suggests.
"It was a good game for the fans today, Franklin closes.
