With one game remaining in the regular season the Alexander's Junior Cardinals currently sit at the top of the Optimist Junior Baseball League standings.
The Junior Cards split a double header with the Raymore Renegades Friday, squeaking out a 65 win in the first game and dropping the second game 3-0 at Jubilee Park.
Sunday the Cardinals faced the Regina Athletics, winning both games. The Junior Cardinals shut out the Athletics 11-0 in the first game of the double header and claimed a narrow 8-6 win in the second game Sunday afternoon.
The Cards hammered Regina in the first inning, driving in eight runs to take an 8-0 lead, reports head coach Brian Trollope. "Their pitcher was throwing everything down the middle and we were hitting it," Trollope says.
The second game was a seesaw battle with the Cardinals going up 4-0 early in the game. The Athletics stormed back to take a 5-4 lead, then added a run to make it 6-4. In the bottom of the seventh inning with two out and two men on base, Justin Stupak who had two strikes against him, nailed a home run to drive in three runs for the 8-6 win.
Ross Stillborn pitched the first game and Jayden Shwaga took the mound in the second game.
The Junior Cards will wrap up their Optimist League season Sunday, July 24 with a double header against the Regina Mets in Regina.
In the Southeast Senior Baseball League (SESBL) the Alexander's Junior Cardinals finished the regular season first in the standings.
The 2011 SESBL playoff seeding is 1. Jr. Cardinals 2. Canora Supers 3.Willowbrook Royals 4. Yorkton Yankees 5. Melville Bison 6. Swan River Reds
The Junior Cards and Canora Supers have a bye in the first round.
Willowbrook chose Swan River in Round 1 best of 3 to be complete by July 17
The Yorkton Yankees will play Melville in Round 1 best of 3 to be complete by July 17.
The playoffs opened Sunday with the Willowbrook Royals defeating the Swan River Reds 17-2 in the first game.
The Junior Cardinals will host the provincial junior baseball tournament the last weekend in July. The eight team tournament will feature two pools of four teams playing at Jubilee Park starting Friday, July 29 at 1:30 p.m. with the gold medal game to be played at 3 p.m. Sunday, July 31.
