Action-Packed Baseball Weekend

Yorkton Jr Cardinals @ Nationals in PEI

*The following was submitted by Cardinals' Coach Wade Karcha*

Yorkton Alexander's Junior Cardinals arrived late Tuesday night in Charlottetown PEI. The area had experienced two weeks of heavy rainfall leaving the baseball diamonds in very poor shape due to flooding and leaving numerous "swampy" areas as the ground was saturated. To their credit tournament organisers spent considerable effort working round-the-clock to get the diamonds in playing condition. While a couple of round robin games were postponed the Cardinals' games went ahead as scheduled until Saturday afternoon when torrential rains forced the postponement of some games and the complete cancellation of the Cardinals 5th game. All non-medal games were cancelled which was a disappointment for all affected players.

The Cardinals first game pitted them against New Brunswick on Thursday. The Cardinals led early scoring one in the second and two in the third inning. Tyson Nesbitt who went the distance on the mound doubled in the second and scored on a Tyrel Thorpe single. Kurt Karcha singled and Jarrett Waldbauer was hit by a pitch in the third inning and were driven home on a Tyson Nesbitt hit. Bo McArthur also scored in the third inning. New Brunswick scored two in the the third inning, one in the fourth and one in the fifth. They capped their comeback with a run in the bottom of the seventh for a 5-4 win. Tyson Nesbitt was awarded the game star for the Cardinals.

The Cardinals played their second game on Friday versus Manitoba. Pitcher and Cardinal game star winner Robert Ramsdale who also toiled for the WMBL Cardinals this past season went the distance as the Cardinals defeated Manitoba 2-0. Ramsdale picked three Manitoba runners off first base while catcher Dalane Lamb ended the game by picking a Manitoba runner off first base for the third out in the bottom of the seventh inning. Scoring for the Cardinals were Kurt Karcha and Dalane Lamb who were driven home on a Tyson Nesbitt hit.

The Cardinals played their third game Friday afternoon against the powerhouse team of all stars from throughout the Province of Ontario. The final score was 12-1 for Ontario. Despite the one-sided score starting pitcher Matthew Benson pitched a very good game. The Ontario team simply were strong hitters. Scoring for the Cardinals was Bo McArthur. The Cardinals managed only two hits in the game. Dalane Lamb was named game star for the Cardinals.

The Cardinals fourth and final round-robin game was played Saturday against another powerhouse, a team of all-stars from throughout the Province of Quebec. Justin Stupak had the only Cardinal hit in that game and was named the Cardinal game star. The final score was 10-0 for Quebec. Matt Poier and Tyrel Thorpe shared pitching duties for the Cardinals.

Despite the two one-sided losses the Cardinals actually played quite well throughout the entire tournament. The Cardinals are a club team while Provinces such as B.C., Ontario and Quebec send teams made up of the best players selected from throughout their respective provinces who have very large populations and a large selection of players to choose from. Therefore club teams are at a disadvantage in a tournament of this calibre. Nevertheless the positive experiences gained on their visit to Charlottetown and playing in such a high level tournament will stick with the players the rest of their lives.

The Cardinals are very appreciative of their team sponsor Alexander and Diane Gryschuk of Alexander's Men's Wear for their considerable support this year as well as previously.

2 Yorkton Players, 1 Coach @ Baseball Canada Cup in Medicine Hat

Team Saskatchewan lost the 5th place game to Alberta 7-2 yesterday, rounding out their tournament. Yorkton's Evan Wasylyniuk was on the coaching staff, while pitchers Logan Calanchie and Andrew Minchuk were also part of the team. Calanchie was named Game MVP for Saskatchewan in a loss to Ontario. Team Sask went 1-and-6 overall.

North American Fastpitch Championships
in Mankato, Minnesota
"AA" Tournament
Pickseed Explorers 2 vs Rude Pack: Sacramento, Calif. 5
Pickseed Explorers 2 vs River City Rockers: Sacramento, Calif. 5
**Pickseed finished 14th in the "AA" tournament**
"A" Tournament
Pickseed Explorers 3 vs Up-to-date Painting: Frankenmoose, Michigan 2
Pickseed Explorers 4 vs Torros: Topeka , Kansas 8
**Pickseed finished 6th out of 32 teams in the "A" Tournament**
(Pickseed Explorers are made up of members of the Balcarres Bronx and Grenfell Titans)

Dawgs Win Second Straight WMBL Championship

The Okotoks Dawgs beat the Swift Current Indians in the Western Major Baseball League final for a second consecutive season. The fourth and deciding game on Saturday saw Okotoks put up 15 hits in an 11-7 win. Cam Christian went 4-for-5, while Brett Thomas was 3-for-5 with 6 RBI in the win.

In Soccer News...

The Yorkton United U-18 Girls captured their second straight provincial championship, winning the Gold Medal in Moose Jaw over the weekend.