Hot Summer Nights

The Blue Jays have their good days and bad days; the Sox do too! Baseball can be very unkind sometimes. It can take a lot of the patience and practice to be good at it and even then, sometimes no matter what you do, the ball will bounce the other way on you!

Last Monday night, the Bantam Sox played a very good game, one of the best I have witnessed. Dalton “007′” Reed was on the hill and throwing some major heat chopping down the Ft. Sask Red Sox.  The bats were hot too. The Bonnyville product Ethan Vassuer blasting a home run, well over the fence and out of the park. Cody “the Babe” Fairbairn with a ground rule double bouncing one over the fence, and Colton “Big Mac” McLean also hitting a double to the gap. The final score 12 to 4 after 6 innings when the game was called because of darkness.

The weekend round robin didn’t go as well, in fact you may say it didn’t go well at all. It was hotter than heck on Saturday, but the Bantam Sox were not. The boys were scheduled to play Barrhead Orioles at noon; however, very few of them showed up to play.  In body they were there, but the minds were somewhere else.

Ethan Vassuer getting the call was up on the mound to start the game and didn’t get any support from the fielders, the game was full of errors. Easy outs became misplays and the bats had absolutely no pop in them at all. The boys ended up losing in 5 innings by the mercy rule. Mind you it was hot, plus 30 by game time; but it still didn’t seem to affect the other team.

Still cooking hot for the 6pm game against High Prairie. The Sox started off playing much better, the fielders were managing to make some plays and help out the starting pitcher Cody “the Babe” Fairbairn. The High Prairie Hazards had their ace on the hill and he was in total control of the game, not much the boys could do against him. He was having a great game, hurling heat, curves, change ups and striking out 12 batters… he really didn’t need a lot of help from his fielders.

Even though the boys could not get on base, the score still not too bad, 7 to 0, after 6 innings. When the “Babe” was maxed out on pitch count bringing in Graham “Uncle Cracker” Broda to the mound, but “Uncle Cracker”  couldn’t hold the Hazards off the board for very long. The final inning didn’t go very well at all, getting three out was quite a challenge. The score was well into the double digits when the game ended.

The next day the Sox game at 4pm against Stettler was rained out and will be rescheduled. The boys will now travel to Whitecourt for the next round next weekend.

The Peewee Puma girls played in the D provincials finals this past weekend in Leslieville playing four games. Although they didn’t win any of them, they were all close games (with the exception of one) and the girls gained a ton of great experience.

Makenna Rose with a triple driving in two runs was the MVP for the first game, Sydnee “the Kid” Crawford doing a diving catch for the third out was the MVP in the second game. Mykaela Verenka with a grand slam was the MVP for the third game, and Paige Skarsen got the MVP in the final game for her terrific pitching. All the girls played amazing and the coaches and parents were very proud of them all.

The Mosquitoes AA provincial Sox team traveled to Beaumont on Saturday and then to Barrhead on Sunday winning one out of three. Vaughn “the Vulture” with a single and double against Beaumont, Raif  “Rug Rat” Evans Anderson and the “Mighty Casey” Warawa and Koltin Davis with a single each in the first game against Beaumont. Trey Calliou and Sam “the Spiderman” Rogal each with a single on Sunday in the first game against Drayton Valley. “Spiderman” with a double, Timmy “the Tank” Cardinal with a single in the  game against Barrhead, the Sox winning 8 to 5.

And a Happy Anniversary going out today to former hockey parents and Elk Point Storm coach George and Debbie Hahn.