Tales from the Doug-out: Hot time down south
Today’s story is dedicated to the memory of my good buddy, Mr. Lavern Wilson, who passed away on July 4th. Mr. Wilson, as we liked to call him, was our Elk Point Minor Ball President for about 20 years. He was the tournament chairman for 12 or more provincial tournaments that we hosted during that time. His silver bullet Ford Ranger put on about 100,000 km floating our diamonds daily. Volunteering at every event you can think of: casinos, bingo,’ Canada Day, you name it, he was always there. Always smiling, he never knew how to say no to anyone and found the best in everyone.
My friend’s celebration of life is tomorrow, Saturday, July 13, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. at Allied Arts Centre, Elk Point, with Pastor Kevin Nelson officiating. If you knew Mr. Wilson, take some time to read his obituary and send the family condolences online, here.
The U18 AA Braves Smash through the Weekend in Acme
The Bonnyville U18 AA Braves had a long five plus hour hike down to Acme this past weekend. And as you know, it was a blistering hot weekend for ball. The Braves only game on Saturday was against the undefeated SJP (South Jasper Park) Jays. Cadogan Rachynski got the call and was on the mound to start the game. And pitched a terrific game, chucking 5 innings and giving up only 5 runs with 4 Ks (Strikeouts). It was 5-3 after the 5th inning; however, that was as close as it would get as the Braves ran into a little pitching trouble. And with it being the first game of the weekend with the pitch count rules didn’t want to burn up all their pitching on day 1. Colin Reardon came in the 7th inning and was able to shut the Jays down with 1 SO and no ER( earned runs). However, it was too late, and the Jays walked away with the victory to stay undefeated.
Game 2 was against the host, the Acme Red Sox, another team with only a couple of losses this year. However, the Braves were up for the test. Carter Goreniuk maybe didn’t have his usual great stuff, but it was enough going 3.1 innings with 4 runs and a SO. Carter also had a great weekend at the plate, smashing a couple of doubles. The Braves were down 3-2 after 3 innings when Jedd Stybel came in out of the bullpen on relief and pitched a great 3.2 innings, giving up only 2 runs with 5 K’s. Jedd also was hammering the ball at the plate helping the Braves add on runs. Zach Lapointe had another solid weekend catching behind the plate and also crushed a few long balls off the fence. Jaxon Gauthier was hitting the ball hard again this weekend with a double and several singles. The Braves ended up scoring 7 runs in the 4th inning and never looked back, taking this one 14-6.
The final game of the weekend was as hot enough to cook hotdogs on the hood of the car at 3 pm Sunday when it was well over 30 degrees. With the 5-hour drive home ahead of the Braves back home, they were hoping for a quick game and to get on the road. Ethan Walgren did his part pitching a complete game beauty, going 5 innings and giving up only 2 runs with 7 K’s. The big lefty also had a few key hits over the weekend. Casey Warawa went 3-4 at the plate with a couple of doubles and continued his year of strong defense. Sam Atwal also had a good day at the plate going 3-4 with 3 RBI’s. Dane Archibald, who has been playing a fair bit of first base, probably had his best weekend defensively, making numerous nice plays at first base while chipping in with a few hits. Owen Tibbets found ways to get on base and score a couple of runs to help the team stretch out the lead. Andrew Haxby went 2-2 at the dish with 2 doubles and had another great weekend in the outfield, tracking down fly balls. It wasn’t much of a ball game as the Braves easily walked away with the 16-2 win. It was a great game and also great to be done in 5 innings so the team could make the trek home.
The Braves are in Edmonton this weekend for a couple of games and then should find out their fate of where they will be playing in the Championship weekend.
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