The St. Albert bantam AAA Cardinals rebounded from a tough loss Sunday at the hands of Moose Jaw in the final of the Regina tournament with a pair of wins this week.
Moose Jaw's Cardinals eked out a 6-4 win with a home run in the top of the sixth late in the game in the final, on the heels of St. Albert battling to victory in an 11-inning affair against the host Regina Pacers.
As the season has progressed for the St. Albert bantam squad, the Cardinals have continued to build on experiences such as the Regina tournament and implement the lessons learned to league games.
“We had a tough semifinal,” said assistant coach Steve Randall. “Going 11 innings and winning was a fun kind of a pick-me-up. But it ended up being a long day for us.
“We lost the final due to a bit of a mistake. Their guy hit a hanging pitch out and we tried to battle back but we didn't have enough to come back and get it all done. It was good all around, though.”
“We had them until the end and couldn't battle back,” added Andrew Kotscherofski. “It was just one of those games. [The semifinal] tired us a little bit, but we still could have won.”
After shutting out Sherwood Park 12-0 on Tuesday night the Cardinals were in a bit of a tougher spot against the Spruce Grove White Sox on Wednesday but earned a 7-4 win.
Spruce Grove opened the scoring in the second inning with one run. St. Albert battled back with two, playing as the home side in Spruce Grove, with Matthew Reiniger reaching on a missed pitch and an RBI by Ryan Anderson for a 2-1 lead.
The White Sox tied it up in the top of the fourth. St. Albert's bats then came alive — Jeff Harrison and Layne Viveiros each smacked an RBI double while Chance Wheatley's sacrifice hit brought home Harrison for a 5-2 lead.
Another single-run inning by the Sox brought them within two at the top of the fifth. In the sixth, Wheatley sacrificed again for Harrison while Viveiros drove a triple to right field to score Marcus Blair.
St. Albert's pitchers, Blair and Connor Girard who started the fourth inning, combined for four walks and eight strikeouts.
The White Sox totalled four walks and five strikeouts.
“Our pitchers did a pretty good job,” said Randall. “I'd maybe have liked to see a bit more first-pitch strikes but our defence did a good job again. We figured out a couple hitters that we maybe had trouble with before so that was a good sign.”
“We played well, were able to see the ball and eventually get to their pitchers,” added Kotscherofski, who before the game was hoping to get another chance at Logan Seifrit who is so far perfect against the Cardinals this year. “He's a challenge. We're getting used to him and we think we can beat him.”
“We saw some quick guys in Regina so I think some of our guys want to see him almost now,” said Randall. “At some point we're going to have to beat him. I'm sure we're a team that can do it. It's just a matter of when.”
The Cardinals return to action in a Sunday doubleheader on the road against the Red Deer Braves. Game times are 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
