And this one was something else.
Tyson Ross hit a home run in the top of the seventh and the Moose Jaw Canucks went on to a 3-2 victory over the provincial champion Yorkton Cardinals in the Baseball Regina 13-and-under quarter-final on Thursday night.
The win was a product of a complete team performance, said coach Taylor Elder, and a sign of how things have been going for the team when they’re on their game.
“It’s been an up-and-down season all around,” Elder said. “We knew from the get-go we were going to have to grind out our games, but the kids have developed well and it’s been a pleasant surprise to see some kids come into their own.
“It’s been disappointing at tournaments, including provincials, but we’ve known we have a team that can compete all along. So they came out ready to go and managed to beat out the provincial champions in their own park.”
Interestingly enough, the Canucks had taken a game off the 16-5-1 Cardinals earlier in the season, something that gave them plenty of confidence heading into the playoff opener.
There, Kaison Skeoch pitched an absolute gem, holding Yorkton without a hit through four innings and striking out six. He left the game with the contest tied 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth and Ryan Gibbs was able to close things out.
That set the stage for Ross, who took a two-out offering over the outfield fence to give the Canucks the lead.
“Tyson has been a horse all year, he’s been a leader,” Elder said. “He’s the only returning player from last year and he’s carried some of that weight on his shoulders, so it was nice to see him get that hit. You could see the smile as he was rounding the bases, he was trying to hold it back but it was coming through.”
The bottom of the seventh offered another glimpse of what the Canucks are capable of, as facing all the pressure, they were perfect in the field, including a line-drive snag by Nick Bechard at second base to keep Yorkton from getting anything going.
“I don’t think we had any errors in the game, which was big for us, especially with Kaison throwing a gem,” Elder said. “It really was an all-around team win.”
The Canucks are in Estevan tonight for the semifinal, rain permitting, and will undoubtedly need more of the same to remain on their roll.
“Taking out the top team in the province, we’ll have target on us for sure, but we’re playing good ball right now and the kids have a lot of confidence, so we’ll see what happens,” Elder said.
