The Moose Jaw Canucks Red might have absorbed more than their fair share of losses throughout the Baseball Regina 13U AAA regular season, but this past weekend all those games against tough competition came within a couple of wins of paying huge dividends.
The Canucks went undefeated through the round robin and reached the playoff round before falling short of the gold medal game at the Baseball Sask 13U AA Tier I provincial championship in Prince Albert.
Moose Jaw opened the tournament with a 6-3 win over the Saskatoon Cardinals on Friday before picking up back-to-back wins on Saturday defeating Humboldt 15-10 and downing Maidstone 12-6.
That was good enough for a 3-0 record, first place in their pool, and a spot in the semifinal on Sunday morning. There, the Canucks fell behind in the middle innings and nearly staged a late-game comeback before dropping an 11-8 decision to the North East Expos.
Moose Jaw 6, Saskatoon 3
The Cardinals took a 3-1 lead out of the fourth inning, but Moose Jaw would put up four runs in the fifth to take the lead and would tack on an insurance marker the next inning to finish things off.
Isaiah Ross had a 2-for-2 game that included a pair of RBIs, while Nigel Legare was 2-for-3 with two doubles and a run scored.
Dax Chesney got the start and allowed two runs in 2 ⅔ innings of work before Dalton Stephens, Brady Novak, Rhett Benaschuk and Legare all combined to finish off the win.
Moose Jaw 15, Humboldt 10
The Canucks needed an even bigger comeback in their second game, as after trailing 10-4 through two innings, they’d put up runs in each of the next four frames -- including six in the sixth -- to secure the victory.
David Choe had a stellar game at the plate, going 2-for-2 with, two walks, four runs scored and an RBI to lead the offence. Chesney was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, while Rylan Gray went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. Benaschuk had a single hit and knocked in three runs, Novak was 3-for-4 and knocked in a pair, Ross and Hudson Sowden also crossed the plate twice each.
Baxter got the start and allowed six runs, three earned, on four hits while getting two outs in the first inning. Benaschuk took over and went the next 4 ⅔, allowing four runs on eight hits and striking out six. Novak finished things off, giving up a single hit over the last 1 ⅔ innings.
Moose Jaw 12, Maidstone 6
Sure enough, the Canucks needed another comeback in their final round robin game, only this one wasn’t quite as onerous.
Trailing 4-3 through three, Moose Jaw put up three runs in the fifth and would eventually find themselves tied 6-6 at the end of the inning. A four spot in the sixth gave the local crew control, though, and they’d tack on two more in the seventh to finish things off.
Every player but one had at least a base hit in the win, and all but two scored at least one run.
Gray led the way, going 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, while Ross was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and three RBI. Legare also plated three runs, while Benaschuk had a pair of RBI.
Stephens went 3 ⅔ innings and allowed four runs on five hits while striking out four. Novak tossed the next 2 ⅓ and gave up two runs, none earned, on three hits before Sowden finished things off, allowing a single hit in the seventh.
North East 11, Moose Jaw 8
Moose Jaw’s run of rallies came to an end in the semifinal, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying.
After North East scored three runs in the fourth and four more in the fifth to take 10-4 lead, the Canucks would put up four in the sixth to close to within a pair. The Expos would add an insurance marker the next inning, though, and Moose Jaw would get the tying run to the plate in the seventh before falling short.
Gray led the offence with a 3-for-4 showing that included a pair of runs, while Chesney also had a pair of hits and scored two runs. Taeve Morhart knocked in a pair, Ian Kampus added a hit.
Benaschuk started the game and went 3 ⅓, giving up six runs and striking out six. Legare allowed three runs while finishing the fourth inning, Chesney capped the contest by allowing a pair of runs in the final three innings and striking out seven.
