Owners of the worst record in the Western Canadian Baseball League at 2-19, the Cardinals had built a 5-3 lead over the Moose Jaw Miller Express by the bottom of the fourth inning and needed just six more outs to have the game become official after five innings.
You don’t have that many losses without plenty of bad luck, though, and sure enough, an ugly storm front that had been bearing down on the city since the early evening turned a sunny and pleasant night into a lightning-filled thunderstorm in a matter of minutes. The players were sent to their dugout, the tarp stretched over the infield – with the Cardinals players offering a rare helping hand in that process – and a little over an hour later, the umpires said enough was enough and the contest was suspended.
Making things that much tougher on Yorkton was how the game was playing out: the Cardinals had chased Express starter Ty Sheridan, having scored three runs on three hits in 2 2/3 innings as the Millers hurler struggled with his command. Noah Barron had to be the most disappointed Yorkton player of all, having hit two two-run home runs to almost the exact same place in back-to-back trips to the plate.
Then there was their schedule.
Already the victim of five rain-outs this season, the Cardinals had the unenviable task of playing in Moose Jaw Friday night, travelling to Lethbridge to face the Bulls as the home team at 12:35 p.m. on Saturday – Yorkton trailed that game 18-2 after four innings – and then hitting the road again to face Medicine Hat at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday in the most bizarre of doubleheaders.
While no date had been officially set for the resumption of Friday’s game, the Cardinals make one more trip to Moose Jaw, that on Tuesday, July 30, with a partial doubleheader likely taking place that night.
The Express, meanwhile, kick off their longest road trip of the season beginning Canada Day with the start of a three-game set July 1, 2 and 3 in Edmonton against the Prospects (12-14) before making the 4 ½ hour trip north for three games against the Fort McMurray Giants (10-13) July 4, 5, and 6. The Miller Express are back at Ross Wells Park on Tuesday, July 9 for the beginning of a three-game set with the Brooks Bombers.
Extra innings… some games were completed on Friday night, and one of them featured the first no-hitter of the season in the WCBL…Weyburn Beavers starter Christian Vick faced only two batters over the minimum and struck out 14 to pick up the clean sheet against the Edmonton Prospects… Vick would have had a perfect game had it not been for errors in the first and third innings; no matter, as no Prospects baserunner would get past first base… Vick now has three quality starts in four appearances for the Beavers this season.
