MOOSE JAW -- The Moose Jaw Canucks find themselves off to a solid start in the Sask Premier Baseball League 18U AAA division, and their game against the South East Twins earlier last week gave an indication why.
Despite seeing an early lead evaporate late in the game, the Canucks showed resiliency and would go on to score one in the bottom of the ninth to secure a 6-5 victory on Wednesday night at Ross Wells Park.
The Canucks are now 3-1 to start the SPBL campaign and sit in second place behind the 4-1 Swift Current Kal Tire 57’s.
Moose Jaw couldn’t have asked for a better start to the contest on a cool and rainy evening, with six of their first seven batters reaching base and scoring four runs in the process. The Canucks would then tack on another in the second inning to build a 5-0 lead.
The Twins began to claw their way back into the game in the fourth inning, putting up three runs, and they then pulled within one with a single run in the fifth.
That set the stage for the top of the seventh, with South East’s Nathan Walkeden hitting a lead off single before Moose Jaw retired the next two batters to get the Twins down to their final out. That set the stage for Tyson Hardy, who would reach on an error and bring home Walkeden with the tying run, forcing extra innings.
Nothing would be solved in the eighth, but with Kale Pratte on second due to the international tiebreaker in the ninth, Owen Varjassy would move him over to third with a sacrifice fly and Ryder Hicks would bring Pratte home with a fly ball to center field
Moose Jaw’s Spencer Craig capped his night with a 2-for-3 effort that included a run batted in, while Gerritt Gulutzan and Pratte each scored a pair of runs.
Hardy was 2-for-3 with a run and two RBI for South East, Ryker Harrison was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
Cam Beisal got the start for the Canucks and allowed four runs, one earned on five hits while striking out five over six innings. Gulutzan took over in the seventh and allowed the unearned tying run but held the Twins to only two hits while striking out six in three innings of work.
Chase Himmelspach allowed five runs on three hits in 2 ⅔ innings for South East, with Caden Dorrance holding Moose Jaw to only two hits over the next six innings.
The Canucks are back on the field on Tuesday, May 20 when they travel to Regina to face the White Sox, with first pitch at 6 p.m. at Currie Field.
South East is back in action Thursday in Balgonie against the White Butte Broncos. Game time is 6 p.m.
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