The 13-and-under squad fell behind early, rallied to take the lead in the third inning, but ultimately dropped a 14-9 decision to the Regina Buffalos in their season opener in Regina on Thursday.
The Buffalos got off to a quick start, sending nine batters to the plate and scoring four runs in the opening frame. Moose Jaw would battle back, though, scoring a pair in the second inning and tacking on three more in the third to build a 5-4 edge.
That lead wouldn’t last the inning, though, as Regina would again bat around in the bottom the third, scoring another five runs to go ahead 9-5.
After the two teams exchanged single runs in the fourth, Moose Jaw kept the pressure on in the sixth, crossing the plate twice to close within two 10-8, but another Buffalos four-spot in their half of the inning put things out of reach.
A key to future success for the local team will be cleaning things up in the field — the Canucks made a total of seven errors on the night, with only eight of Regina’s 14 runs scored as earned.
Owen Casada got the start and surrendered four runs on four hits in an inning of work before Rylan Caplette-Tarrant gave up three runs on a pair of hits in the second inning.
Max Simmons — one of the standouts in the Moose Jaw Little League All-Stars run to nationals last season — tossed two innings, giving up three runs, one earned, on one hit, while recording two strikeouts.
Riley Cushway had the toughest luck on the night, giving up four runs on two hits in 1 2/3 innings of work, but errors saw none of those runs scored as earned. Cameron Beisal threw five pitches to record the final out.
Beisal also led the way at the plate, going 2-for-4 and scoring a pair of runs, while Janzen Lamey also crossed the plate twice.
The Canucks are back in action Sunday when they travel to Estevan to face the Brewers in a doubleheader.
