Friday, August 26
In the final game of the season, it was the Cardinals and the Sabres in game 3 of the B Division Final. The Cardinals got out to an early 3 run lead in the top of the first, but the Sabres countered with 2 of their own. The Sabres added one in the third to tie it at three, then took the lead with two in the fourth. The game was put out of reach when the Sabres added two in the sixth for a final score of 7-3. The Sabres, after being finalists in the B Division last year, have won their first SMBL title. The offence was led by Justin Tehse who went 4 for 4 with 2 runs scored. Caleb Williams earned the victory in relief of Justin Tehse, pitching the final four frames and striking out 5.
Congratulations to the two Champions, the Thunder and the Sabres, and the two finalists, the Rangers and the Cardinals on great playoff runs. We look forward to seeing all of the teams back next year for the 2023 season. Have a great off-season.
Thursday, August 25
At Mocon Field in Martensville the Thunder got out to an early lead over the Rangers, but the Rangers clawed their way back into the game. The Thunder managed to hang on and win the game 14-12 and became the A Division Champs for 2022.
Tuesday, August 23
In a wild ending at Cairns, the Rangers evened their series with the Thunder winning 3-2. Darren Johnson threw a complete game for the win. Dave Pura drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 6th with a sacrifice fly. Cory Hall and Garrett Olver both had two hits for the Rangers. The Thunder were threatening in the top of the 7th with runners on first and second with no out. A pickoff, a ground out and a close play at first ended the game in dramatic fashion.
Monday, August 22
At Cairns, the Sabres stormed their way back into the series against the Cardinals, winning game 2 by a score of 15-2. James Owens led the way offensively, going 4 for 4 with 4 singles. Jared Stratechuk pitched the complete 5 inning game, striking out 5. The deciding game 3 will be played Friday at 6 pm at Cairns Field.
Sunday, August 21
In the early game at Cairns, it was game 1 of the B Division final between the fifth seed, Sabres, and the sixth seed, Cardinals. The Cardinals came out strong in the first, batting ten and scoring five runs to stake an early lead. The Sabres, however, chipped away at the lead, scoring one in the third, two in the fifth and one more in the sixth to make it a 5-4 game heading into the seventh. With two out and a man on second, Kyle Beal came to the plate and hit a ground ball to short, but Beal was safe at first after the Cardinals shortstop threw the ball into the dirt. The runner from second scored and sent the game into extra innings. With two out in the top of the eighth, the Cardinals lead-off hitter, Jonathan Ikert, was hit by a pitch. Derek Marshall came to the plate and hit a ground ball to third. A bad throw allowed Marshall to reach and Ikert to score from first, giving the Cardinals a 6-5 lead. The Sabres went down three straight in their half of the eighth and the Cardinals squeaked out the 6-5 win. Jonathan Ikert earned the win, pitching the last two innings in relief. Caleb Williams had a strong outing for the Sabres, going 8 innings and striking out 10. The two teams meet again Monday at 9 pm at Cairns in game two of this best of three series.
In the late game at Cairns, it was the Rangers and Thunder in game 1 of the A Division final. The Thunder took the first game by a score of 4-2 through the pitching effort of Jaxon Raffey, who pitched 5 innings for the win. Carter Tarnowski had three hits and scored two runs to lead the Thunder offence. Tommy Revering sealed the victory with his bases clearing triple. The two teams will meet again for game 2 on Tuesday at 9:00 pm at Cairns.
