The Westlock Red Lions defeated the Barrhead Orioles 14-5 in senior men’s’ AA North Central Alberta Baseball League (NCABL) action on Wednesday, June 25, 2014.
The Red Lions came out of the gate quickly, scoring 12 runs in the first three innings to give them the early lead. The Orioles managed a rally of their own in the bottom of the second inning as they put up five runs against Red Lions starting pitcher Adam Sawatzky but it was not enough.
Orioles third baseman Ryan Warehime described what went wrong during the early innings of the game.
“We made too many errors. Defensively, we made a pile of errors and that is how we lost the ball game,” said Warehime. “We have enough good bats to win any ball game and if we play errorless defensively we can win against any team in the league.”
Westlock was led to victory by the strong pitching of Sawatzky, who pitched six innings, allowing 5 earned runs and striking out eight Orioles batters. Centre fielder Nathan Brown who went 1-2 with three RBI and second baseman Jordan Brand who went 3-4 with two RBI led the Red Lions offensive attack.
The Orioles had strong performances from second baseman Joey Greilach, 3-4 with two RBI, and centre fielder David Gottschalk, 2-4 with an RBI.
According to Paul Riopel, Commissioner of the NCABL, the Orioles are back in the league after a ten-year layoff.
“It warmed my heart to see the Orioles come back this season because I have been trying to sprinkle a little bit of excitement about baseball in the Town of Barrhead for about two years before this season,” said Riopel.
Warehime shared his thoughts on being back in the league for the first time in a decade.
“It has been fantastic. There is a ton of interest for baseball in Barrhead so it was just a matter of time before we got a team back in the league,” added Warehime.
With the loss, the Orioles dropped to 6-5 on the season, giving the team an uphill battle to attain one of the four playoff spots.
“It has been really nice to be competitive in our first year back in the league. During our last year in the league, we won the championship so we know we can play competitive baseball. There is no doubt about that and there is a lot of talent in town,” said Warehime. “It is just a matter of getting back into the groove of things. We are still right in the hunt for a playoff spot, so it is game to game on whether or not we will be there.”
Riopel discussed the level of competition across the league this season.
“I think the current level of competition in the NCABL is probably as fierce and competitive as it has ever been. We have 11 franchises and all of them, on any given day, can take a game away from the favoured top four or five clubs in the league. There is a lot more parity in the league this season than there has ever been before,” said Riopel.
Riopel was also pleased to see the Orioles being competitive in their first season in a long time.
“It is extremely rewarding to see the Orioles being competitive and it is a reflection of the local talent that still exists in the community. I think it also speaks well to their preparation for the season,” Riopel said. “They are bringing back much of the excitement that was formerly in Barrhead for the sport of baseball. I believe the Orioles, before too long, will regain the status they once had as the town’s team.”
