Baseball season is officially over in Westlock.
The Red Lions were hungry and on the prowl after a decisive game Aug. 12, which saw the Red Lions win a do-or-die tiebreaker 9-1 on the road against the St. Albert Cardinals. The win meant they clinched the fourth and final spot in the North Central Alberta Baseball League playoffs and a chance to play the first-ranked Sherwood Park Athletics.
The home team ran out of steam on Keller Field Aug. 16. Though they scored two in the first inning running ahead of the Athletics — who they had beat twice in the regular season — the Athletics weren’t messing around with the fourth-place Red Lions.
Sherwood Park scored 21 runs on 24 hits, while the Red Lions only scored one more in front of the home crowd at the Westlock and District Agricultural Fair, for a final score of 21-3 in Game 1.
“They’re a good team, they hit the ball well,” said manager Chris Brand. “They took advantage of some timely hitting and obviously it seemed that they could not miss a hit.”
The next day, the Red Lions took to the field for the last time in 2019, again falling to the Athletics, 7-4.
The Athletics will now go on to face the winner of the series between the Edmonton Primeaus and Edmonton Blackhawks in the league championship final Aug. 24-25
Despite the semifinal loss, B.rand said it was a good year with a healthy roster of veterans and new players.
“The boys had a good year, we were glad to make it to the playoffs, but we fell a little bit short ... I’m proud of the boys and how they played, and there’s always next year,” said Brand, who added he will also be back on the field next spring after taking the season off due to an injury.
Brand also gave tribute to long-time announcer Chuck Keller who called his last Red Lions game on Aug, 17.
“It was Chuck’s last game announcing for the Red Lions, so it’s sad to see him leave and I guess that as we keep playing we’ll always see his name in the grandstands. There has been a tradition built here over so many decades that we want to continue to live up to.”
