It was one of those games that can be added to the lore that is baseball.
Hosting the Edmonton Expos on May 14 at Keller Field, the Westlock senior Red Lions — affectionately called the Grey Lions — recorded a 2-0 win while getting only one hit. The victory improves the club to 2-0 in the Alberta West Central Baseball Association.
In the shutout loss, the Expos rapped out only two hits of their own.
To make the win even more remarkable was the lone hit came from Sheldon McConaghy in the first at bat of the game, and the two runs came in the bottom of the first inning.
“We were fortunate to get those two runs in the first inning,” said manager Rick Sereda. “It was a well played game for early May.”
Adding to the strangeness of the game was the fact the Grey Lions were short players, and so they had to scramble to field a full roster, as well as dress them, he said.
The regular Grey Lions were joined by four alternates, none of whom had played baseball at that level before. In fact, Sereda said they had only played slo-pitch prior to Wednesday’s game.
“Their hitting wasn’t great, but their defence was just fine,” he said of the replacements’ performance.
To have four nearly complete newbies jump into the lineup and not hurt the club’s chances was definitely a welcome development, Sereda said.
Overall, the squad made the catches they needed to in order to get the win.
It was also a very smooth game with lots of balls in play, he added.
In such a low-scoring, and low-hitting, game, Sereda said there wasn’t really anyone who stood out, but he did recognized McConaghy’s work behind the plate as the team’s catcher.
“He called a good game,” he said.
The Grey Lions return to the field on May 22 when they host the Edmonton Blues at Keller Field. The game is a make-up date for the May 2 season opener, which was cancelled due to cold weather.
