They needed to overcome an early deficit, but the Westlock Red Lions got back into the win column with a tight 3-1 win over the visiting Sherwood Park Athletics at Keller Field last Wednesday.
Team manager Adam Sawatzky said it was a tough game to get through, but they found a way to put some runs on the board.
“We were facing a tough pitcher,” he said. “We had a lot of good at bats and made their pitcher work hard. We got some baserunners on and that was enough for the win.
Through the game’s seven innings, the Red Lions only managed to record three hits, but they were able to capitalize on the few errors the Athletics made.
After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first inning, it took the Red Lions until the bottom of the third to get on the board themselves.
Chris Brand led off the inning with hard hit to third, which the fielder misplayed allowing Brand to reach safely. Aaron Watamaniuk flew out to short, followed by T.J. Oliwa drawing a walk.
With two runners on, the next batter, Nathan Swap, popped up in the infield. What should have been a routine infield fly rule became a mess when the pitcher dropped the ball.
Once the ball hit the grass, Brand and Oliwa took off, trying to advance. The Athletics tried to catch Brand at third, but threw the ball into the dugout.
This should have allowed Brand to score the tying run, but after the umpires conferred amongst themselves, they decided to send Brand back to third. This prompted heated protests from the Red Lions, but to no avail. Brand remained on third, Oliwa on second, and Swap was out.
After A.J. Brown was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Jordan Brand hit a hard single to score Chris Brand, tying the game. The next batter was Brenden Watamaniuk, who too was hit by a pitch, scoring Oliwa and giving the Red Lions a 2-1 lead.
The fourth and fifth innings were uneventful. In the sixth, after Sean Beaudoin struck out, Craig Connolly drew a walk. Chris Brand followed with a double on an error by the right fielder, and then Aaron Watamaniuk was intentionally walked to get to Oliwa.
Whatever plan the Athletics had backfired, as Oliwa hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Connolly with the insurance run.
After the game, Sawatzky spoke about how the Red Lions were able to claw their way to the win.
“We had dedication at the plate,” he said. “It was clutch hitting and RBIs at the right time.”
As for the action in the third inning, Sawatzky said the umpires admitted they got the call wrong and that Chris Brand should have scored when the Athletics threw the ball into the dugout.
With the win, the Red Lions remain in second place in North Central Alberta Baseball League action with a 6-1-1 record, only a half-game up on the third-place Edmonton Blackhawks, who have a 6-2-1 record. Both teams are chasing the 6-0 Camrose Axemen.
