A 7-1 home win on May 21 over the Sturgeon Paladins has pushed the Westlock Red Lions’ record to 3-1 early in the North Central Alberta Baseball League season.
The Red Lions jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning of the game, and never looked back. It took until the top of the seventh for the Paladins to push their lone run across the plate.
That lone run came after the Paladins had loaded the bases with only one out, but pitcher Scott Johnson was ultimately able to slam the door shut in his first pitching action in several years.
“We never felt troubled in the seventh,” said Red Lions manager Adam Sawatzky. “We took advantage of the score to get Scott some game action.”
Wednesday’s game was the third straight the Red Lions had held their opponents to one run or less, continuing a string of strong pitching performances, the most recent of which was Kris Johnson’s one-hitter on the road against the Edmonton Athletics on May 15. “We’ve been throwing strikes, getting ahead in the count and keeping them off balance,” Sawatzky said.
Leading the way for the Red Lions against the Paladins was Jordan Brand, whose three hits set the pace for the rest of the team.
In addition, Sawatzky said the team took advantage of several Paladin errors to get their runs.
The Red Lions broke the game open in the bottom of the first inning when the plated four runs, all coming with two outs.
Aaron Watamaniuk got the ball rolling with an RBI double, scoring Nathan Swap and T.J. Oliwa.
The next batter, Kris Johnson, popped up to second base, where three Paladins gathered but none made a play for the ball. With two outs, baserunners Stuart Schroeder and Watamaniuk were running on contact, and easily scored when the ball dropped. That made it 4-0 after one inning.
Westlock didn’t score again until the bottom of the fourth, when with two outs Brand’s RBI single scored Kris Johnson, who had advanced to second base after a botched pick-off attempt that followed a leadoff walk. Johnson’s run made it 5-0 after four innings.
In the bottom of the fifth, Oliwa led off by getting on first as a result of a Paladin error. He advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Schroeder was next up, hitting an infield single, which moved Oliwa to third.
Sean Beaudoin scored Oliwa to make it 6-0 when he grounded out to first; Schroeder advanced to third on the play. Schoeder would come around to score during the next at bat on a wild pitch, which made the score 7-0.
After a scoreless sixth, the Paladins exerted the most pressure they had all game in the top of the seventh, loading the bases but only managing to score once. The game ended on a force-out at second base.
Up next for the Red Lions is the Harvey J. Doherty Tournament May 31-June 1 at Keller Field.
Sawatzky said the team is looking forward to another strong performance in front of what he calls the “best fans in the league.”
