With the regular season over, the Westlock Red Lions are ready to see what the playoffs hold.
The Lions ended their 18-game season in third place with a record of 12-4-2. That final placing means they will open their semifinal series as the road team against the North Central Alberta Baseball League’s second-place team, the Edmonton Blackhawks.
It’s a match up that offers very little in terms of choosing a winner ahead of time, manager Adam Sawatzky said.
“I would think it’s going to be a close, tight series, just like our regular season games,” he said.
During the regular season, the teams met twice. On May 9 the Red Lions won 1-0 at home, while on July 5 the Blackhawks came out on top 5-4 in Edmonton.
The teams played a third time in the final of the Waskatenau tournament on June 10. That game wasn’t as close, with the Lions defeating the Blackhawks 9-0. Despite taking two of three, Sawatzky said given the talent on the Blackhawks, it’s not going to be an easy series. Armed with some of the best pitchers in the league, as well as some of the best batters, the Blackhawks will pose a significant challenge.
Still, he’s confident the home crowd will be cheering when it’s all over.
“I think if we play our best and they play their best, we can beat them. We’ve shown that in the past this year.”
And then there’s the mental aspect of blocking out what happened last year, when the Blackhawks knocked out the Red Lions in their semifinal series.
“We’re looking for a little revenge this year,” Sawatzky said.
Regardless of how their playoff run ends, he said it’s always exciting to get to play in the playoffs at Keller Field.
“It’s always great to play at the fair,” he said. “It’s what we build to every year. It’s always our goal at the beginning of the year to be at the fair in the playoffs.”
In their final regular season game, the Red Lions were in Edmonton on Aug. 8 to take on the Athletics, with a chance to leapfrog the Blackhawks and finish in second place with a win.
Unfortunately, they were unable to do so in a 4-4 tie, leaving them in third place. However, going into the game, a playoff match up with the Blackhawks was guaranteed win or lose.
The Lions jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-run double by Sawatzky and an RBI single from Kris Johnson.
In the bottom of the first, the Athletics plated one run of their own, and followed that up with a three-run outburst in the bottom of the third to take a 4-3 lead.
After coming up empty in the fourth, the Red Lions used another Sawatzky RBI to draw even at 4-4.
After the fifth inning, the skies opened up and the game stopped for a 40-minute rain delay. When play restarted, Sawatzky said the game took on a different complexion, as it was so dark it was hard to see. In fact, even before the rain the lighting wasn’t all that great.
“The whole game was quite dark, actually,” he said. “There was a lot of big clouds and lightning around.”
All in all, Sawatzky said it was a good game even though the result wasn’t what the Red Lions were hoping for.
“I thought we battled pretty well. We just didn’t come out with the win.”
Saturday Aug. 18
11 a.m. Sherwood Park Athletics @ Camrose Axemen
2 p.m. Westlock Red Lions @ Edmonton Blackhawks
5 p.m. Camrose Axemen @ Sherwood Park Athletics
Sunday Aug. 19
11 a.m. Sherwood Park Athletics @ Camrose Axemen (if necessary)
2 p.m. Edmonton Blackhawks @ Westlock Red Lions
5 p.m. Westlock Red Lions @ Edmonton Blackhawks (if necessary)
