Two more strong pitching and defensive performances have the Westlock Red Lions riding high on a four-game winning streak.
“We’re a real juggernaut these days,” said coach Ryan Rau.
The wins give the Red Lions a 7-4 record, good enough for fourth in the 11-team North Central Alberta Baseball League.
On June 27, the Red Lions headed down to Bon Accord to take on the Sturgeon Paladins, a team Rau said they expected to beat.
That they did, coming away with a commanding 11-2 win.
With A.J. Bosman on the hill for the Red Lions, Rau said the team knew the quality of pitching they would be throwing at the Paladins.
“We were in good hands that way,” he said.
In the second inning, the Red Lions scored four runs to break the game open. As the game progressed, RBIs from Matt Hutchings and Sheldon McConaghy, along with homeruns by Trevor Miller and Ryan Teske provided all the offence the team would need.
Of course, Rau added that with how the team’s been playing lately, a major offensive outburst is not always necessary.
“The way we’ve been pitching and playing defence, we don’t need a lot of runs to feel pretty confident,” he said.
On June 28, the Red Lions were again on the road, this time in Edmonton to take on the Blackhawks, where they beat the home side by a convincing 13-3 score.
Rau said the team was expecting a tough match up, but lucked out because the Blackhawks had played a double-header over the weekend and burned through their big pitchers.
The game started as a tight affair, with Westlock scoring twice in the top of the first on a wild pitch and a triple.
However, in the bottom of the frame, the Blackhawks got to Red Lions pitcher Adam Sawatzky and scored three runs to take a 3-2 lead.
Fortunately that was all the offence the Blackhawks could muster, and to add insult to injury for the home side, their pitching fell apart, allowing the Red Lions to capitalize and put runs on the board.
The Blackhawks’ pitching situation got so bad they had to bring in their ace, Rau said, but that didn’t stop the bleeding.
“It was like adding fuel to the fire,” he said. “We started hitting him.”
In the fifth inning alone, the Red Lions drove home seven runs, effectively ending the game.
“It was a very satisfying victory and now we’re looking better and better in the standings,” he said.
The two wins have also helped boost the players’ confidence. They’re getting leads on the teams they should be beating, and finding success against the teams that have historically given them trouble, Rau said.
“We feel like no one wants to play us right now because we’re playing so well and we have such a high level of confidence,” he said.
Despite the recent success, Rau said he has some regrets.
“It’s sad to see June end because we’re rolling so much,” he said. “We don’t want to start a new month.”
The Red Lions return to action on July 5 at Keller field, when they take on the first-place Parkland White Sox. They follow that game up with a road trip to Edmonton to battle the Edmonton Athletics.
