The Red Lions are champions!
Westlock’s North Central Alberta Baseball League franchise claimed its 16th league title on Aug. 26, beating the Camrose Axemen in a three-game championship series. It’s the team’s first title since 2007.
“It feels good,” said manager Adam Sawatzky, who was also on the last championship squad.
The win comes on the heels of a successful and tight regular season that saw the team finish with a 12-4-1 record, only two wins behind the Axemen and their 14-4 record.
That parity extended through most of the final series, and only disappeared in Game 3 when the Red Lions jumped out to a 9-0 lead en route to a 14-6 title-clinching win.
After splitting the first two games, the Red Lions were not going to let the chance to win pass them by.
“We came out and put up three runs and batted through the lineup in the first inning,” Sawatzky said.
That was only the start of the onslaught, as Westlock tacked on two runs in the second, one in the third and another three in the fourth to take a 9-0 lead through four innings.
However, the Axemen struck back in a big way in their half of the fourth.
“We had a bit of a lapse there, a couple of walks and a couple of hits, and I think three errors in the inning and they scored six runs,” Sawatzky said.
That sudden change in the game’s complexion prompted a little tęte-ŕ-tęte before the Red Lions got back to batting in the top of the fifth.
“We had a brief little chat there at the dugout after the inning and I told the boys if I had said we’d be up three runs going into the fifth inning, we’d have been happy,” Sawatzky said.
The last three innings belonged to the Red Lions, as they scored twice in the fifth, twice in the sixth and once in the seventh, all while shutting out the Axemen, to win 14-6.
The win came on the heels of the two teams splitting their games Saturday afternoon.
Game 1 was a 5-4 win by the Axemen. It was a game the Red Lions led 2-0, but saw gradually slip away from them. The game ended with the Red Lions scoring twice in the seventh, but unable to get the tying run across while leaving the bases loaded.
“It was a tough way to lose the first one, but it gave us a lot of momentum and positive thoughts going into the second game,” Sawatzky said.
Game 2 was more to the Red Lions’ liking. Sawatzky pitched all seven innings, and surrendered only three hits as Westlock won 3-0, setting the stage for Sunday’s cakewalk.
Throughout the entire championship series, Sawatzky said it took a total team effort to earn the win.
“It’s tough to say one guy stood out. We had everybody contributing at different points.”
With the championship under their belts, Sawatzky said the players are looking towards next year with the same goals they had this year — win their home tournament, qualify for the playoffs and get to the final.
“You don’t want to reach too far ahead as far as your goals go,” he said. “We achieved all of those goals and got to the top of the mountain with the win.”
The championship trophy wasn’t the only hardware the Red Lions brought home with them.
Adam Sawatzky was named league championship MVP, encompassing all the strong play he displayed during the semifinal win over the Edmonton Blackhawks and the championship win over the Axemen.
“It felt great,” he said of the honour. “It’s good to be there for your teammates when they need you.”
