With four new faces on this year's squad, the Alexander Menswear Yorkton Junior Cardinals are once again off to a pretty good start.
After having lost players off last year's club to graduation, work and/or school, the Junior Cardinals signed four new faces and rolled over their nemesis from last season, the Regina Junior Dodgers.
Gary Lamb, who's back in the dugout this year alongside the Cardinals' coaching staff, said that a sweep of the Dodgers isn't something that's happened before in these parts in a long, long time.
Yorkton took both games of their Sunday afternoon doubleheader and looked pretty good doing it.
The Dodgers squad was one of the hardest-hitting clubs in the Junior league and Lamb admitted a little surprise following Yorkton's 11-4 beating threw threw at them in the second game Sunday.
"Yeah, in a way, but our pitching was actually very good yesterday." The 11-4 victory followed a 4-2 win in game one.
"They are a very good team," Lamb cautioned and added that most of Regina's players from last season are back in blue for the Dodgers this season.
Lamb said he's equally impressed and excited about the abundance of depth on this year's version of his team.
"We're deep enough at catching that we have 3-4 guys that can catch," he said referring to the likes of Travis Nesbitt, Braeden Ferch, Dalane Lamb and Michael Cross.
In the first game, Logan Calanchie started newcomer Reece Kaey finished the job and helped hold off a Regina comeback attempt late in the game. Calanchie, who brings experience from the Midget AAA ranks to the Junior game, has impressed coach Lamb so far.
"He can adjust."
Scoring for the Cardinals were Justin Stupak, Nestbitt and Dalane Lamb had two.In the second match of the doubleheader, Yorkton laid down the law and it wasn't even close.
Second-year thrower Matt Totte was given the start and was relieved by Kent Larsen, en route to the 11-4 win.
The win marked one of the biggest margins of victory for the Cardinals on home soil.Coach Lamb said it's a reflection how just how deep this team has become and credited Brian Trollope for helping to secure the team and keep young, local players here in Yorkton.
Lamb said that over the past year or so, players have started to show interest in joining Yorkton's Junior squad. It was the other way around when they first started playing in the two years before that.
Trollope is also returning to the dugout along with Bryce Jacobs, Brian Boechler to look after coaching duties.
Things are looking good.
The Cardinals lost several players to the senior team, including pitcher Tyson Nesbitt, Kurt Karcha, Dane Kobylko and Matt Poier, however the batch of newcomers that are there to take their places isn't something that has the coaching staff worried in any way.
Coach Lamb sounds quite proud whenever the subject of Junior baseball in Yorkton comes up.
"We'll always find someone," he insisted during a telephone interview with the paper.
"These guys know how to play baseball," he went on to say, talking particularly about a group of returning veterans which include Dalane Lamb, Justin Stupak, Michael Cross and Mark Jacobs.
Stupak is one of the ones both coach Lamb and Trollope knew would be a keeper. He pitched one of the best games of the season here last season in a must-win playoff game vs. their arch-rivals from Canora, giving up only a couple runs in a 4-2 win that he said he could pitch all by himself.
"He can play," says Lamb, sounding like he was about to start laughing. "Last year, he solidified himself as a 3-4 hitter."
Lamb also credited Randy Nesbitt for helping to develop Stupak's arm.
Stupak is among several players on the roster that Lamb and Trollope can use almost anywhere on the field. Stupak is also a centre-fielder along with Calanchie and Scott Sharp.Despite the team being loaded with utility players, coach Lamb said he doesn't expect much being only five games into the season, two of which were road games in Swan River. His expectations for success are quite modest at this point however that could change at any point.
"You don't win much in May," Lamb reminded.
In their first game of the year, Yorkton beat Melville 5-2.
Sharp picked up the win pitching two innings, striking out four, walking two and giving up two hits.
Stupak pitched three innings, striking out six and walking three and giving up three hits.Colby Parachoniak pitched two innings of relief, striking out four, allowing no walks or hits.
Dane Kobylka led the offence with two hits and Calanchie, Nesbitt and Jacobs all had one hit. Dalane Lamb drove in two runs and Kevin Peepetch suffered the loss for the Bisons.
