The Yorkton Cardinals managed only two Western Major League Baseball games this week, including hosting Weyburn Monday in a make-up game.
Both games ended up losses, Monday the Beavers won 4-3, leaving the Cardinals with a record of 3-5 on the season, and the basement in the league's East Division 3.5 games out of first place. Regina leads the division.
On Monday at Jubilee Park, the Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the second inning, only to have Weyburn get a pair in the fourth.
Yorkton tied it in the home half of the same inning.The teams traded runs in the fifth.Weyburn took the lead on a run in the eighth.
Yorkton would get their lead-off hitter on base in both the eighth and ninth, successfully sacrifice-bunting them to second, but stranding them in the 4-3 loss.
Cardinal assistant coach Jordan Herbison said they executed moving the runner well.
"I don't always think sacrifice bunting is the way to go," he said, but Monday it was because it moved a slower runner up in the eighth, and put a fast runner in scoring position in the ninth."It was unfortunate we didn't get the job done," he said. Josh Wesson started for Yorkton, and went five innings, scattering seven hits while giving up three runs, all of them earned.
Ben Sollows was tagged with the loss based on giving up two hits and the winning run in one-third of an inning of work. First baseman Ryan Saunders led the Cardinals offensively with three hits and two runs-batted-in.
Herbison said it was a night the Cardinals could have easily won.
"It was one of these days the ball fell their way rather than ours," he said.
After nearly a week of inactivity due to rain, the Cardinals hit the diamond at Jubilee Park under sunny skies Sunday evening, (delayed from a regularly scheduled afternoon game to give the field some time to dry), to host Regina.
The Red Sox jumped on Cardinal starter Jordan Herbison scoring once in the first inning, adding three in the second and another in the fourth.
Herbison would stay in the game through five innings, allowing the five runs, all of them earned, on six hits, and four walks.
"Everybody that pitched yesterday had a bit of trouble," said Herbison, adding the lay-off of a week didn't help.
As for his own performance Herbison said he was not happy with his game Sunday, or even his season to-date.
"I definitely expected to come right out of the gate stronger I expect my stuff to be better."Herbison said with his experience he wants to be not only among the best of the Cardinal staff, but among the best pitchers in the league.
The Cards were in the game after five innings, trailing by only a single run, having tagged Regina starter Jacob Genz for four runs, three of them earned.
However, innings six through eight were not kind to Cardinal relievers, as Justin Norton and Stuart Pudenz combined to allow nine hits, and six runs, five of those earned to give Regina an 11-5 lead.
The Cardinal offense, led by Thomas McAlpine and Jon Mihic, both with two RBIs, was stymied the rest of the way. Duncan McAlpine scored three of the Cardinal runs.
Herbison said in spite of the two losses said there were positives to take forward.
"I thought we hit the ball really well both days," he said. The Cardinals had 16-hits over the two home games.
And while the pitching seemed rusty, the defence was there.
"The defence didn't make any mistakes," offered Herbison. (The Cardinals were tagged with one error Monday).
While the Cardinal record has them in the division basement, Herbison said he is not panicking, noting Monday was the "fourth game we lost by two runs or less."
"Those games could very easily have gone our way if we got a hit here, or there So I'm not too concerned."
