The Saskota Baseball League is off to a great start with a captive audience, being one of the only team sports that can be played with very little contact between players, and with the baseball parks providing plenty of space for fans to physical distance.
Also off to a great start is the league鈥檚 entry from Carlyle, the Cardinals, who are doing a little distancing of their own, tallying a 6-0 start and winning four straight games by shutouts.
It is very obvious to the ball fan that this team is getting some great pitching from Brent McLean and Kody Rock.
Rock is from Canora and took up a spot on the Carlyle roster when the league at home decided to postpone their season.
Rock has been a solid find by the Cardinals, having played college ball at Mayville State in North Dakota on a scholarship, and then signing as a free agent with the Milwaukee Brewers organization.
Rock attended the Brewers spring training camp in Arizona and played minor league ball in Arizona and Montana before returning home to Canada. He now teaches in Preeceville.
Rock had one very notable matchup while pitching in a spring training game, against the 鈥渕ilkman鈥� Melky Cabrera; who has a long career that started with the New York Yankees, and having almost 2,000 hits to his credit in his career.
As they say in baseball, good pitching trumps good hitting and Rock was able to get the out after a lengthy battle when Cabrera popped up behind first base.
The Cardinals played Oxbow on July 14, with Rock shutting down the Oxbow Chiefs 6-0 for his second win of the year. The Cardinals journeyed north on July 16 with their unblemished record to take on the Kenosee Cubs at their home field in Moose Mountain Provincial Park. McLean was on the mound for this one, outlasting the Cubs veteran Colin Lemieux.
The Cardinals picked up a couple early runs, with the big damage coming in the four run fourth inning going up six and chasing Lemieux from the mound. The Cubs loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning but were held scoreless and were only able to watch as McLean picked up his second win of the season for the team鈥檚 fifth straight victory.
Cardinals pitcher/playing manager McLean attributes the team鈥檚 6-0 start to the strong pitching they have had and the three shutouts have come from a balanced team effort.
鈥淚t is always easier pitching with the lead.鈥� as the Cardinal batters have got started early in the order, to produce runs.
The July 17 game in Estevan against the Wolves, the league鈥檚 only other undefeated team at 4-0-1 [at the time this article was written] was postponed and will be rescheduled.
Carlyle continued to roll with an 8-0 victory over the Redvers A鈥檚 on July 21.
The Cardinals next games are July 23 against the Kenosee Cubs and July 28 against the Kipling Royals at the friendly confines of Lions Park in south Carlyle.
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