The Yorkton Cardinals had a pair of home field wins sandwiching a road loss in Western Major Baseball League action this week.
The Cardinals had a home-and-home split with Melville, each team winning on their home field, then used Jubilee Park to their advantage scoring one in the eighth inning to defeat Regina Sunday.
In spite of the two wins Yorkton remains in the WMBL East Division basement with a record of 12-20 for a .375 winning percentage, and the basement in the East Division, 12 games behind Regina atop the division, but only two back of Weyburn who sit third, holding the final playoff spot as of Monday morning.
Melville is second in the east, seven off-the-pace.
On a hot Sunday afternoon under a cloudless sky, the Cardinals jumped out to a 2-0 lead over Regina with a pair of runs in the home half of the second inning. But the Red Sox managed a run in the fourth and another in the sixth to knot the score. It would be an RBI double in the eighth by Luis Sanchez to score Landon Briscoe which proved the difference in the 3-2 game.
N.D. Gonzalez started for the Cardinals hurling six innings, allowing only four hits and two runs, both earned, while striking out nine, but he did not factor in the decision.
Yesniel Henriquez tossed two innings of relief to get the win, with Max McDonald pitching the ninth to pick up the save, his fifth of the season. Cardinal assistant coach Jared Franklin, said Sunday's win was a solid effort, but added, "again we only scored three." The Cardinal offence has struggled all season, and Franklin said it's tough to mount a winning streak when the team is hitting a combined .230, and runs are hard to come-by.
"And we have no slugging percentage, no doubles, triples, home runs," he said, as a result the team might get a couple of hits an inning, end up with 18 in a game and not score enough to win, said Franklin.
The anemic batting average takes some tools away from the Cardinals too. Franklin said using a bunt to advance a runner is a low percentage option if the next batter is hitting only .230 to drive in the man on second.
To compensate for the lack of hitting Franklin said they are working on using team speed to their advantage, and that means the hit and run.
Melville spilt
Last Tuesday the Cardinals hosted rival Melville emerging with a 4-3 win at Jubilee Park.
Melville scored once in the top half of the first inning, but Yorkton would tie it with a run in the fourth, then inch ahead with another run in the fifth.
Then it was Melville's turn scoring once in the seventh to tie the game 2-2, then one in the eighth to take a 3-2 lead.
However the Cardinals responded with the only crooked number score of the game, plating to in the eighth for an eventual 4-3 win.
N.D. Gonzalez started for Yorkton on the mound, going 7.2 innings, scattering five hits and three runs, only two of those earned, while striking out eight, but he would not get the decision.
Luis Lora had the win based on 0.1 innings of work, a strikeout effort.
Max McDonald tossed the ninth for a save, his fourth of the season.
James Green had a huge night offensively having three hits, a walk, stealing four bases and scoring two runs.
A night later the score was reversed with the Millionaires winning 4-3.
This time Melville scored three in the home-half of the first off Cardinal starter Trevor Daggon, who would last five innings and be tagged with the loss after giving up eight hits, and four runs, all of them earned.
Yorkton hit the board with one in the fifth, only to have Melville re-establish a three-run lead with one in the fifth.
Yorkton would score two in the eighth to draw within one, but that would be as close as they got in the 4-3 loss.
Up next
The Cardinals are into the home stretch of the 2011 season.
Swift Current was scheduled to visit Jubilee Park last night (Tuesday), but results were not available at press time. The Indians are also the opposition tonight in Yorkton.
On Thursday, the Cardinals are off to Moose Jaw then play in Regina Friday.
Okotoks visits Jubilee Park for action Sunday and Monday.
The six games ahead are critical as the Cardinals chase a playoff spot, with only eight games remaining on the season.
"It's going to be tough," said the Cardinal assistant, but added "any time there's hope," you just have to keep playing. "We still have a chance so we just keep battling."
