MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- The weather might not have been fit for man nor beast, but that didn’t stop the Moose Jaw Canucks and Saskatoon Cubs from fighting through the conditions in a pair of Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League 18U AAA contests on Sunday afternoon.
With wind gusts touching 80 km/h in the opening game of their doubleheader and a rainstorm delaying the second game by nearly two hours, the Cubs would take a 9-6 win in the opening and a 12-7 victory in the rematch.
Moose Jaw fell to 6-8 with the two losses to sit in ninth place in the 14-team league, but they continue to have plenty of games in hand. Saskatoon improved to 13-3 and are now tied with Swift Current for first place in the league.
Cubs 9, Canucks 6
Saskatoon did almost all their damage in the first two innings, scoring four in the first and three in the second for a 7-0 lead before hanging on for the win.
The Cubs led 8-2 when Moose Jaw scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to get within striking distance, but that’s as close as the home team would get.
Grier Peterson provided the big hit in the comeback inning, lacing a three-run home run to right field that scored Gerritt Gulutzan and Max Simmons.
Simmons was 2-for-4 with his run scored, while Cooper Gregor was 2-for-3 with a run batted in..
Tyson Dale led Saskatoon at the plate, going 3-for-3 with three runs scored and a pair of RBI.
Owen Csada got the start on the mound for Moose Jaw and allowed seven runs, five earned, on six hits in the first two innings; Hunter Scott went the remaining five and gave up a pair of runs on seven hits.
Reese Brons pitched 5 鈪� for Saskatoon and gave up five runs on eight hits and struck out six to earn the win.
Cubs 12, Canucks 7
With the game tied in the fourth inning, the Cubs would send 11 batters to the plate and take advantage of five walks to build a 9-2 lead.
Turnabout is fair play, though, as the Canucks used five walks of their own in the bottom of the inning to score five runs and get back within a pair.
That would be as close as Moose Jaw would get, though, as Saskatoon scored three more in the fifth and would take their five-run win.
Nathan Pisio and Kale Pratte each went 2-for-4 to lead the Canucks at the plate, while Simmons scored a pair of runs.
Owen Varjassy got the start for Moose Jaw and allowed five runs on four hits over three innings before Pisio, Ryan Duncan, Cameron Beisal and Peterson all saw action in relief.
Trentin Kooy paced Saskatoon’s offence with a 1-for-2 outing that included three walks, two runs scored and three RBI. Brons crossed the plate three times and Jevon Parent was 3-for-5 with a run.
Daniel Revering started for the Cubs and gave up seven runs on five hits in three innings; Koy Ernst and Osher Stromberg combined to shut Moose Jaw down the rest of the way.
The Canucks are back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Yorkton to face the Parkland Expos. Next home action is Saturday when the Regina White Sox are in town, with first pitch at 11 a.m. at Ross Wells.
