No shortage of runs for Sooners
The bats of the Sydney Sooners have come alive in the nick of time.
After riding some hot pitching in an early season surge to the top of the Nova Scotia Senior Baseball League standings, the Sooners are suddenly finding that they need to score more runs if they are to maintain their winning ways.
Longtime manager Jim (Rico) McEachern is happy that his team scored 32 runs in the weekend’s three-game series with the Dartmouth Moosehead Dry, but he’s not overly pleased that the visitors scored just one less one and that the Sooners twice needed to score in the double digits to win.
“It’s been a bit reckless as of late. I’d like to see us tighten up a bit and stay more in control,” said McEachern, whose team leads Dartmouth by a game and a half after taking two out of three over the weekend at the Susan McEachern Memorial Ball Park in Sydney.
Action got underway a bit ear- lier at the park as the Sooners paid tribute to the 1959 New Waterford Giants, the first Cape Breton team to win a Maritimes senior baseball crown, an accomplishment for which they were recently inducted into the Maritime Sport Hall of Fame.
Seven members of the ‘59 Giants attended the ceremony.
On the diamond, it was as if the Sooners and their Dartmouth opponents were starved for runs and the two teams continued the run scoring frenzy started the previous night when Sydney won 15-11.
In the first game of Saturday’s twinbill, the Sooners rallied to overcome a one-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth and claimed a 10-9 walk-off victory on a Josh Forrest single that pushed Matt Denney across the plate with the winning run.
Earlier in the match, Denney launched a three-run home run.
Tyler Anderson was credited with the win after coming into the game in relief of starter Justin Brewer, while Justin Davies took the loss for Dartmouth.
In the second game, the Dry raced out to an 8-0 lead before the Sooners bats came to life in a five-run seventh inning.
“We’re relentless and we’re scrappy,” said Sean Ferguson, who pounded a single and a double in the second game.
“We’re all very competitive and we never give up.”
But it was a case of too little, too late as Dartmouth responded with three more insurance runs before a ninth inning Sooners rally ended at two runs with the Dry picking up an 11-7 win.
Liam Logan was the winning pitcher, while Nate Brewer suffered the loss.
The Sooners (14-6) hit the road next weekend when they travel to Truro to face the Bearcats (6-8) in a three-game series. Sydney’s next home games are Aug. 7-8, when Truro comes to town for a three-game set.