Mohawks silence Red Sox
Pitching can be the difference between a close game and a blowout, and that’s exactly what happened Saturday afternoon at Jeffries Field.
Dylan Koenig and the Hat High Mohawks kept the Maple Creek Red Sox at bay with some stellar work on the rubber before blowing a close game wide open on a 12-run two-out rally in the fourth.
“Unfortunately for Maple Creek, I think they might have ran out of some arms and their guys had some difficulty locating,” said Mohawks head coach Lyall Foran, adding the 16-0 Southern Alberta High School Baseball League victory is still going to serve as a learning tool. “We definitely have to do a better job early in the game at creating our offence — making sure we’re swinging at good pitches, having a good approach at the plate and squaring things up.”
Koenig fanned nine batters while allowing just one hit through four complete innings of work before Zach Stark sealed the mercy rule win by striking out the side in the fifth.
“It’s pretty satisfying. It’s nice to know that you can strike guys out,” said Koenig. “I was just throwing strikes, basically. That’s how you win ball games.”
Foran added the Mohawks have the luxury of hosting a high number of capable arms on their roster this season, something that will surely prove its value as the season progresses.
“I’m just trying to spread innings out and get everyone some innings so they can have that experience and feel comfortable when we need to call upon them. It’s a nice thing to have,” said Foran, adding Koenig stepped up his game Saturday. “Dylan’s velocity was pretty good today so he was able to kind of sit on that fastball. We’ve been trying to work on locating, and there’s still a bit of work to do, some tweaking, making sure that we’re staying ahead so that he can use his offspeed to be successful.”
Stark went 2-for-3 at the dish in the win, knocking in a pair of runs in the process, while Alex Andres and Chance Davis both added 2 RBI efforts.
The Mohawks went on to secure another victory Saturday evening, defeating the Erie Rivers Comets 2-1 in five innings. Davis led the Mohawks with 5 RBI in a 2-for-2 effort, while Travis Small earned the win after allowing just one hit with five strikeouts through three innings of work. The Mohawks are now 5-0 on the year.
In other local baseball action, the Eagle Butte Talons improved to 3-2 with a 16-5 win over the South Central Scorpions and an 11-0 victory over the Foremost Falcons on Saturday. Hayden Klaiber and Colin Rath led the Talons with 4 RBI each on the weekend.
The Crescent Heights Vikings split their weekend on the diamond, winning a 24-20 shootout with the WR Myers Rebels before falling 13-0 to the Brooks Buffalos, putting them at 3-3 on the SAHSBL season.
Outside of the SAHSBL, the McCoy Colts varsity team swept a doubleheader over the Calgary Blues on Saturday at Athletic Park, 10-7 and 6-5.
Easton Brooks took the win in Game 1 after a solid four-inning outing and Ethan Boutkan took the win in Game 2 after striking out four in 5 and 1-3 innings.
Cavan Kolody, Jack Suhai Ethan Boutkan and Devon Schneider all had two hits in the first game, with Schneider driving in 4 RBI.
Kolody continued his hot streak into Game 2, leading the Colts with a double, a triple and 4 RBI in a 3-for-4 effort.
The Colts junior varsity team is coming off a 16-9 win over the Vauxhall Vikings. The final score was incorrectly reported as 16-0 in Saturday’s paper.