Monarchs ousted by tiebreaker at home tourney
The Medicine Hat Moose Monarchs got a raw deal as hosts of the 30th annual Servus Credit Union AA American Legion Baseball Tournament.
Despite going 2-1 through the round robin, the Monarchs missed out on the semifinals due to a three-way tiebreaker that left them sitting third in the Red Division before falling 11-8 in Sunday’s consolation game to the Southeast Twins.
Medicine Hat followed up Friday’s narrow 3-2 win over the Calgary Redbirds with an 8-7 win over the South Jasper Place Jays and a 3-0 loss to the Regina White Sox Saturday, but Regina’s victory was enough to propel them into second place, and with it the semifinals.
Braydon Pudwell and Jack Suhai both went 4-for-9 with 4 RBI through three games apiece this weekend, while Ethan Boutkan went 4-for-8 and Zack Stark was 2-for-3 with 2 RBI in Sunday’s consolation loss.
Ashtyn Street settled for Sunday’s loss after allowing 11 runs — four earned — on seven hits through 4 2/3 innings. Tyran George took Saturday’s loss to Regina after allowing three runs on seven hits through five complete innings.
Tory Nelson held on for Saturday’s win over the Jays after keeping them off the board and limiting them to one hit through the final 3 2/3 innings.
The Calgary Blues went on to win the tournament after defeating the Lethbridge Elks 12-3 in the championship game.
The Monarchs return to Jeffries Field Tuesday to host the Great Falls Chargers at 5 p.m.
The Medicine Hat K of C Knights dropped a pair of doubleheaders on the road this weekend, putting them at 1-7 to start the American Legion A season with their seventh consecutive loss.
The Knights lost 10-1 and 12-4 to the Lewiston Redbirds Saturday before falling 5-4 and 10-0 to the Havre North Stars Sunday.
The Knights looked poised to snap the skid during Sunday’s opener in Havre, but the North Stars rallied for three runs in the seventh to clinch a walk-off victory before rallying for a lopsided win in the second half of the doubleheader.
The Knights return to the Jeffries Field Friday for a doubleheader against the Tri County Cardinals at 5 p.m.