Monarchs fall short of final at Mary Oikawa Memorial
The Medicine Hat Moose Monarchs came just shy of punch their ticket to the final after a 6-5 loss to the Calgary Redbirds on Sunday at the Mary Oikawa Memorial American Legion Baseball tournament in Lethbridge.
The Monarchs managed to keep the game close — entering the bottom of the ninth trailing by just one run — but they were unable to develop a rally in the final frame and were forced to head home empty-handed.
Braydon Pudwell led the Monarchs with 2 RBI in a 3-for4 effort while Jack Suhai added 2 RBI of his own while going 1for-3 at the plate and Zach Stark went 3-for-5.
Monarchs reliever Ethan Boutkan was handed the loss after allowing two runs on three hits through the final four innings. Starter Ethan Loran was taken off the mound after allowing two runs on three hits through three innings, then Dylan Koenig allowed two more runs on a pair of hits over the next two frames.
The Monarchs opened the tournament with an 11-8 win over the host Lethbridge Elks Friday and a 3-2 win over the Calgary Junior Dinos Saturday.
Chargers sweep Knights
The Medicine Hat K of C Knights slipped to 4-11 on the A American Legion Baseball season with a pair of losses to the Great Falls Chargers on Saturday at Athletic Park.
The Knights came back with a stronger effort after falling 12-4 in their opener, but were unable to leave the field with a victory in an 8-7 loss.
Jaden Schwindt led the Knights with 2 RBI in a 2-for-2 effort in Medicine Hat’s opening loss.
Jayden Ball went 3-for-3 with 3 RBI in the second half of the doubleheader, while Josh Stark was 4-for-4 with 2 RBI.
Ayden Matycio settled for the Game 1 loss after allowing six runs on five hits through 3 and 2/3. Schwindt took the loss in Game 2 after allowing seven runs on eight hits through 5 and 1/3.