Tribe earn first two wins of the season
The Swift Current Indians finally got into the win column over the weekend when they swept the visiting Edmonton Prospects in both games to end a four-game losing streak to open the Western Major Baseball League regular season. They won 12-2 Saturday and then edged the Prospects 3-1 on Sunday.
“You never want to start a season the way we did,” said coach Joe Carnahan. “The thing is it is a long year and you just have to stay even-keel and the guys are doing a good job with that and today showed that. We had opportunities early to score and we didn’t. We just stayed level and did a good job on the mound, a good job defensively, and came away with the win today.”
A couple of outstanding pitching performances helped the Indians get back on track.
“Absolutely, that is what wins championships are pitching and defense and a little bit of timely hitting. We had that today and hopefully can continue to Indians’ third baseman Justin Lee put the tag down on Saskatoon's Tyler Kent after a strong throw from centre fielder Liam Goodall last week. do that,” said Carnahan after Sunday’s win.
Thursday, the Tribe played their closest game of the season but remained winless after an 8-7 loss to the visiting Lethbridge Bulls.
The Tribe jumped ahead with a six-run second in- ning but allowed runs in four of the next five innings on the way to a third straight loss to open the regular season.
Chad Schultz and Justin Lee each had two runs batted in for the Tribe, while Kevin Bettencourt doubled twice and scored a run.
Peter Irvin made the start and allowed three hits, three walks, and three runs over three innings in his debut. Connor Harris took the loss with seven hits and five earned runs allowed over four innings. Wymark’s Reilly Grose pitched two hitless innings in relief for the Tribe.
Friday, the Indians allowed 11 more runs to drop to 0-4 in an 11-7 loss to the host Saskatoon Yellow Jackets. The Tribe held three different leads before allowing three runs in the fourth inning and five in the sixth to fall behind for good. Eight different Indians had base hits in the loss led by leadoff man Matt Spillman with a single and five walks as he came around to score twice and had an RBI. Callup BJ Moen singled and scored a pair of runs from the nine-hole as well and Luke Barry had a pair of hits, a walk, and a run scored.
Mike Frericks suffered the loss after allowing seven hits and five runs over three innings. Francisco Pena and Justin Kehler both pitched in relief in the loss.
Saturday, the Indians got into the win column with a 12-2 victory over the visiting Prospects. Sean Callegari picked up the win after allowing only six hits, two walks, and two unearned runs while striking out six over six innings. The vet- eran lefty from Richmond, B.C., now has a 0.00 earned run average with 14 strikeouts over 13 innings of work this season.
“I struggled a little bit early and wasn’t at my best but I got it done for the team and was happy we got away with the win,” said Callegari.
Callegari has resumed right where he left off in 2013.
“Yeah I love pitching in Swift Current, I am a big fan of the town and the field, so I feel very comfortable out there and it seems to be showing in my performance.”
Harris and Zach Manley both had scoreless relief appearances on the mound as well.
The Indians’ offense, bolstered by some new arrivals, knocked out 16 hits in the win. Catcher Taylor Steen picked up where he left off in the 2013 playoffs with three hits, two runs batted in and one run scored from the three-hole. Third baseman Hunter Owen debuted with three hits, two RBI, and two runs scored.
Barry, Spillman, and Lee also had two-hit outings, while shortstop Zach Dibble broke out with two hits, three runs scored, and an RBI from the nine-hole.
Sunday, the Indians got outstanding pitching performances from Fernando Pena and Zach Manley in a 3-1 win over the Prospects.