KCBL playoffs heating up
Game 4 in each semifinal being held on Sunday
Baseball in this province is drawing to a close and as usual long-standing Kings County Baseball League rivals Peakes Tee Bombers and Morell Chevies are locked in a tight best-offive series.
Game 4 is set for Sunday at 4 p.m. in Peakes.
The Bombers edged the Chevies 5-2 on Wednesday in Morell as hard-throwing right-hander Rob Phalen out-duelled Morell lefty Troy Coffin in a well-played game, which went into extra innings. Mitch Power, Josh Coffin and Dillon Doucette had key hits for Peakes, who lead the series 2-1.
In the other semifinal, The Alley Stratford Athletics dumped Northside Gill Construction Brewers 6-5 at Memorial Field Wednesday. Game 4 is Sunday at 4 p.m. in Morell with the Brewers leading 2-1.
Dan O’Shea went the distance for the winners, who got three hits from Corey Dougay and a pair from junior standout Ryne MacIsaac.
The Stratford peewee AA baseball team dumped Cardigan Sunday afternoon at City Diamond as slugger
Drew Trainor hit two home runs and first baseman Carter Smith had three hits in the 17-12 victory. Stratford heads to the Atlantic tournament next weekend in St. John’s, N.L.
Hockey
The Charlottetown Islanders and the UPEI Panthers are preparing for the upcoming Quebec major junior and Atlantic University Sport hockey seasons, respectively.
The Islanders have lost plenty of scoring and the Panthers only have two returning blueliners, which suggests it could be a challenging season for both clubs.
Ex-Islanders standout Kameron Kielly headed to the Winnipeg Jets camp this week looking for a pro contract, which is a tough assignment.
I talked to longtime Panthers volunteer Bill Mulligan at the track and he told me Kielly will be in a Panthers uniform, if he does not turn pro.
Charlottetown’s Tanner McCabe, who played with Summerside in the Maritime junior hockey league, last year is out with the Panthers and the big, tough defender should improve his game with daily workouts. Tanner comes from a hockey family and needs little encouragement to be physical, which local fans will love. It will be interesting to see how he develops in a league, which is a huge jump up from junior A.
R.T. Rice, the big, physical winger who surprised with his great play last season, is back along with most of the forwards.
Harness racing
Live harness racing continues tonight at 6 p.m. at the city track with a 14-dash card.
The $2,400 top class has a reduced field with crowd-favourite Junebugs Baby on the outside. Clyde River horseman Don MacNeil’s sends underrated Mick Dundee from Post 4 in the $2,200 back-up class and he can win. Summerside has a 12-dash card set for Sunday at 1 p.m.
There’s a big card at Mohawk tonight with eliminations for the Simcoe stake for three year olds, the Elegant Image and the Canadian Trotting Classic for three year olds. Dr. Ian
Moore’s Classic Pro has Post 7 in one of the Simcoe eliminations. Moore’s top two-year-old, Shadow Moon (Trevor Henry), and the Mark Stacey-trained Hudson Phil (James MacDonald) are also in to go.
The Little Brown Jug is set for Thursday, Sept. 21, and there is a large contingent of Islanders headed to Delaware, Ohio. The big yearling sale, the Atlantic Classic is set for Friday, Oct. 6, and it’s creating a lot of interest since it is the only yearling sale in the region.