The bantam AAA St. Albert Cardinals dominated the diamond last weekend at the Early Bird tournament, earning a gold medal on their home turf.
The local squad went 5-0 over the weekend, defeating opponents from all over the province on their way to the first-place finish at Legion Memorial Park, culminating in the 9-1 championship finish over the East Central Bulls.
Coach Dave Maguire said the wins came as a result of setting the plan in motion at the beginning of the tournament and following through right up to the end.
“On Friday we showed up to play our first game and the goal was to be successful at the end of the weekend,” he said. “And we were perfect so that’s very successful.”
The action started Friday night against the Edmonton Cardinals, with what appeared to be an easy 10-3 victory, but Maguire said the game was pretty tough.
“Although the scores might not have indicated it, the Edmonton Cardinals are a very scrappy team as well and we had to be our best,” he said.
Ryan Marples went three for three at the plate, with Colton Girard and Eric Rolheiser getting two hits apiece. Joseph Karall threw four innings of shutout baseball, and Zach Froment earned the win in relief.
On Saturday they faced Sherwood Park, winning a 9-5 win in part on the back of a strong performance on the mound by Julien Charron, who threw six innings and allowed only four hits on 67 pitches.
Sunday saw the Cardinals face the Bulls for the first time in the weekend, ending with a 6-4 win that saw Davis Pratt pitch a full-game four-hitter.
Monday morning saw St. Albert again face the Edmonton Cardinals, trouncing them 14-2 for a spot in the finals.
Zach Froment had an impressive run on the mound, throwing a two-hitter to help record the win. On the offensive side, Maguire noted there were some impressive performances all around, with a safety squeeze scoring a run and some base hits from bunts standing out.
“When you get past the pitching and the hitting, and you start to get into the tactical side of the game, that’s always where we see areas to improve,” he said.
As for the highlight play of the tournament, Maguire said that came in their Monday-morning game.
“I might have to say this morning, in our crossover game, Joseph Karall was playing third base, and the Edmonton Cardinals just smoked a ball down to third base,” he said. “He went over, backhanded it and threw him out at first base just as if we were in MLB.”
Ultimately, however, he said it’s always a team effort regardless of the outcome, and he also emphasized the significance of having the home-field advantage and everything that entails.
“It’s arguably one of the nicest places to play baseball in the province. We’re very fortunate to have a facility like this,” he said.
The Cardinals will be back in action this weekend when they again face the West Central Bulls for a double-header on Saturday and third match on Sunday, which is all building to another round of tiering and, ultimately, the big tournament at the end of the season.
“We have our tournament and enter other tournaments, but it prepares us for the ultimate tournament which is provincials,” he said.
