Six games into the season, the midget AAA St. Albert Cardinals are still searching for their first win.
Last weekend at Legion Memorial Park the Cardinals dropped a pair of doubleheaders against the Strathmore Reds and Red Deer Braves.
Despite the slow start, head coach Chamara (CJ) Jayasekera is confident the season will turn out successful for the Cardinals.
“It’s 0-6 after Sunday but I know we will compete once we get everyone on board and healthy,” said Jayasekera. “It’s a very young team in terms of experience and they are getting used to their roles and their defensive responsibilities.”
After opening the Norwest league schedule on the road with two losses, Saturday’s home debut against Strathmore also ended in defeat.
"We started too slow in both games. We settled down as the game went on but it was too little, too late,” said Jayasekera. “We don’t seem to get a good start. I don’t know if that is the nerves or the start of the season.”
Sunday’s losses were 7-4 and 8-3 against Red Deer. Jayasekera believes the results were reflective of two areas that need improvement.
“If you can play catch and play catch pretty well, you have a good chance to be successful but we didn’t do that in both games,” he said. “We fell behind and it’s always a tough go when that happens against teams at this level. They also had some big innings and that hurt us.”
Hoping to make a positive impact on the team’s future, Jayasekera is adding an extra arm to his pitching rotation.
“I’ve got a Kiwi import [Alex Dawson] flying in Tuesday. He is really going to bring some depth to our pitching. He is heading to school in the U.S and he will definitely add his experience as a senior moving on to a university college.”
Jayasekera is a New Zealander who hooked up with the Cardinals in late April, when the team roster was declared. With the short amount of time with the players before the season, it will take time to build chemistry and systematic development.
“Like any baseball team that wants to play at this level, you have to get on it early,” said Jayasekera. “As a team it’s a little bit difficult getting the kids together, along with the fact that they are getting used to a new coach.”
The Cardinals were in action Tuesday against SEEBA but the score was unavailable at press time. Tonight at 6:30 p.m. they host Sherwood Park Green at Legion park.
