The bantam AAA Cardinals got off to a good start against the Spruce Grove White Sox Wednesday night, but a lack of runs and too many errors resulted in a 16-4 loss for St. Albert.
The Cards held a 4-2 lead after the first inning and started the second with three consecutive outs at first base. The wheels fell off in the third inning when Spruce Grove started hitting the gaps and scoring runs. That’s when assistant coach Mark Brisson said the wheels fell off.
“We lost our momentum throughout the game,” said assistant coach Mark Brisson. “Generally in our games when we have the momentum, we keep going and turn it into a win. They did a good job tonight putting the ball into those places where we weren’t and that just carried its way through the game.”
While the White Sox were managing good hits, the Cardinals often struggled to hold onto the ball, resulting in errors.
“We need to take those bases and get those runs with our hits rather than giving up runs with a few of our either base-running errors or playing errors,” Brisson says.
Pitcher Ross Supruniuk said the team just had a bad night. He replaced Tylor Jans on the mound in the fourth and pitched for two innings before being relieved by Spencer Dronkelaar. He said he felt uncomfortable on the mound.
“I wasn’t hitting my spots,” Suprunuik said of his throwing.
Brisson said the team is looking forward to the weekend when they will get another shot against the No. 3-ranked White Sox this Saturday in Spruce Grove at 10 a.m. The Cardinals will play the play the top-ranked Okotoks Dawgs Black that afternoon at 1 p.m. St. Albert currently sits in fifth place in the standings.
“The boys are a much more athletic team than we saw tonight,” Brisson said. “And that’s why the coaches are a little disappointed in the score, but we’re sure we’ll bounce back.”
