ST ALBERT, AB: – A five-run fifth inning was not enough to lift the Saskatoon Cardinals who fell 11-5 to St. Albert.  For the second tournament in a row the Cards won their pool, but failed to make it past the semi-finals.  Until the fifth, the Cardinals could only manage one base runner, Nolan Machibroda, who went 3 for 4 on the day and 11 for 12 over the weekend.  Ryan Crilly started the 5th with a leadoff walk. Ryley Vinding moved Crilly to second with a hit and Dallen Erickson walked to load the bases.  With the bases loaded, Turner Rea got a walk to score Crilly and then Vinding stole home on a wild pitch.  Singles by Ryan Olchoway, Bryce Libke and Ethan Meyer scored three more runs.  Unfortunately, for the Cardinals their rally fell short and they found themselves still down by three at the end of the inning.  With the momentum shifting to the Cards, St. Albert knew they had to keep the red birds off the board.  However, St. Albert would collect four more runs to increase their lead to six.  The Cardinals, who fought valiantly to the end, had two runners in scoring position in their half of the 7th, but could not cash them in.  

Machibroda started on the mound for the Cardinals throwing 4-2/3 innings and giving up 2 earned runs.  Meyer, pitching for the first time in over a month, threw 1-2/3 innings giving up a couple of earned runs before handing the ball to Crilly to close out the game. 

The Cardinals next game is 6:00 pm Tuesday at Nutana. Tickets are available at the gate or online at Ticketmaster.ca.