PLAYOFF CHANCES TAKE A HUGE BLOW IN LOSS

Heading into tonight's game against the Beaumont Angels, the Rebels a win to stay with the four team pack of playoff teams atop the PBL standings while having games in hand. The first step would be overcoming Ryan Lehman and the Beaumont Angels for the first time in 2014 as two of the games between these two teams would postponements. Originally scheduled to be in Beaumont, the game was changed to Ryley in the afternoon due to field concerns at Four Seasons Park. Without enough notice, the field was not worked on until the Rebels showed up prior to the game meaning that some Rebels took the opportunity to do some diamond maintenance on the cement like field with foot prints and bike tire tracks spread throughout the infield as opposed to warming up. Neither team took a infield prior to the game which had its start time pushed back to 7:25pm. 

Win - Ryan Lehman

Loss - Don Oslund (0-1)

The Angels would capitalize on the sluggish start by the Rebels, who were on the field for the first time since the A Final of the Ryley Sports Days Baseball Tournament on June 22. The last time the Rebels were faced with an extended time away from the park (fifteen days), Grayson Suprovich of the Holden Blue Jays was able to collect fifteen strikeouts. Tonight, the Rebels were putting everything in to play as Angels pitcher Ryan Lehman could only muster a pair of strikeouts against the Rebels. Unfortunately for the Rebels, Beaumont was putting just as many balls into play against starter Craig Koughan as the Rebels were against Lehman but were able to find enough open space to reach safely. The Angels would collect an impressive ten hits against the Rebels through the first three innings of work including six singles in a row during the second inning which would lead four runs. 

In the first inning the Angels would utilize the cement like surface known as the Ryley Ballpark and rip the ball through the left side of the infield as on a night like this, anyone one playing third base on either team did not have much of a chance on a ground ball with some force behind it. The Angels would also find some luck as when the Rebels were playing normal depth in the outfield, they would find their way on by flaring it in front of them. When the Rebels would move their outfielders in, the Angels would collect doubles on balls the Rebels outfield couldn't cut off. For the Rebels hitters it was once again a story of putting the ball into play but not forcing the Angels defense to run too many balls down. The Angels outfield was deep enough to take away some balls that could have been extra bases while once again the baseball gods could not find it in their hearts to give the Rebels a bleeder here and there to string some rallies together. Five of the nine Rebels hits on the evening were doubles coming off of the bat of five different Rebels, including back to back to back RBI doubles in the fifth inning to tie the game up at 6-6.

Through five innings the two teams found themselves locked a six runs a piece with the Rebels turning to longtime PBLer Don Oslund to keep the Angels off the board. Making his 2014 debut with the Rebels, Oslund would be issued the only walk a Rebels pitcher would get on the night on a close 3-2 pitch which appeared to be called a strike the pitch before. The walk to Angels 3B Bill Demer would prove to be costly as C Greg MacIntosh would flare a soft line drive just over the outstretched frame of a leaping 2B Tyler Helgeland to score the game winning run in the sixth inning.

Once again 3B/RF Corey Epp would lead the way offensively for the Rebels starting the game 3 for 3 with a pair of singles and a double. Epp would search out his fourth hit of the game in the sixth inning but would see the Angels centre fielder make a terrific running catch to rob Epp of extrabases. For the Angels it was Denis LeBlanc who would finish the game 5 for 5 with all five hits being singles. LeBlanc would have a tough night on the basepaths however getting caught stealing once and getting picked off once as well. Rebels C Chad Nelson took over the team lead in batting after his 2 for 3 game. Nelson is now hitting .438 on the season with a .571 on base percentage and is also leading the team in steals with five.

The combination of P Craig Koughan and P Don Oslund would keep the middle of the Angels order off the basepaths all night with the three, four and five hitters of Mark, Greg MacIntosh and Ryan Lehman would find themselves a combined 1 for 12, but the one hit was the MacIntosh game winning RBI in the sixth inning. The damage came from the bottom of the order as the six through nine hitters for Beaumont went 10 for 15 with a walk, three RBIs, three doubles and would score all seven of the Angels runs on the night. 

The loss means that the Rebels will almost certainly have to sweep the Angels in their remaining two games against the young squad from Beaumont and will also need to come up with a couple of big victories against playoff calibre teams like the Armena Royals and the Leduc Milleteers. The Rebels also have two games remaining against the currently winless Camrose Roadrunners, however the Rebels need to ensure that the right attitude is brought to the diamond against a scrappy squad looking for their first win of the season. The Rebels will have two more games remaining against the Beaumont Angels, two more against the winless Camrose Roadrunners and one each against the Armena Royals and Leduc Milleteers to round out the season. Without some extremely well played baseball down the stretch and some help from other teams, the Rebels might find themselves out of the playoff picture for the second season in a row with a lot of questions needing to be answered in the off season.