BATTLE OF EARLY SEASON TITANS GOES TO REBELS

The Powerline Baseball League got an early season matchup that baseball fans have been talking about. The 4-0 Ryley Rebels travelled to the home of the 4-0 Beaumont Angels in a statement game for the Rebels who have shown no signs of a PBL Championship hangover so far in 2015. While the Rebels had been winning games in many different ways so far in the 2015 season, on Thursday night the Rebels were firing on all cylinders as the offence would put up double digit runs and hits while the pitching and defence controlled the explosive Angels offence in a 15-3 rout. 

Win - Scott Koughan (2-0)     Loss - Denis LeBlanc

The last time the Rebels were in Beaumont they would score eight runs in the eight inning of a 8-8 tie ball game to go on to win 16-8. Right from the get go on Thursday night the Rebels were out to prove they were still the team to beat in the PBL despite the Angels having an impressive 4-0 record themselves. Ryley would send nine hitters to the plate against Angels starter Denis LeBlanc with three unearned runs being put on the score board on a pair of hits, including a two RBI single to short stop Brian Tavaroli with two outs. LeBlanc would go on to load the bases with back to back walks to second baseman Tom Shulba and pitcher Scott Koughan but would get out of the inning with a strike out to right fielder Barry Truss to limit the damage to three runs and leaving the three Rebels on the base paths. A blow out in the first inning was avoided by the Angels while they would claw back a pair of runs against the Rebels veteran starter Scott Koughan in the second and third innings. A RBI single in the second inning would lead to an unearned run for a 3-1 Rebels lead before a RBI triple in the third inning trimmed the lead to 3-2. 

The Rebels offence would come out in the fourth inning and tack on another three runs to make it a 6-2 lead. Left fielder Corey Epp would lead off the inning with a walk before an error to the Angels catcher would put him in scoring position to be quickly cashed in by catcher Chad Nelson’s RBI single. Third baseman Shawn Pilgaard would continue his hot start with a triple to score Nelson from first base before scoring himself on a wild pitch. In the fifth inning second baseman Tom Shulba would score the Rebels’ seventh run after LeBlanc would once again load the bases. This time the Angels would trade a pair of outs for the run as left fielder Corey Epp would hit into a 6-4-3 double play. 

While the offence was producing, Koughan was working effectively on the hill for the Rebels keeping the Angels offence off the base paths. Through five innings, Koughan would pitch to contact with Angels scattering five hits and only walking a single hitter to limit base runners. With only a pair of strikeouts on the evening, Koughan would need the Rebels defence to be strong, a trait that has become more and more common in the eyes of Rebels fans over the past couple of seasons. The defensive play of the game for the Rebels would occur when centre fielder Jason Sutherland would begin a 8-3-2 putout to cut down an Angel runner at home plate and prevent what would have been the tying run at the time to score. With the game out of hand, the Rebels would stick to their original game plan and bring in reliever Tom Shulba in to close out the game in six innings. Shulba would allow three two out singles in a row leading to the third and final run of the game for the Angels but it wasn’t enough as the Rebels would hold on to the mercy evoked win.

Finishing the game with a twelve run lead against the hard hitting Angels was a statement that when the Rebels are firing on all cylinders, they will be extremely tough to beat as they look for the teams second PBL Championship in a row. While a 5-0 start is a great way to get an early playoff spot locked in, there is still nine games to go, including a pair of tough games next week. On Tuesday the Rebels will face off against the Rosalind Athletics for the first time in team history at the Ryley Sports Grounds before finally giving fans the return engagement of the 2014 PBL Championship series against the Holden Blue Jays in Holden. Should the Rebels manage to continue the winning streak next week it will give the Rebels a 7-0 record over the first half of the season, having defeated each of the seven other PBL franchise. The Athletics will be tough match up for the Rebels, which will require the boys in blue to be on their game defensively against a good hitting team that can get a boost from players like Paul Ofrim, Joe Pasychnyk and Chance Wheatley from the Camrose Axemen to an already well established offensively team led by three to four Enright’s. Regardless of the outcome on Tuesday night, the Rebels biggest challenge will be the Thursday trip to Holden. Often the smallest roster of the year is utilized on the long trip down highway 14 to the Holden Recreational Grounds to take on a great pitching team in the Blue Jays. It is expected that the Rebels will see Logan Skori, who typically pitches against the Rebels in Holden while Grayson Soprovich tends to pitch in Ryley…..or at least that appears to have been the way it has worked out over the last three seasons. 

First pitch for both games will be 7:00pm and fans are encouraged to bring their sunscreen and bug spray as it is forecasted to be a great week for some baseball with temperatures getting into the high twenties.