Milleteers End Up Bridesmaids In Goodfish Lake

The Milleteers traveled to Goodfish Lake this weekend to participate in their Treaty Days tournament. It was quite the spectacle as there was a Midway complete with a Ferris Wheel just beyond center field, as well as a Rodeo, live music and an announcer that might have been even more colorful than Bob Uecker in Major League. With the high cash payouts some good teams were on hand to compete.

 

The Milleteers drew the St. Paul Cubs first, and not knowing much about the Cubs, decided to go with their best available arm Steve Pahl, as Ryan Walker and Scott Peterson were unavailable to make the trip. It turned out they didn’t need much pitching as they smashed the Cubs pitching to the tune of 14 hits and 15 runs. Pahl almost matched the run total with strikeouts as he tied a team record with 14 and only allowed 3 hits and 1 unearned run. Everyone in the lineup had a hit, except for pickup Mason Pahl, who set a new team record in striking out 5 times in the game. Greg Zilkie also tied a team record with 4 steals, including 3 in one inning.

Then on Sunday morning the Milleteers faced off against the Edmonton Blackhawks with a chance to go to the final on the line. The Blackhawks are again having a good season in the “AA” North Central Alberta Baseball League as they sit with a 9-5 record and are the highest scoring team in the league. Despite being the underdogs on paper the Milleteers charged out of the gate in the first inning as Trevor Pahl and Jon Anstey hit back to back doubles to get the game started. Then Brad Engel hit a solid single and cleanup hitter Steve Pahl drilled a hanging curveball over the right-center field gap for a two-run shot to give the Milleteers a four run lead before they even got an out. Then in the second inning they would add another after Shawn Brinkworth took a fastball to the dome before scoring on an error by the shortstop. After that the Blackhawks brought in their power pitching ace Regan Hoet to stop the bleeding, but it was too late as the Milleteers had scored enough for the win.

 

On the mound the Milleteers turned to 18 year old Mason Pahl, who hadn’t thrown a ball in months, and it showed as he battled some wildness as he walked five before being relieved in the third. Some good defense, including a double play limited the damage to only one run. The Milleteers were forced to go to the closer early as they brought in Jon Anstey with the bases loaded in the third with two outs, and he managed to get a ground ball to get out of the inning. Anstey battled as he could not get his curve over, but the Blackhawks could not catch up to his heat either as he kept pounding the mitt and managed to keep them in check, save for an unearned run in the sixth. The pitching performance would be enough to punch the Milleteers ticket to the final.

In the final the Milleteers would meet up with the powerful Legal Indians, a team loaded with good young talent. The Indians currently sit second in the NCABL and have been perennial favorites in the league for the last several years. The Milleteers went with veteran Shawn Brinkworth on the mound and he got hit hard in the first, but was settling in before getting hit with a comebacker on his pitching hand and he had to come out of the game. The Milleteers went with Mason Pahl again and he faired better this game as he only walked 1 the rest of the way, but the Legal hitters were able to pound the Milleteers for 13 hits and 7 runs.

On the other side of the mound the Milleteers had to face off against the reigning NCABL MVP Blair Cowley. Cowley was on his game and was too much for the Milleteers hitters as he threw a two hitter and had eight strikeouts. The Milleteers can take solace however that they broke up the shutout bid as they were the only team to score a run on the Indians in the tournament and also the only team to keep them under double digit runs.

Here is how the tournament ended up:

1. Legal Indians
2. Leduc Milleteers
3. Edmonton Blackhawks
4. Lac LaBiche Dodgers
5. St. Paul Cubs
6. Goodfish Lake Chiefs

 

Posted on July 12, 2010 by Steven Pahl