Rebels Knock Off Jays On The Road
Posted June 8, 2012
It is officially a winning streak for the
Rebels as they beat the Holden Blue Jays 6-4 on Thursday night in Holden making
it three in a row. The game had a little of everything, but most impressively
was the gutsy performance by long time Rebel and PBL veteran RHP Don Oslund who
injured his leg in the first inning but pushed his way through five innings of
work on the mound to earn the win.
Rebels)
for the Rebels against hard throwing RHP Logan Skori. With one out in the top
half of the first, 2B Brian Tavaroli earned a walk from Skori before advancing
to second base on an errant pick off attempt giving SS Dylan Solberg a runner in
scoring position. Solberg would drive a Skori fastball to deep right centre in
what appeared to be a two run shot (given the physical improbability of a
baseball ball bouncing that high over a seven to eight foot fence). However the
umpire crew did not see the home run and a ground rule double was awarded to the
surprise of both the Rebels in the dugout and the Jays in the field. Skori would
settle down to retire the next two batters leaving the Rebels with a 1-0 lead
after one as opposed to 2-0, or more. Why is this important? In the third inning
Solberg would once again square up a Skori fastball and deposit it over the
right centre fence for a no doubt 3 run home run and his fourth RBI of the game.
The Rebels have yet to have a player hit two home runs in one game (Brian
Tavaroli and Travis Bugge have each hit a home run in the same game) and will
have to wait for another opportunity to do so.
The Solberg home run would give the Rebels a
4-1 lead after three and if not for some slick defensive play combined with some
poor base running by the Blue Jays, the game could have been closer. With the
bases loaded for the Jays in the first inning, C Brin Redhead was able to pick
off CF Allan Ziegler at third base for the first out on a snap throw to 3B Craig
Koughan. RHP Don Oslund struck out P Logan Skori on the next pitch to quickly
give the Rebels 2-outs in a tough situation. In the second inning 2B Brian
Tavaroli would pull a veteran move on a come backer to Oslund to once again give
the Rebels a quick two outs to end an inning and Jays threat. Tavaroli would
receive a throw from Oslund for the force out at second base on C Dylan Boyko
and instead of trying for the inning ending double play at first on a speedy
batter, Tavaroli threw behind RF Maury Micklich would rounded third base on the
ground ball up the middle only to be tagged out by 3B Craig Koughan to end the
inning. Two big plays that like saved the Rebels some runs and extended
innings.
supplied the run production for the Rebels as Solberg collected 4 RBIs while
Kushnerick connected on a 2-1 Skori fastball in the fifth inning with two out
for a deep double to the left centre gap one hopping the fence to score Solberg
and C Brin Redhead to give the Rebels the insurance they needed. While the team
did not see the same explosive offensive numbers they saw versus the Roadrunners
the last two games, the team was able to hit some good pitching from the Jays on
Thursday night and come up with timely hits when needed.
RHP Don Oslund laboured in the game after
tweaking his leg in the first inning. The veteran of over 30 years in the PBL
was visibly hobbling and could not bend the leg properly in his deliverary yet
gutted through the pain to throw 5.33 innings before giving way to RHP Kris
Kushnerick. With Oslund’s heavy fastball and floating knuckleball working well,
he gave the Rebels the type of performance needed for the win. The Jays were
able to put runners into scoring position on Oslund in the fifth causing interm
manager Brian Tavaroli (Manager Kevin Reinholt was placed on the 15 day DL
retroactive to June 6 on Tuesday afternoon) to call for relief from the bullpen.
RHP Kris Kushnerick was able to quickly work through the five out save, retiring
the last five Blue Jays in a row to seal the victory for Oslund.
Bardo Sports Day festivities on Saturday June 9th where they will take on the
Leduc Milleteers and either the Armena Royals or Bardo Athletics depending on
the outcome of the games in the afternoon. The Rebels will see the Milleteers
three times next week with Bardo Sports Days, a Thursday night league game and
then a Saturday matchup at Ryley Sports Days.
