Veteran teams stand in the way of each other

When the Rosalind Athletics joined the Powerline Baseball League after pondering it for quite a few years, everyone knew they could be a playoff team, which in this league means a championship team.

When work circumstances of some of the players came into play, and a couple close ball games went south early on, all bets were off on Rosalind sneaking by the five-time defending champions of Leduc and bi-annual post-season finalist Holden. But here they are, one game away from the final after a 10-5 win in game one and a tough 5-3 loss in game two.

Ryley on the other hand bolted out of the gate, and hasn’t looked back. The best season in modern-day Ryley history has them poised to join other Rebel teams of the past looking for a back-to-back title in a much different fashion than the 99 and 2000 Rebels who snuck in and rode the legend of Ray Lehman and a band of merry men to PBL glory.

Each team is stockpiled with veterans who can turn a game in an instant. Craig Koughan continues to launch the long ball and with the parks housing short porches that has come into play time and time again. Look for tonight’s deciding game to feature some fireworks no doubt.

Either way, there’s also no doubt whomever wins the series, is the favourite going into the finale. Each have gone 1-1 against the Armena Royals, but neither has had trouble scoring runs. Both teams coughed up leads late in the games they lost. They both have more experience and more depth it appears on paper.

Is this the final tonight? We’ll see. It could be, and should be if it was on a line in Vegas.