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Red Lions roast Cardinals in NCABL season opener

The Westlock Red Lions snagged their first victory of 2017 in their first game of the season May 12. The Lions took down the St.
Red Lion Adam Sawatzky winds up for a pitch during the club’s 10-5 season-opening win over the St. Albert Cardinals at Keller Field May 12.
Red Lion Adam Sawatzky winds up for a pitch during the club’s 10-5 season-opening win over the St. Albert Cardinals at Keller Field May 12.

The Westlock Red Lions snagged their first victory of 2017 in their first game of the season May 12.

The Lions took down the St. Albert Cardinals 10-5 at Keller Field after the club’s season-opening North Central Alberta Baseball League (NCABL) tilt slated for May 7 was rained out.

Despite howling winds and single-digit temperatures, Pat Rains managed to smack a home run, while player/manager Adam Sawatzky had a big night at the dish as he posted a grand slam and notched six RBIs.

“It’s always good to get the first game out of the way and the first win under the belt, for sure,” Sawatzky said. “Definitely that game was a confidence builder for us.”

The Lions had a bit of a leg up on the mostly young and inexperienced Cardinals. The cold weather slowed the pace of the game down as the Cardinals struggled to find the strike zone.

“There was a lot of walks throughout the game on both sides, which tends to slow things down a little bit, but everybody seemed to do a pretty good job sticking to it and staying focused,” Sawatzky said.

The Lions were patient at the plate while rolling to the win. For Game 1 of the campaign, Sawatzky was pleased with his club’s effort.

“With that big of a lead, it was to good to get guys that don’t normally pitch some innings there,” Sawatzky said.

“I thought we played very well. First game of the year, we haven’t been outside very much, thought our team really competed hard and played a good team game.”

He cautiously hoped for a repeat next game against the Stony Plain Mets this coming week. The Mets are 1-0 following a 3-1 win over the Sturgeon Paladins.

“The Mets are a tough team and they seem to play their best games against us, so we’ll be in for a good battle on Wednesday.”

Game time this Wednesday, May 17, is 7:15 p.m. at Keller Field.

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