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Grey Lions dominate AWCBA final

For a second-straight year and the fifth time in the last six, the Westlock Grey Lions are the Alberta West Central Baseball Association (AWCBA) champions.
Following their 15-5 win over the Spruce Grove Eagles Aug. 22, the Westlock Grey Lions gathered for a photo with the AWCBA trophy. Back row, L-R: Ryan Rau, Rick Sereda, Brad
Following their 15-5 win over the Spruce Grove Eagles Aug. 22, the Westlock Grey Lions gathered for a photo with the AWCBA trophy. Back row, L-R: Ryan Rau, Rick Sereda, Brad Sharun, Dean Fagnan, Carmen Brown, Jeff Calkins and Troy Grandburg. Front row, L-R: Keith McCoy, Sheldon McConaghy, Dean Rau and Curtis Smith. Missing are Todd Ducharme, Doug Hannlen, Keith Szautner, Kevin Cyre, Blair Meyn, Warren Vowel and Raine Gervais.

For a second-straight year and the fifth time in the last six, the Westlock Grey Lions are the Alberta West Central Baseball Association (AWCBA) champions.

The club punctuated its season-long dominance with a 15-5 victory over the Spruce Grove Eagles Aug. 22 to sweep the best-of-three series. The win followed a much closer 11-10 Game 1 victory at Keller Field Aug. 17.

It was an extra special victory for the club who were playing for a fallen teammate, Robert Rau, who passed away after a battle with cancer in June.

“It was a pretty emotional year for us,” said Grey Lion Ryan Rau.

“Robbie was a long-time Lion. He actually made it out to play a couple of games with us early this season. So Tuesday night we went out and looked up in the crowd, his parents and his wife were out there supporting us.”

Honouring their friend and teammate served as a strong motivator.

“We all looked up to him over the years,” said Rau.

“It was really tough to lose him, but I think we made him proud with the way we played.”

Skipper Sheldon McConaghy said the team’s bats were hot, with players contributing up and down the lineup. Brad Sharun went the distance on the mound for the club to get the win.

“We built up a pretty good lead in the fifth and sixth,” he said. “Our bats came alive when we needed them; there were a lot of well-placed hits. Everyone contributed.”

“Once we had the lead, it was just a matter of going out there and playing like we always do,” added Rau. “They went down 1-2-3 in the sixth inning and the mercy rule kicked in, so we didn’t play the seventh.”

Rau noted the Eagles had a few rallies and were strong out of the gate, but the Lions wore them down with their solid batting.

“When we looked across and saw they had their best pitcher going, we knew we were going to have our hands full for sure,” he said. “But we really hit the ball. It was remarkable how well our offence was clicking that day. We just kept hitting them and hitting them.”

McConaghy reflected back on the season, noting that the Lions had a few minor hiccups, but nothing major which was reflected in the club’s 13-2 regular season record

With only two losses — an 8-6 defeat at the hands of the Brewers and a 10-7 loss to the Edmonton Heat — their march to the championship kept building from game to game.

After claiming the pennant, they matched up against the Heat, who ended up forfeiting the semifinals due to a lack of players.

McConaghy said his first year as skipper was a bit of a learning curve, but he had some help from his teammates and the old guard.

“It took a bit to learn how to manage the lineup and figure out when to take a pitcher in and out,” he said. “Organization, that sort of thing.”

Having roared through the majority of the season, the Lions are happy to sit back and relax for a while.

“It was a good season and it came out the way we wanted in the end,” said McConaghy. “I can’t wait for next year.”

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