It was a mixed week for the Westlock Red Lions, who dropped a 14-0 home decision to the Edmonton Blackhawks June 19, before rebounding with a 9-8 road victory over the Stony Plain Mets the next day.
With the split, the club sits in fifth place in the North Central Alberta Baseball League with a 7-5 record.
“It’s a bit of a wake-up call,” said skipper Chris Brand. “We were on a bit of a run so this is a good reminder that winning isn’t easy, so we have to come out and play harder and better baseball.”
Things started to unravel early for the Red Lions when the Blackhawks got on a roll in the second inning, scoring seven runs. While the Red Lions were able to tighten defensively and hold the Blackhawks scoreless for much of the game, Edmonton found a second wind in the sixth inning, capitalizing on a few errors and putting another seven runs on the board. The Red Lions changed pitchers twice to try to spark something, but nothing was working.
Brand said the Lions needed to take the loss on the chin and regroup.
“They’re a good hitting team and obviously they had our number tonight,” he said. “We didn’t execute defensively like we had the last few games, so it’s sad to see but I guess it was eventually going to happen.”
Westlock woke up and turned things around the next evening in Stony Plain,. While the team was able to generate a bit of offence this time, by the time the seventh inning opened it was 8-4 for the Mets.
In the top of the seventh, their bats ignited and Westlock scored five runs to claim a 9-8 victory.
Brand said they were able to leave the loss in the past and take it all in stride.
“Tomorrow’s a new day, so we just need to come out with a purpose,” he said. “We need to keep our focus on defence, because that’s been what’s winning us our games. Hopefully that in itself will lead to some success here.”
