Staff
The balls were flying and the smell of an upset was in the air.
The Barwick Blue Knights pounded out a trio of home runs to soar past the two-time defending champion Fort Frances Braves 9-5 in the Rainy River District Fastball League best-of-three championship series last Thursday night at Oltsher Field in Barwick.
Vaughan Wilson, Mike Anderson, and Jaxon Calder all went yard to pace the West Division champ Blue Knights’ offence.
Mike Parisien went deep twice in a losing cause for the East champ Braves.
JJ Landry garnered the pitching win over Travis Tom.
Game 2 is set for tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at Couchiching.
Should the Braves win that one, a third-and-deciding game then would go on Thursday night also at 7 at Couchiching.
Meanwhile, the Rainy River District Women’s Fastball League champion could be decided tonight as the third-seeded Her-icanes are slated to host the top-ranked Renegades as they replay the championship opener at VanJura at 6 p.m.
Last Wednesday night’s game ended as a 4-4 tie after 10 innings due to darkness and has to be replayed in its entirety tonight.
A possible second game would go on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Barwick. The Renegades need to win both games to claim the title while three-time defending champ Fort Frances just needs a lone win.
