The Sight & Sound Wolves returned to their regular schedule in Rainy River District Fastball League action here last Thursday night, squaring off against the Big Grassy Lightning and hammering out a narrow 9-7 win.
“They gave us all we could handle all game,” Wolves’ manager Derek McKinnon said once the victory was secured. “They get up against a good pitcher [and] they don’t try to kill it, just put it in play.”
That good pitcher was none other than John Desaulniers, who despite showing some rust from not having played with the Wolves in weeks, managed to ring up eight strikeouts en route to the win, which bolstered the Fort Frances-based team’s record to an impressive 10-1.
Desaulniers was imperfect, but always managed to find a way to make up for his mistakes. While he let two on in the top of the seventh, brining the winning run to the plate, he also struck out three in the frame.
“It was nice to get back and play with the guys I play with,” he said. “It felt good but when playing against those guys [Big Grassy], they’re not afraid to swing the bat.”
The Lightning bats were active, putting two runs across to start the game and cracking base hits in bunches—not to mention opposing pitcher Jeff Morrison taxing Desaulniers deep for a two-run bomb in the fourth inning.
Bill Copenace belted a powerful line drive that left the park the following inning.
Fortunately for the boys in red, they scored enough runs to eke out the victory.
Desaulniers kick-started Sight & Sound with a lead-off home run and proceeded to go 3-for-4—proving to be just as potent at the plate as from the pitching rubber.
“It was nice to get a start like that,” Desaulniers said of his homer. “You definitely need more than a couple runs each game [against Big Grassy].”
McKinnon also went 3-for-4, including a round-tripper of his own—a wall-scraper solo shot in the fourth.
Cole Kaemingh posted the other dinger for the Wolves.
“The thing that made me more nervous was when the other pitcher [Jeff Morrison] came up. Didn’t get him out once,” Desaulniers noted.
Morrison went 4-for-4 on the night and pitched well enough to keep Big Grassy (5-6) in contention right down to their final out.
The close score was a welcome change from their last meeting—a 17-4 blowout back on June 5 in favour of the visiting Wolves.
But McKinnon was quick to note that score came from the Lightning missing their pitcher, and that without either Desaulniers or stalwart hurler Bob Andy, his team likely would be at the receiving end of such a rout last week.
The game marked Sight & Sound’s first Thursday night home game since May 24 due to a last-minute schedule change necessitated by the International Falls team dropping out of the RRDFL.
The Wolves have played at VanJura since, working out two Tuesday games that they originally planned to play in Barwick.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
