Staff
Chad Smith’s penchant for timely playoff hits has the Couchiching Raiders on the brink of a shot at the championship.
Smith’s RBI double in the sixth inning snapped a 1-1 tie and lifted the third-ranked Raiders to a 4-1 win over the second-seeded Sight & Sound Wolves in Game 1 of the Rainy River District Fastball League East Division final Tuesday at VanJura.
Sight & Sound entered the game undefeated in the post-season and needed just a win Tuesday to advance to the best-of-three final against the defending champion Barwick Blue Knights.
Instead, the Raiders—whose lone playoff loss was an 8-4 setback to the Wolves in the second round back on Aug. 11—set up a second-and-deciding game to determine the East winner tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the Rodrick and Telford Bruyere Ball Field on Couchiching.
Smith, who also drove in the winning run in Couchiching’s upset victory over the top-seeded Fort Frances Braves last week, brought home Ryan MacDonald, who had led off the inning by reaching on a throwing error by Wolves’ shortstop Kurtis Wepruk.
Aaron Caul dove to his full extension to snare Smith’s hit—only to come up just short.
The Raiders added two more runs in the seventh off on RBI singles from Reo Walton and Todd Morrisseau off losing pitcher John Desaulniers, who retired the first eight batters but wound up allowing six hits and walking one while fanning 12.
That was plenty of cushion for Raiders’ ace Sheldon Kelly Sr., who gave up just three hits with one walk and three strikeouts.
The Wolves got on the board first in the third inning when Matt Sweigard’s bloop single to right cashed in Paul Visser from third.
The Raiders tied it in the top of the fourth when MacDonald walked to start the frame and then stole second.
With one out, Faron Morrisseau cracked a grounder that bad-hopped Wolves’ second baseman Matt Cheetham, who couldn’t corral the ball as it scooted into right field to allow MacDonald to score.
In the West Division final Tuesday, top-ranked Barwick jumped on the fourth-seeded Big Grassy Lightning early en route to a 14-7 triumph to secure its spot in the league final.
Barwick will host Game 1 of the league final this Tuesday (Sept. 6) at 6 p.m. at Oltsher Field against either the Wolves or Raiders.
Game 2 will go next Thursday (Sept. 8) in either Fort Frances or Couchiching, with Game 3 (if necessary) back in Barwick on Sept. 13.
