Staff
To beat a team with a perfect record, an opponent has to play an almost perfect game.
That, or have the unbeaten squad be suitably imperfect.
The defending champion Barwick Blue Knights’ normally impeccable defence piled up four errors to help the visiting Sight & Sound Wolves eke out a 4-3 victory Tuesday night in the opener of the best-of-three Rainy River District Fastball League final.
Barwick went 19-0 during the regular season, then won its first three playoff games in capturing the West Division title.
But it’s the Wolves who can win their first league title since 2004 with a victory in Game 2 tonight, which now will be played at the Rodrick and Telford Bruyere Ball Field (Couchiching) at 6:30 p.m.
It was decided to move the game from VanJura because the Couchiching field has a full set of functional lights.
Sight & Sound scratched out the winning run in the sixth inning Tuesday night.
Matt Dunne notched an infield hit when his roller got past diving Knights’ starter JJ Landry but took too long to get to third baseman Brad Wakefield to have time to throw him out.
Kurtis Wepruk and Nick Wepruk later singled to load the bases.
Then Matt Cheetham, serving as the designated hitter Tuesday, hit a hard grounder back to Landry, who knocked it down and then scrambled after it.
With Cheetham already nearing first, Landry decided to wheel and fire home to try and get Dunne.
But in rushing to make the throw, he was well off the mark as Dunne crossed safely.
Landry then struck out Matt Sweigard and Nick Ashworth to limit the damage.
The Knights tried to rally in the seventh when Brandan Pratt legged out a slow chopper to the third base side of the mound.
Wolves’ starter John Desaulniers then fanned pinch-hitter Will Derksen and Ryder Woolsey before Vaughan Wilson beat out another bouncer to third.
After a lengthy discussion on the mound with his infielders, Desaulniers elected to intentionally walk Kevin Gemmell to fill the sacks for clean-up hitter Pearse Jackson.
But Jackson chased a 1-2 pitch from Desaulniers that dropped off the outside edge of the plate for strike three to end the game.
Barwick had jumped out to a 2-0 lead on an RBI double by Gemmell, who later scored on an error.
The Wolves battled back in the third to tie the game on RBI singles from Joel Ashworth and Duane Carlson.
Gemmell restored Barwick’s lead in the bottom half by smashing a two-out solo homer off Desaulniers.
The Wolves didn’t falter, though, getting that one back in the fourth when Kurtis Wepruk singled, took second on Paul Visser’s sacrifice bunt, and then advanced to home on two wild pitches by Landry.
