Staff
A few diamond men were busy last night on what usually would have been a night off.
Two makeup games postponed from Tuesday were held last night in the Rainy River District Fastball League, with two undefeated teams staying that way.
The Fort Frances Braves gave up their first runs this season but had enough offence to outslug the Manitou Thunderbirds 16-13.
Travis Tom belted his league-leading third homer of the season for the Braves (3-0) while Jaden Gustafson also went deep off Mike Jourdain of the Thunderbirds (1-3).
Cole Tymkin won his second game of the season on the mound after spending all of last season at catcher.
The other game last night saw the Stratton Eagles improve to 4-0 with a 19-6 thumping of the Sabaskong Cubs.
Jackson Arpin earned the victory while Kevin Copenace took the loss for the struggling Cubs (0-4).
Stratton kept pace with the defending champion Sight & Sound Wolves (4-0), who trounced the winless Rainy River Royals (0-4) by a 15-5 score Tuesday.
Kurtis Wepruk got the win in his first game pitching this season against Royals’ starter Chris Stone.
Other action Tuesday saw Sheldon Kelly Sr. hurl a gem in his first pitching appearance this season to propel Couchiching to an 8-1 win over the Northwest Bay Chieftains.
The Raiders are one of three teams tied for fifth place at 2-1.
Tanner Smith took the loss for the Chieftains (2-2).
Righthander JJ Landry pitched the Barwick Blue Knights (3-1) to a 16-1 rout of the formerly unbeaten Sabakong Lakers (2-1).
Merlin Kelly was tagged with the loss.
Meanwhile, the return of Rob McGinnis to the lineup boosted the fortunes of Windey’s Warriors (2-3) in two ways in a 26-3 drubbing of the Northwest Bay Juniors (0-4).
McGinnis clubbed a home run off Aiden Morrisseau to help his own cause on the mound.
The game between the Dawson Tigers (2-1) and Sabaskong Goldeneyes (1-2) was postponed and will be played at a later date.
Men’s action will resume tonight at 7 p.m., including a battle of unbeatens as Sight & Sound and the Braves tangle at VanJura.
The Raiders and Warriors will clash at Couchiching, the Royals visit the Lakers, the Goldeneyes host Barwick, Dawson heads to Stratton, and Manitou hits the road to face the Chieftains.
The Cubs and Juniors have the bye.
