Mitch Calvert
The North American Fastpitch Association ‘A’ Major World Series goes this weekend in Sioux Falls with the Rainy River District Fastball League sending a team among the 43 represented at the event.
The squad goes down as the Sight & Sound Wolves but recruits players from throughout the regional circuit. Last year’s team went 2-2 at the championships in Mankato, Mn.
The team representing the league this season includes Sight & Sound Wolves’ John Desaulniers, Marcel Pagee, Bob Andy, Clayton “Beef” Windego and Derek McKinnon, along with Kevin Gemmell (Barwick), Kyle Langlais (Winnipeg), Trevor Oltsher (Winnipeg), Don Gall, Murray Armstrong (Rainy River), Jessie Tom (Big Island), and Mike Jacobson (Sioux Falls).
The squad opens play tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. versus the Scarlett’s (Sioux Falls).
Meanwhile, the Big Grassy Lightning hosted a tournament on the weekend and claimed the title, defeating Barwick 7-2 in the final.
The Wolves lost 5-0 to the Lightning in the semifinal.
“We only had five guys off our regular team and picked up some young guys from Stratton and I think they were a little bit nervous playing on a new team, but that’s how it goes,” Wolves’ manager Derek McKinnon explained. “Big Grassy picked up a few guys from Big Island and they had a real strong team.”
The Wolves lost to Barwick 8-5 in their opener, giving up six unearned runs off of errors, and then beat the “Morrisons” 13-0 and 14-1 in back-to-back games due to the playoff draw.
A team called the Thunder, made up of some older players from Big Grassy, and a young team formed from players throughout the RRDFL also participated.
In related news, the RRDFL playoffs got underway last Thursday (they’ll go on hiatus for NAFA, resuming Aug. 18).
The Sight & Sound Wolves exacted some revenge with a 6-0 win over the Stratton Eagles in the opening round.
The Wolves found themselves in the exact same position they faced a year a go when they lost to Stratton 5-4, but this time took advantage of a solid outing from pitcher John Desaulniers to take the shutout victory.
Pagee stroked a home run in the win.
The Wolves had an uncharacteristically mediocre record this year at 9-9, but seem to be peaking at the right time.
“When we have everyone things go good, but when you get short of guys and have to start substituting guys into new spots that’s when you run into problems,” McKinnon explained.
The Wolves were set to face top-ranked Big Grassy (15-2-1) last night in Round 2 (see Front section for results).
The Lightning finished atop the league standings for a second-straight year, but are looking to rebound after an early playoff exit last season.
“We definitely want to go further to make up for that [disappointment],” third baseman Bill Copenace vowed. “We have good chemistry on the team, everybody contributes with the bats, and Jeffrey [Morrison] pitches a real good game all the time and gives us confidence.”
In other playoff scores in the RRDFL last Thursday, Rainy River beat Big Island 5-4. Murray Armstrong picked up the win coupled with a home run, while Jessie Tom replied with a long bomb of his own for Big Island in a losing cause.
In the other match-up, three-time defending champion Barwick upended Sabaskong 9-1. Barwick won with the long ball, as catcher Kevin Gemmell hit two home runs to go with one from Will Derksen.
JJ Landry picked up the win.
Barwick (15-3) was to face Rainy River (6-12) last night in a rematch from last year’s final in the other ‘A’-side match-up, while Sabaskong (0-18) took on Stratton (8-10) in a win-or-go-home ‘B’-side meeting.
In the RRDFL playoff format, teams who suffers two losses are eliminated.
Jessie Tom now has company as the league’s home run king, as Rob McGinnis of Stratton tied him for the regular-season title with eight.
The league also held its all-star game at VanJura Ball Park in Fort Frances last week to signal the end of the regular season, drawing a capacity crowd for the event that included an old-timers’ game, barbeque and emceeing from former player Gary Noga.
Bill Copenace stole the show, however, belting two home runs to pace Team One to a convincing 10-3 win.
Team Two actually jumped out to a 2-0 lead and was sailing along until the third inning, when Big Grassy ace Morrison ran into control problems.
Morrison plunked Sabaskong’s Kevin Copenace and Stratton’s Ted Heyens to put two runners on, and then Morrison’s fellow Lightning teammate Copenace made him pay with a three-run shot to right field.
“That was my first time facing him there,” Copenace said of his teammate after the game. “What can I say, I just saw the balls really good.”
Tom added to the fireworks that same inning with a homer to left field off Morrison.
Copenace hit his second of the game in his next at-bat, hooking another moon shot just inside the foul pole off Murray Armstrong (who replaced Morrison to begin the fifth) to extend Team One’s lead.
“He challenged me with three fastballs,” Copenace said of the battle with Armstrong. “The first one I fouled off, the second one I pulled foul [down the line] and then the third one I knew he was coming with another one and I hit it right around the foul pole there.”
Team One blew the game open that inning, as Sight & Sound’s Derek McKinnon would drive in another run with a single to centre, and then Chris Jack would line one to left to bring both McKinnon and Tom in to give Team One an 8-2 lead through five.
In the bottom of the sixth, Tom added to Team One’s lead with a hard liner over first base that went through Marcel Pagee’s glove to plate two more runs, all but salting away the victory.
Pagee scored on a double by Marty Armstrong in the top of seven, but that would be as close as Team Two would get.
Barwick’s JJ Landry and Sight & Sound’s John Desaulniers combined for seven strong innings from the mound to lead Team One to victory.
Teams were selected in a “playground” style draft, with all seven teams of the RRDFL having to be represented at least once on both squads.
