The Sight & Sound Wolves are headed for the Rainy River District Fastball League championship against rival Barwick after a close 3-2 victory against the Stratton Eagles.
While Stratton looked masterful in the field, the deciding factor in the win was Sight & Sounds home runs, hit by manager and first baseman Derek McKinnon and third baseman Duane Carlson.
“They’re a good defensive team,” said McKinnon. “The key was just getting some runs there.”
The match wass something of a pitchers’ duel between Sight & Sound’s Bob Andy and Eagle Guy Arpin, who – save a few key at bats – seemed to have all the answers.
Save for some scattered hits, the game was quiet until the top of the fourth inning, when Stratton manufactured a run in Rob McGinnis. Following a single and fielder’s choice, all-star catcher Travis Vandenbrand dropped a sacrifice bunt and Curtis Berg ripped a single to right field, plating the first run of the game, drawing cheers from the fans on the visitor’s side of the diamond.
The Wolves responded in the bottom of the inning, with a wall scraper from McKinnon and a centre field blast from Carlson. Carlson also singled twice. “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever gone three-for-three off Guy,” he said after the game.
The Wolves added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth, with a strengthened 3-1 lead going into the final frame. Things seemed to unravel, when errors by shortstop Marcell Pagee and Andy as well as a double from Stratton’s Tom Armstrong brought in a run. Andy got the final out on a strikeout with runners on third and second.
“It was a hell of a game,” Eagles manager Tom Vandenbrand said. “One hit one way, could’ve went another way. Could’ve went our way.”
It was the second game in a row where Sight & Sound was having to bounce back from runs scored by the opposition. “It seems like the last part of the year, we always need a wakeup call before we get going,” McKinnon opined.
The preceding Tuesday, win came after a close 10-9 victory the week before against the Rainy River Royals. The Royals suffered a first round upset in the playoffs to Sabaskong but proved why they were the third best team in the regular season, giving Andy one of his toughest nights of the year.
The Wolves’ ace was roughed up in the third inning by the Royals with an RBI single followed by a grand slam by Marty Armstrong, going into the frame tied 1-1 but exiting down 6-1.
The Wolves posted unanswered runs until they held a 10-6 lead after the sixth. Rainy River got to work again, whittling it down to 10-9 in the seventh before running out of outs.
“It was a good comeback for us. I kind of wanted to take myself out of the game there when they took a good lead,” Andy laughed.
He said that Pagee talked to him between innings, which helped him focus on the game. “I was glad he did (talk to me) anyway,” Andy said.
Pagee said it was the only time Andy needed that kind of a pep talk all year. “To be honest, he looked a little defeated,” he said. “I just said to him, ‘wrap your head around this, we need you.’ …I told him to do what he does, do what he does best, because he’s the best pitcher in this league by far. He’s a gem.”
Rainy River started the first with a 1-0 lead manufactured by a single and baserunning on a handful of errant throws. Andy took matters into his own hands in the bottom of the frame, smacking a solo shot to centre field to knot the game at 1-1.
The change came in the third, when Justin Wagner, on second after a Cole Kaemingh error and stolen base, was driven in by pitcher Murray Armstrong with a single to left field with two out. Two singles followed to load the bases and outfielder Marty Armstrong – Murray’s older brother – hit his first homer of the year, hammering out a 6-1 lead.
“I just wanted to make contact,” Marty said, “and he got two strikes on me. I was expecting something in the dirt or up high, but it ws right down the pipe. Swung as hard as I could.”
In the bottom of the third, Cole Kaemingh reached on a fumbled strikeout, Pagee hit a single to the wall, and Bob Andy hit a first pitch RBI double, Paul Visser drove in two with another double and Derek McKinnon singled to strike back against the Royals and end the frame down by an easier to stomach 6-5 score.
In the bottom of the fourth, John Desaulniers reacted to a pitch high and inside by hitting the second one clear of the trees behind the left field fence to tie the game 6-6. Hits followed in the fifth and sixth, which earned Sight & Sound a 10-6 lead.
Rainy River made it interesting in the top of the seventh but ultimately fell 10-9.
The Barwick Blue Knights haven’t played since losing 4-3 to Stratton, but will host Sight & Sound tomorrow at 6 p.m.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
