The Yorkton Cardinals finished the regular season with four straight losses and having only two wins in their final 10 games, but hung on to third place in the Western Major Baseball League Saskatchewan Division.
With a record of 20-28 Yorkton were 11 games back of Weyburn, and three behind Regina. With a 7-3 run down the stretch Swift Current climbed from the basement to finish fourth one back of Yorkton by virtue of the tie breaker with Moose Jaw who had a matching record.
Melville ended up in the basement 13 off the pace of the front-running Beavers.
The Cardinals started their playoff series with the Red Sox Sunday in Regina.
The teams traded single runs in the third and fifth.
Regina scored one in the seventh for a 3-2 lead, a run Yorkton got back in the eighth, only to have the Sox take the win with two in the home half of the frame.
Zach Mihic led Yorkton’s offence with a pair of runs batted-in.
Kody Rock started the game on the mound for Yorkton, throwing 6.1 innings, scattering five hits, and allowing three earned runs while striking out six.
Aidan Goodall took the loss based on 1.1 innings of work in relief, allowing two hits, and two earned runs.
Each team left seven on-base in the game.
The teams went back at it Monday evening in Regina, and Yorkton looked like they were poised to even the best-of-five series.
The Cardinals struck for three in the top of the first and led 7-2 after six innings.
But the five run lead would evaporate, as the Red Sox scored three in the seventh, plated one more in the eighth, then completed their comeback with two in the ninth for an 8-7 win.
Rodney McKay was the Yorkton starting pitcher. He lasted 6.2 innings, allowing 11 hits, and five earned runs, while walking five and striking out eight.
Aaron Dick would be tagged with the loss on two innings of relief where he allowed six hits, and three earned runs.
Game three of the series was scheduled to be played at Jubilee Park in Yorkton Tuesday night, but results were not available at press time.
Weyburn, Okotoks, and Lethbridge also held two-games-to-none leads in their series as of Tuesday morning.
Regular season wrap
The Cardinals hosted Moose Jaw at Jubilee Park last Wednesday.
The Miller Express scored first with a pair in the second, but the Cardinals got those two back in the home-half of the same frame.
Yorkton took the lead with two in the sixth, but the lead evaporated as Moose Jaw plated five in the seventh. The Cardinals would then score three in their half of the seventh to knot the game 7-7.
It would remain tied into extra innings where the Miller Express would score three in the 10th for a 10-7 win.
Logan Parachoniak took the loss in two innings of relief work for Yorkton.
Garrett Osterode started and went 7.1 innings, allowing seven hits and five runs, four of those earned, with six strikeouts.
Nick Gotta had a huge night at the plate for Yorkton with four hits, including a double, and five runs batted in
Losses to Regina
In Regina to face the Red Sox last Thursday, it was the home team taking a 1-0 in the bottom of the first.
The Cardinals took the lead with two in the third, holding the margin until Regina tied it in the eighth.
The game would go to the 11th before the Red Sox took the 3-2 win.
Derek Marshall was the losing pitcher on 3.1 innings of relief.
Camran Bonnema had started the game for Yorkton throwing 7.1 innings giving up nine hits, and two earned runs.
The two teams matched up again Friday this time in Yorkton for the final game of the Cardinal regular season.
Yorkton scored one in the first, but the rest of the game was the Red Sox, who plated four in the fourth, one in the fifth and two in the sixth for a 7-1 win.
Jamie Whitehead took the loss as the Cardinals starter with only four innings of work, allowing six hits, and four earned runs.
