The Cardinals were supposed to host Weyburn in a doubleheader last Wednesday (June 25). But the second game would end up postponed, not because of rain which has been the norm this season, but because of a 17-inning marathon Game One that went late into the night.
Yorkton would strike first in the game picking up one run in the home half of the first inning. Weyburn would surge ahead with three in the third and two in the fifth for a 5-1 lead.
The lead was short-lived as Yorkton plated four in their half of the fifth to tie the contest 5-5, powered in part by a home run by Stetson McCollin.
Neither team could add a run by the end of the seventh inning, sending the game to extra innings based on shortened doubleheader games in the WMBL. And the innings came and went, extending the game ever later.
The teams would end up taking the game to 17 innings, the second longest game in Cardinal franchise history. However the game would not have a happy ending for Cardinal fans who stayed until the end, as the Beavers would score three in the 17th, runs the Cardinals could not match in their half of the frame to give Weyburn an 8-5 victory, and lead to the second game being shelved.
In the marathon each team would send five pitchers to the mound. The Beaver five would give up 13 hits, strike out 17 and strand nine Cardinals on base. Fifteen Beavers were left on base, as the Cardinal pitchers matched Weyburn's 17 strikeouts, allowing only nine hits, but walking seven.
Of the eight Beaver runs only three were earned as Yorkton committed six errors.
Mavs sweep twin bill
Less than a day after the 17 inning affair the Yorkton Cardinals were back in action for yet another scheduled double header at Jubilee Park.
This time the opponent was the league leading Medicine Hat Mavericks.
The visitors got on the board first when Mavs centre fielder Jose Cruz hit a double to centre field off of Cards starter Vin Whitenight to score Blake Rowlett from first.
Medicine Hat extended their lead to four in the third with a three run outburst highlighted by a Garrett Wiese two-run single to centre.
A scoreless fourth allowed Whitenight to leave the game on a positive note, however the Mavericks would welcome Whitenight's replacement Cole Roark in terrible fashion. After a Micheal Forgione turned the line-up over with a single to start off the fifth, Medicine Hat leadoff man Bryan Arthur belted the fifth pitch he seen over the wall to make it 6-0 for the visitors.
The Cardinals would get one back in the sixth inning via a Kameron Mizzell double to centre, however a Wiese solo blast followed by a Cruz three-run bomb in the top of the seventh were the nails in the Game One coffin as Medicine Hat blasted the Cardinals 10-1.
Whitenight took the loss in Game One going four innings and giving up four runs, three of which were earned on five hits and two walks while striking out five.
On the other side of the diamond it was Taylor Johnson who picked up the win for Medicine Hat with a six inning, four hit, one walk outing in which he struck out five Cardinal batters.
Game Two against Medicine Hat looked to be a little more promising.
After holding the Mavericks scoreless in the top of the first the Cardinals struck. Leadoff man Stetson McCollin doubled to left field and moved to third on a Matt Collier single.
Georgie Santiago grounded into a double play, however it enabled McCollin to open the scoring and give Yorkton a 1-0 lead.
That lead would be short-lived as Medicine Hat scored a run of their own in the second, however a three-run Cardinal outburst in the third, led by a Mizzell homerun, his third of the season, gave the home side a 4-1 lead and everything was looking good.
Then the wheels fell off.
Medicine Hat scored four runs in the top of the fourth on five hits and an error and never looked back, scoring once more in the fifth and sixth before adding two more insurance runs in the seventh.
The Cardinals added two runs of their own in the bottom half of the seventh, however it proved to be too little, too late, as Medicine Hat took Game Two by a score of 9-6.
Rideout suffered the loss for the Cardinals giving up five runs, all earned, on six hits and four walks while striking out three in 3.1 innings of work. On the flip side it was Myles Richards who earned the win for the Mavericks. Richards went four innings, surrendering just two earned runs on five hits and a pair of free passes while sitting down four Cardinals batters.
Mizzell led the Yorkton offence with a 2-for-3, one walk night in which he smacked his third round tripper of the season and cashed in his 15th and 16th RBIs of the year.
Up next
The Cardinals head down Highway 10 to Pirie Field in Melville to face the Millionaires Thursday. Friday Yorkton will host Regina, and then head to Currie Field home of the Red Sox Sunday. The two teams will meet for a third straight game Monday in Yorkton. Next Tuesday the Cardinals will host Melville.
