The Â鶹´«Ã½AV East Senior Baseball League (SESBL) final ended up needing a fourth game in the best-of-5 championship series.
Heading into Monday night's meeting at Jubilee Park, the Yorkton Yankees held a 2-game lead over the Willowbrook Royals.
They beat them in the opener handily, 8-0. Then they beat them in Game 2, 5-4. Then they got royally beaten in the third game here on Monday.
"There's nothing special about tonight," says coach Brian Trollope.
"They hit the ball well," adds player/coach Mark Jacobs.
"They (also) picked up some really good pitching," Trollope added.
Bobby Rodger got credit for the largest margin of victory the SESBL has ever seen this year, as Willowbrook pumped out a 14-0 win to stay alive in the series.
The fourth game was scheduled to be played last night on Willowbrook's field, said coach Trollope.
Trollope noted that these two teams were not very different during the course of the regular season.
They combined together for only three losses going back to May.
"We were one point difference in the season."
They just came to play baseball tonight (Monday)," he said following the defeat.
Following the end of the seventh inning, he said it's best for the players on the team to "just put it behind you".
After two scoreless innings Monday at Jubilee Park, the Royals mounted their attack.
They played solidly enough in the early going to deny Yorkton's baserunning attempts to try and steal second base. A six-run second inning got the Yankees in deep trouble before the game was even 1/4 over as Willowbrook jumped out to a 6-0 lead and had the bases loaded up at least four times. Yorkton was forced to make a pitching change, substituting Derek Marshall for Matt Poier. Yorkton could not respond in their half of the second inning with nobody getting past first base. Willowbrook continued to pour it on in the third inning. Royals' Ambrose Allin nearly hit a two-run home run but couldn't beat the wall in left field.
The Yankees went three up three down in their half of the third inning. By the fourth inning Yorkton was forced into another pitching change as Chris Morrison took over but Willowbrook poured on six more scores to close out the game.
Jacobs said Willowbrook did a good job putting "the first two games behind them," he said of the 8-0 and 5-4 wins Yorkton took in the two previous games.
"They'll come to play," says Trollope of what is likely going to happen in Tuesday's Game 4, which results were not available in time for press.
He added that neither team had any trouble getting players to dress for Game 3 as both "have a full roster".
The loss was only the third of the season for the Yankees, who lost once in the regular season and once in the playoffs against the Langenburg Indians.
Trollope said the lopsided score might actually do some good.
"Once and awhile, you need a wake up call."
Should the series go to a fifth and deciding game, it will be in Yorkton tonight, he closed.
