The Canora Supers swept the semifinal series with the Roblin Stars in dramatic fashion by scoring the winning run in the bottom of the last inning of the deciding game, but were swept in the final series by the Yorkton Yankees, making the Yankees the 2017 Â鶹´«Ã½AVeast Senior Baseball League (SESBL) champions.
           Game three of the SESBL finals on July 31 was one to forget as the Supers ran out of gas and were trounced 19-1 by the Yorkton Yankees, losing the best-of-five final in three straight games, said player/manager Greg Andreychuk.
           The game was tied until the bottom of the third but the Yankees hit everything in sight while putting up seven runs to put the game virtually out of reach. The Yankees would score seven more in the bottom of the fourth inning to cement their third straight league title in front of their home fans.
           Kholton Shewchuk started on the mound for the Supers and pitched well until the dreaded third inning. He took the loss. Adam Korb pitched two innings and Scott Sharp pitched the final inning. Both allowed some runs but all were unearned due to some errors.
           Logan Calanchie went the distance for the Yankees and showed why he is a big game pitcher by allowing just one run against the potent Supers’ lineup.
           For the Supers offence, Kholton Shewchuk had two hits as he continued his stellar season at the plate. Phil Sobkow had a base hit, a walk and a run scored before separating his shoulder midway through the contest while diving back to first base. Logan Parachoniak and Bryan Sedley rounded out the Supers offence with a single each.
           Down 1-0 in the series, the Supers hosted the Yankees in game two of the best-of-five SESBL final series on July 28. It turned out to be more like a football game, including several lead changes and multiple momentum swings, in a high scoring, back-breaking 15-14 Supers’ loss, said player/manager Greg Andreychuk.
           The Yankees scored two in the top of the first to take the early lead. But it was short-lived as Travis Mentanko hammered a long two-run home run and Derek Palagian drilled a single with two runs batten in (RBI) in the bottom half to give the Supers a 4-2 lead.
           After a scoreless second, the Yankees took advantage of several walks in the top of the third followed by a clutch three RBI double by Mackenzie Unyi to take a 7-4 lead.
           But the pendulum swung back in favour of the home team in the bottom half as a sacrifice fly from Logan Parachoniak, an RBI single from Palagian and a two RBI single from Zach Goulden-Maddin gave the Supers an 8-7 lead.
           In the bottom of the fourth the Supers padded their lead to 12-7 with a Kholton Shewchuk two-run homer followed by a sacrifice fly from Clint Maduck and an RBI single from Zach Rakochy.
           After the Yankees scored one in the top of the fifth, the floodgates opened in the top of the sixth. The Yankees scored seven runs on one error, three walks and only four hits to take a 15-12 lead.
           The Supers showed their resilience once again in the bottom of the sixth as Zach Rakochy sent a two-run shot over the right centre field fence to get the Supers within one at 15-14.
           The Supers kept the Yankees off the scoreboard in the top of the seventh and headed to the bottom looking to tie or win the game. Shewchuk led off the inning with a single. A sacrifice bunt attempt failed as the Yankees were able to get the lead runner at second. Derek Palagian came up to bat with two outs and sent a base hit to the outfield, setting up the Supers with runners at first and third. However, that was as close as the Supers could get as a strikeout ended the game, giving the Yankees a 2-0 series lead.
           The Supers pitching staff had a sub par evening giving up 11 walks, 11 hits and multiple wild pitches. The fielding was poor overall with four errors and a number of passed balls.
           But there were bright spots, including strong play from young shortstop Zach Goulden-Maddin and a highlight reel diving catch from catcher Clint Maduck.
           The Supers’ bats were exceptional. Zach Rakochy, Zach Goulden-Maddin, Kholton Shewchuk and Derek Palagian all had multi-hit and multi-RBI games.
           Murphy's Law is an old adage stating that whatever can go wrong will go wrong. Unfortunately this was the case for the Supers on July 26 in Yorkton as they were humiliated 17-4 by the Yorkton Yankees in game one of the best-of-five SESBL finals.
           The game started well for the Supers. They put up three runs in the first on a Travis Mentanko sacrifice fly, and RBI’s from Kholton Shewchuk and Derek Palagian. After the Yankees scored two in the bottom of the second, the Supers responded with one in the top of the third on a Phil Sobkow RBI double for a 4-2 lead.
           But that is where the Supers good fortune ended. A comedy of errors, Yankee hits, stolen bases and overall bad luck plagued the Supers in the bottom of the third as the Yankees put up six runs to take an 8-4 lead. From then on the Supers could do little to stop the Yankees offence.
           Logan Parachoniak started on the mound. He gave up nine runs on eight hits and two strikeouts in four innings. Most of the runs were unearned as it was a night to forget.
           For the first time since 2009 the Canora Supers were off to the Â鶹´«Ã½AVeast Senior Baseball League finals after defeating the Langenburg Indians 5-4 on July 20. The Supers won the best-of- three series in two straight, said player/manager Greg Andreychuk.
           The series win by the Supers ended a string of playoff losses to the Indians over three of the past four years as Langenburg ended the Supers’ season in 2013, 2014 and 2016. In each of the four series the team that finished lower in the regular season standings won. Langenburg also won the 2002 league championship series over the Supers, making this win over the Indians even sweeter, said Andreychuk.
           After Langenburg scored one in the top of the first inning of game two, the Supers came back with three in the bottom of the second with a Phil Sobkow solo home run and singles by Kholton Shewchuk, Clint Maduck, Terry Cumming and Evan Rostotski.
           However the Indians chipped away at the lead with a run in the fifth inning and tie the game in the sixth. In the top of the seventh they took back the lead after a hit batter to the leadoff hitter eventually came around the bases and scored.
           Down by one heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Supers first two batters struck out. In need of baserunners, Terry Cumming worked his way on with a walk. Evan Rostotski then sent his third single of the night into centre field to give the Supers runners at first and third.            After a pitching change, Derek Palagian was hit by a pitch to load the bases. At this point the ball park was very quiet and the tension was high. Travis Mentanko then tied the game with a walk and a wild pitch scored Rostotski to end the game and the series.
           Kholton Shewchuk pitched the complete game for the Supers. He allowed four runs (two earned) on five hits and chalked up three strikeouts for the win. Dane Kobylko pitched a solid game for the Indians in defeat before giving way to Ross Petz with two out in the seventh.
           Game one of the Â鶹´«Ã½AVeast Senior Baseball League semi-final series between the Supers and Langenburg took place on July 18 in Langenburg, said Andreychuk.
           The game started off slow as Langenburg took a 1-0 lead heading into the fifth inning. After they tied the game in the top of the sixth, the Supers gave up two in the bottom half to trail 4-2 heading into the seventh and final inning.
           Derek Palagian led off the seventh inning with a single, followed by walks from Matt Wilgosh and Clint Maduck.
           After a wild pitch shrunk Langenburg's lead to one, Terry Cumming stepped up and delivered a two-run single to give the Supers their first lead, said Andreychuk. Kholton Shewchuk and Derek Palagian would then deliver insurance runs with a double and single respectively to give the Supers an 8-4 lead, which they turned into an 8-5 victory.
           Palagian was the starting pitcher and picked up the win. He pitched six innings and gave up four runs (two earned) on eight hits, and recorded three strikeouts. He did not walk a batter the entire evening. Kholton Shewchuk pitched the final inning and allowed a single, double, one run and three fly ball outs to finish the game.
           Offensively the Supers managed seven hits on the night.
           Palagian had two singles, a double, two runs scored and an RBI to lead the way. Shewchuk had two doubles, and two RBI. Terry Cumming had a clutch two-run single, while Travis Mentanko hit his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot to tie the game in the sixth.
           The defensive play was solid with just one error for the game. The defense contributed two double plays in the first two innings.
           Although it was not the final result the team wanted, Andreychuk said the 2017 Supers season was a success as the team made the finals for the first time in eight years.
           The Supers appreciate all of the fans who came out and supported the team throughout the season, and all of the players who made the sacrifice in order to attend as many games as possible while playing through some aches and pains.
           Andreychuk said the Supers are already looking ahead and hoping for even more success in the 2018 season.
