The Yorkton Yankees are now 4-1 thanks to a pair of wins, 6-0 over the Yorkton Orioles at home on Wednesday, May 28, and 6-3 over the West Parkland Stars on Sunday.
On Wednesday the Yankees got yet another solid start from ace Logan Calanchie. Calanchie tossed five strong innings, giving up just two hits and one walk while striking out seven, before handing the ball over to reliever Dave Morari.
Morari continued to clip the Orioles wings, surrendering just one hit and one walk over two innings of work while striking out two.
Derek Kohut led the Yankee offence on Wednesday. The veteran back catcher went 1-for-3 at the dish with a double and a hit by pitch to spark a Yankees offence that, according to player/coach Mark Jacobs, was not what it usually is. "Offensively we didn't square up as many balls as we'd like to," said Jacobs. "We hit a few hard but we probably didn't swing the bats as well as we'd hoped."
Jacobs then admitted that one of the reasons his team struggled at the plate was due to the Orioles pitching staff. "They have some good, veteran pitching so that's part of our struggle too."
But while the Yankee offence wasn't its usual, dominant self on Wednesday, the defence and pitching continued to perform at a very high level which, according to Jacobs, bodes well for the rest of the season. "I think it all starts with pitching and defence and we had that tonight which is a good sign," mentioned Jacobs, continuing, "Our defence, for the most part, has been one of our strong points over the past few seasons and it's still at that level now."
Johnson stuns Stars
Jeremy Johnson did it all on Sunday afternoon.
Not only did he pitch the Yankees to victory with a solid five inning effort in which he struck out seven West Parkland batters and gave up just one earned run, he also led the team offensively, smacking a towering homerun over the outfield fence early in the game. "JJ played great today," mentioned player/coach Mark Jacobs via a phone interview. "It was his first start since coming back from school in Minot so we didn't quite know what to expect but he threw the ball well.
"He's also swinging the bat pretty good right now with a homerun."
However the return of Johnson on the mound wasn't the only return in the game.
Long-time Yankee star Mckenzie Unyi was back in the pinstripes, making his first appearance in a Yankee uniform since separating his shoulder in last year's SESBL Championship series against the Langenburg Indians.
And Jacobs couldn't be happier about the return of his star centrefielder, even if Unyi can't play his usual position just yet. "Getting him back is big," offered Jacobs. "He's not playing his normal outfield position right now, he's playing first base, but to have his bat at the top of the order and his speed really helps. He's a good leader on the team and it's nice to see him back in the lineup."
Next up
The next action for the Yorkton Yankees will be tonight when they host the Russell Bulls. Game time is set for 8:00pm at Jubilee Park.
