KENOSEE LAKE - The annual Big Moose senior ball tournament took place on the Canada Day weekend. The games were played at Kenosee Lake and there were six teams participating, including the host Carlyle Cardinals, Estevan Tap House Wolves, Marysberg Royals, Redvers As, Saskatoon Outlaws and Weyburn Iron Pigs.
Play began Friday night with Carlyle racking up an early 7-0 lead against Redvers and cruising to an 8-4 victory. Saturday morning, the Cardinals and Outlaws were involved in a slugfest with Saskatoon winning 12-11 in a game with numerous lead changes.
In the semifinals on Sunday, the Outlaws defeated Estevan. The Cardinals played the Iron Pigs and trailed 6-1 after five innings. They scored three in the sixth and five in the seventh to win 8-6 to the delight of the many local fans in attendance.
Carlyle again played Saskatoon but this time it was for the championship. The Cardinals trailed 3-0 early and came back to make it 3-2 after four innings. The Outlaws added two more runs in the fifth and hung on for a 6-3 victory.
Forty-five-year-old Jason Lindberg of Saskatoon was the winning pitcher. On Sunday he pitched six innings in the semifinal game and seven innings in the final game. He also survived an up the middle blast from Cardinal Josh Hohn midway through the final, which struck him squarely in the shin.
On Saturday night, there was a home run derby with 13 players and one umpire (Kevin Culy of Estevan) competing. Jolan Lingelbach of the Wolves was declared the winner.
Veteran player-coach Brent McLean for Carlyle was pleased with how the tournament went.
“We had great weather and great attendance. Due to the pandemic, this was our first time hosting the Big Moose since 2019. The Cardinals also wish to thank Allan and Peggy Fleck for having their food truck at the games all weekend long.”
As of press time Thursday morning, Carlyle has four games remaining in their Saskota Baseball League regular season. The Jack Harbourne tournament will be held in Estevan July 23 and 24. The Cardinals will be hosting a home playoff game in Carlyle to start the championship weekend on July 22.
