Neepawa Cubs drop pair of games
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Photo by Eoin Devereux. Cole Krutkewich (2) of Neepawa provided some middle inning relief for the Cubs in their game Friday, June 10 against Minnedosa.
By Eoin Devereux
Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
A pair of recent losses to the Santa Clara Baseball League’s top teams have dropped the Neepawa Cubs under the .500 mark for the regular season. Neepawa first fell to the league leading Plumas Pirates 9-6 on Wednesday, June 8. The game, played in Neepawa at the Fairgrounds, started off very well for the home side, as the Cubs secured an early advantage, holding a 5-1 lead after three innings.
Plumas notched one run in the fourth, but gave it right back in the fifth, to make it a 6-2 contest. Plumas had several men on base in the top of the fourth and fifth innings, but were unable to turn those runners into runs.
In the top of the sixth, however, the Pirates finally were able to awaken the bats, while also taking advantage of a few Neepawa miscues in the field, that extended the inning for the visitors. That combination helped to generate six runs for the Pirates, as they turned a four run deficit into a two run advantage. They’d add one more in the top of the seventh to make the final score 9-6.
Zac Yandeau went 3-for-5 at the plate for Plumas, adding four RBI’s, while Ian Kerkowich led the way for Neepawa, with a 2-for-3 night at bat, with a pair of RBI’s. As for pitching, Jason Vinnell had a solid effort for the Cubs, but was still tagged with the loss, while Plumas’ Steven Remier earned the victory on the mound for the Pirates. The win improved Plumas’ record to 5-1, while Neepawa dropped to 3-3.
The Cubs followed that up with a disheartening 9-3 loss at the hands of the defending league champions, the Minnedosa Mavericks on Friday, June 10. In that matchup, Minnedosa struck quickly, with a pair of runs in the first inning and a third across the plate in the top of the second. While the Cubs replied back in the bottom of the second with one run, they simply could not find a way to climb back into contention, as Minnedosa’s fielders extinguished several scoring opportunities throughout the game. The Mavericks accumulated another six runs over the final four innings to ensure the victory.
