The 18U AA Lloydminster Prairie Pirates had a near-perfect weekend going before their provincial run finished Sunday with a narrow loss in the semifinals.
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The top-ranked Pirates, dominant in their previous two games at the six-team championship tournament in Strathmore, dropped a 10-8 semifinal decision to the second-seeded Parkland Twins, the eventual gold-medallists in Baseball Alberta’s 18U AA Tier 5 provincials.
The Pirates had fought back in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring one run to pull into an 8-8 tie with Parkland, which answered with the final two runs in the seventh.
The Twins went on to defeat the third-ranked Coronation Royals 14-9 in the gold-medal game Sunday night. It was the first loss of the tournament for Coronation, which sidelined the No. 6 Drayton Valley Giants 12-5 in their semifinal.
PARKLAND TWINS 10 PIRATES 8 (semifinal): Thad Molsberry registered two of Lloydminster’s six hits in the early semifinal. He and his brother Callum each provided an RBI, as did Kaleb Hozack, Matthew Kenyon and Jax Roach.
John MacNeil – Meridian Source
Luke Langley and Mason Brackley, respectively, split the pitching duties for the Pirates.
Dax Reiten picked up the win in relief of Twins’ starter Kade Olson, who lasted until the fifth inning. Olson, with three hits and two RBIs, led Parkland’s 10-hit attack. Reiten and Brody Armstrong each added two hits.
PROVINCIAL ENTRIES: Rounding out the provincial field were the fifth-ranked Bonnyville Braves and the host Strathmore Reds, seeded fourth. Each of those teams went 0-2 in preliminary play, before Bonnyville defeated Strathmore 16-10 in the consolation final Sunday.
PROLIFIC PIRATES: Lloydminster made short work of its round-robin opponents, clubbing Strathmore 17-5 on Friday and Drayton Valley 17-6 on Saturday, with both of those night games ending in the fifth inning in accordance with the mercy rule.
It was that kind of a summer for the Pirates, who earned top grades for winning 19 of 26 games overall this season.
PIRATES 17 GIANTS 6: Callum Molsberry, an overager from Vermilion, slammed a first-inning grand slam as Lloydminster dumped Drayton Valley to push the Pirates’ record to 2-0.
Molsberry and Kitscoty’s Hozack, with a two-run double, each collected two hits as Lloyd won convincingly for the second time in as many days.
Brackley was the winning pitcher and Grayson Sinclair and Kobe Heck provided relief for the Pirates, who went up 9-3 in the first inning and led 15-6 after the second.
PIRATES 17 REDS 5: Langley, with relief help from Lincoln Graham, pitched Lloyd to victory over Strathmore on opening night.
Callum Molsberry led the Pirates with three hits and one RBI. Hozack, with two hits, drove in three runs. Roach, with a couple of hits, and Kenyon each homered.
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