Spurs take on U.S. teams

By Cole Parkinson
Taber Times

Last week, the Vauxhall Spurs took to the diamond for several matchups against U.S.-based teams. On June 25, the team had a home doubleheader against the Havre Northstars. In the first game of the day, the Spurs fell down early before battling back late. After six innings, the Spurs came back from a 4-0 deficit before scoring five in the sixth. Unfortunately for Vauxhall, the seventh inning saw the Northstars put four on the board as they fell 8-5. 

The Spurs had six hits on the day as Roman Pavka and Ryley Jensen each had a pair of hits. Langdyn Cummins and Landon Howg each had a hit in the loss. Tanner Bullock started the day on the mound and gave the Spurs five innings and allowed four runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks. The pitcher also punched out three batters in his five innings. Micah Fontaine was the first pitcher out of the bullpen and he went one inning and two-thirds with four earned runs allowed on three walks and four hits while striking out two. Cayden Fehr collected the final out for the Spurs in game one. 

In the second game of the day, Havre once again raced out to an early lead and held on for a 5-1 victory. Vauxhall saw a single from Pavka and a double from Mark Vulcano. Daxton Schrader gave the Spurs six innings as the starter with four runs allowed (two earned) on seven hits and two walks to go along with a single strikeout. Randon Lauwen pitched the final inning and struck out all three batters while also allowing an unearned run on one hit and one walk. 

Saturday saw the team depart for the States as they had a single game against the Tri-County Cardinals. Thanks to a late-game offensive surge, the Spurs were able to take the game 8-5. The top of the order did most of the heavy lifting as Cummins, Howg, Eric Reiling, and Pavka all had two hits in the win. Cummins started on the mound and gave the Spurs six innings with nine strikeouts. The starter allowed five runs (three earned) on four hits and a pair of walks. Jacob Falkenberg finished things off with one inning with a strikeout and a walk. 

The weekend ended with a doubleheader against the Great Falls Chargers on Sunday. The first game of the day saw Vauxhall battle towards a 4-1 win thanks to six hits from their offence and a great pitching performance from Lauwen. The starter pitched all seven innings, allowing one earned run on six hits and two free passes. Lauwen punched out 11 batters in his seven innings of work. Pavka led the offence with two hits, including a triple while Howg, Fehr, Vulcano, and Sidney Pedersen had a hit each in the game. 

Wrapping up on Sunday, the Spurs once again were able to secure a win over the Chargers — this time 6-1. The Chargers had difficulty getting Reiling out as the right-fielder notched three hits while Parker McLaughlin, Bullock, Lauwen, and Jensen all had two hits. Cummins also notched a single in the win. Fontaine took the ball to start and went four innings with five strikeouts, one hit allowed, and two walks. Schrader took over for two innings and allowed an unearned run on two hits while punching out three Charger batters. Bullock finished the game with one inning of work and allowed a single hit while striking out two. 

Next action for the Spurs comes on July 2 when they welcome in the Lewistown Redbirds for a doubleheader.