Jets kick off fall schedule with games against PBA

By Cole Parkinson
Taber Times

Fall is on the way, and the Vauxhall Academy of Baseball Jets are hoping the warm weather extends well into October. This weekend saw the Jets back in action for a four-pack of games against the Prairie Baseball Academy in Lethbridge. The two teams had two doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday to officially kick off the fall portion of the 2025-26 season.

“You don’t necessarily look at results in the fall as far as wins and losses are concerned, but we couldn’t have asked for a better weekend to open up the year,” stated Les McTavish, head coach of the Jets. “(We) played a college team, and it was their alumni weekend, which was great.”

Game one was a high-scoring affair at Lloyd Nolan Yard that saw both teams put plenty of runs on the board. Thanks to a big six-run fourth inning, it was the Jets who were able to claim a 10-7 win. The Jets were outhit 9-8 in the game while PBA committed five errors and VAB had four. Eight of nine hitters in the starting lineup had a hit as Hudson Nikkel led the way with a hit and two RBI, Kaleb Bozek had a triple and an RBI and Easton Kitura, Will Zielinski, Noah McIntosh, Kaden Carson, and Gerrit Vanderwall all had a hit and an RBI. Kaz Harris had a hit, and Matt Getz and Rogan Rivard each had an RBI. Graham Thiessen took the ball to start and went three innings with four strikeouts. He allowed one hit and one walk with no runs allowed. Noah Simpson came in for a pair of innings and allowed five runs (two earned) on five hits, no walks, and four strikeouts. Charlie McMillan finished things off with two innings where he allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits, one walk, and one strikeout. 

Wrapping up Saturday’s action, the two teams hit the field again, and this time it was all Jets. VAB took home a 12-2 win and outhit PBA 12-4 while committing one error. McIntosh had three knocks and an RBI, Nikkel had two hits and two RBI, Zielinski had two hits, and Vanderwall had a triple with three RBI. Rivard, Kitura, Thiessen, and Mark Vulcano all had a hit in the win. Calum Andersen was the starter for Vauxhall and went three innings with five strikeouts. He allowed one earned run on one hit. Ben Connolly was the first pitcher called from the bullpen and went two strong innings with two strikeouts and one hit allowed. Bozek pitched the final inning, where an unearned run scored on two hits, and he had one strikeout. 

After a strong Saturday, the Jets and PBA were back in action on Sunday. PBA jumped out to an early lead in game three, but the Jets stormed back with big third and fifth innings as they cruised to an 11-4 victory. The Jets had nine hits and two errors while PBA had eight hits and four errors. Bozek was hot at the dish with three hits and three RBO, Kitura had two hits, Tanner Morris had a triple, Rivard had a double, and McIntosh and Getz each had a hit. Carter Bevans was on the mound to start for Vauxhall and went three innings. He punched out one batter and allowed three runs (one earned) on six hits and no walks. Zielinski made a relief appearance where he pitched two innings and saw one earned run score on two hits and a walk. Zielinski also had a pair of strikeouts in his two innings. Josh Daloise was the final pitcher called on for the Jets, and he went two innings with three strikeouts and one free pass. 

The final game of the weekend saw a close battle that went right down to the end. PBA held a 7-5 lead going into the seventh and final inning. The Jets were able to push across one run, but that was as close as they got as they dropped the final game 7-6. The Jets outhit PBA 10-5 and committed no errors, while the home team had three. Morris led the way offensively with two hits, including a home run and four RBI. Rivard had a pair of hits, including a double; Thiessen had two hits and an RBI, Vanderwall had two singles, and Nikkel and Carson contributed with a hit each. The starter in the final game was Aiden Sloan, who went two innings with two earned runs on three walks, and he punched out a pair of PBA hitters. Cedric Leblanc pitched two-thirds of an inning in his first appearance of the fall. He allowed three earned runs on three walks and two hits. Nolan Tompkins was next man up and gave Vauxhall 2.1 innings with two strikeouts. He allowed two hits, a walk and two earned runs scored. The final pitcher for the Jets was Jacob Flach, who pitched an inning with one hit and one strikeout. 

Looking back at the weekend, the coaching staff was happy with how things started. There’s plenty to work on, but opening weekend games showed tons of positives for the Jets.

“The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and the ballpark was in tremendous shape. When I look back on the weekend, overall, the thing that stood out to us as coaches is that we prepared to play every day. To play four games in 28 hours, that’s not easy — especially when it’s 30 degrees out. We were prepared to play every day, and that’s a testament to our leaders and veterans that led the charge on that front,” added McTavish. 

While there were certainly ups and downs in the first handful of games, the team was happy with how their pitchers, hitters, and defence were able to weather any storms and provide a chance to win every game.

“The second part of that, as an overall group, we threw strikes and were competitive on the mound. It wasn’t just one or two players; we had a balanced attack. Each day, it was different players who had some success, so that was good. Lots of positives came out of it. On the other side, we figured out what we can work on. We couldn’t have asked for a better weekend. Weather-wise, we were competitive in our games. They handled themselves well on and off the field,” continued McTavish.

Next up for VAB is a road trip to Sylvan Lake for their first tournament of the 25-26 season.