Jets compete in first fall tournament

By Cole Parkinson
Taber Times

After a successful start to their fall season, the Vauxhall Academy of Baseball Jets were on the road this past weekend as they were in Sylvan Lake for the Gulls Rising Stars Classic. Friday saw the Jets take on the Webber Wildcats to kick off the weekend, and both teams saw great pitching performances. Despite taking a 3-0 lead, the Jets were unable to hold on as the two teams tied 3-3. Calum Andersen took the ball to start and went 1.2 innings, where he walked one batter and struck out one. Charlie McMillan was the first man out of the bullpen, and he went 3.1 innings with two runs allowed (one earned) on two hits and a walk while striking out two. Will Zielinski finished things off with two innings with a strikeout and one earned run on one hit. The Jets outhit Webber 4-3, and they had two errors in the field. Noah McIntosh and Zielinski each had a hit and an RBI, Rogan Rivard and Easton Kitura both had a hit, and Kaden Carson had an RBI. 

The team returned to the diamond on Saturday for a matchup against the AHP Renegades, and it resulted in an offensive battle. Plenty of runs were scored in the first six innings, but the Jets found themselves in a 12-8 hole going into the final inning. No panic, the Jets rallied with five straight runs to walk off the Renegades 13-12. The Jets had 15 hits with three errors in the game, while AHP had nine hits and a pair of errors. Kent Bozek led the way offensively with three hits and four RBI. Kitrua and Tanner Morris both had a pair of hits and an RBI, and Kitura and Hudson Nikkel notched two hits. Zielinski had a double and two RBI, and McIntosh, Carson, and Kaz Harris all had a hit and an RBI in the win. Graham Thiessen got the start and went two innings with three strikeouts while only allowing a single earned run on two hits. Nolan Tompkins came in for three innings, where he allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits and three walks. He also collected a single strikeout. Carter Bevans was the third man called from the pen and only collected two outs while allowing six earned runs on four walks and two hits with a punch out. Jacob Flach pitched the final 1.1 innings with two earned runs on three hits, a walk, and one strikeout.

Later that day, the Jets looked for their second win of the weekend as they played the St. Joe’s Falcons. The Jets raced to an early lead and never relented as they collected a 9-4 win. Both teams had eight hits in the game, while the Jets had a single error over seven innings and the Falcons had two. Zielinski had a great day at the dish with two hits, including a triple and four RBI. Bozek had a pair of hits, while Rivard, Nikkel, McIntosh, and Gerrit Vanderwall all had a hit in the win. Noah Simpson started and went three innings with four strikeouts while allowing two earned runs on five hits and a walk. Ben Connolly pitched two strong innings in relief with no hits or walks. Josh Daloise was the last man out of the pen and went two innings with three strikeouts while allowing two earned runs on three hits and a walk. 

The final game of the weekend went on Sunday as VAB took on Going Yard Academy (GYA). Despite the Jets outhitting GYA 9-5, Vauxhall fell 9-7. Nikkel led off for VAB and had a pair of hits, while Kitura, Zielinski, McIntosh, Morris, Carson, Harris, and Vanderwall all contributed with a hit. Bozek was on the hill to start and went three innings. The starter allowed six runs (four earned) on four hits, two walks, and one punch out. Aiden Sloan pitched the next three innings and was strong with five strikeouts. One unearned run scored on two walks and one hit. Cedric Leblanc came out of the bullpen and collected two outs, but two runs scored on two walks. Flach finished things off, and he collected the final out of the game. 

Next game action for the Jets comes in the Keith Jorgensen Tournament in Vauxhall from Sept. 26-28.