Spurs wrap up regular season play

By Cole Parkinson
Taber Times

Last week saw the Vauxhall Spurs compete in their final three doubleheaders of the regular season. With the Spurs at the top of the North District standings heading into the final week, they were hoping to extend their lead with some more wins before playoffs began.

First up was a doubleheader on July 16 on the road against the Tri-County Cardinals. Game one saw the Cardinals jump out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning but the Spurs would rally back with a 4-3 win. Tanner Bullock started on the mound for Vauxhall and gave the Spurs five innings of two-hit ball with two earned runs, seven walks, and three strikeouts. Langdyn Cummins pitched a clean final inning with one strikeout. Offensively, Landon Howg was 2-3 on the day with a double and Aidan Maxwell was 2-4 with a double and an RBI. Eric Reiling had a double and an RBI, Roman Pavka had a hit and an RBI, and Cummins, Mclaughlin, Brian Fehr, and Mark Vulcano each chipped in with one hit.

Shortly after the first game, the Spurs and Cardinals were back in action and despite the short break, Vauxhall’s bats didn’t cool down at all. After seven innings of play, the Spurs had taken the game 16-6. Bullock was hitting all over the ballpark as the left fielder went 4-4 with an RBI while Vulcano had a hit and four RBI. Cummins and Howg each had two more hits and two more RBI while Ashton Lukacs had a hit and two RBI, Maxwell, Reiling, and Mclaughlin all added a hit and an RBI, and Daxton Schrader contributed with an RBI. Fehr was rock solid in his start as the pitcher went 6.2 innings with three strikeouts while giving up three earned runs on 10 hits and three walks. Landen Gustafson pitched the final out of the game.

Staying south, the Spurs took on the Lewistown Redbirds the following night. This time it was the Spurs who jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, but Lewistown would pull off the comeback as they added four runs to win 4-3. Overall, the Spurs had 10 hits and four walks in seven innings. Howg and Maxwell each had two hits, including a double, while the former also had an RBI. Pavka had a single and an RBI while Reiling had a double and an RBI, Cummins, Mclaughlin, Fehr, and Vulcano had the remaining hits for the Spurs. Bullock got the start on the mound and went five innings with seven walks, two hits, and two earned runs while striking out three Redbirds. Cummins came in from the bullpen to pitch the final inning where he allowed no runs, no walks, no hits, and struck out one batter.

After dropping game one, the Spurs saw an offensive outburst in game two as they put 20 runs on the board en route to a 20-11 win. The Spurs couldn’t be stopped at the plate as they had 25 hits and accumulated five walks. Howg led the way going 6-6 with five RBI and Pavka was 4-6 with six RBI. Mclaughlin was 4-4 with two RBI, Cummins was 2-4, Reiling had one hit and two RBI, Lukacs went 1-2 with an RBI, Bullock chipped in with two hits, Vulcano was 4-5 with an RBI, and Gustafson had a hit and an RBI. Berkley Emelson was the starter for Vauxhall and gave the club four innings with six strikeouts and five earned runs on eight walks and one hit. Howg was the first man out of the bullpen and went one inning with a single strikeout and two earned runs with two walks and a hit allowed. Lukacs was the next man up and collected a single out after walking four and giving up a hit with three earned runs. Cummins finished things off with 1.2 innings with three walks and four strikeouts.

The Spurs were back in Alberta on July 21 as they welcomed in the Medicine Hat Knights for the last doubleheader of the regular season. Thanks to a three-run fourth inning, the Spurs took the first game with a 4-1 victory. Once again the Spurs’ offence came ready to play as they had 1- hits and two walks. Fehr went 2-2 with an RBI while Gustafson and Schrader each had a hit and an RBI. Cummins, Mclaughlin, Reiling, Howg, and Emelson all had a hit in the win. Maxwell was the first man on the mound for Vauxhall as the pitcher went two innings with no hits or walks allowed. Fehr went the final five innings where he struck out two, walked four, and allowed an earned run on five hits.

The final game saw the Knights cruise to a 15-2 win as the Spurs couldn’t mount much offence. Cummins had two hits in the loss while Pavka had a hit and an RBI, and Mclaughlin and Emelson had the other hits. Schrader went 5.1 innings as the starter allowing six earned runs on 10 hits with four walks and a strikeout. Lukacs came in, in relief and pitched two-thirds of an inning with one hit and two walks. Overall, nine of the 15 runs were earned while the Spurs had six errors in the field.

The good news for the Spurs is they don’t have much time to dwell on that loss as they gear up for North Districts this week in Lethbridge. Vauxhall ended the regular season with a record of 24-4 and first overall in the North District. Districts begin for the Spurs on July 25 when they take on the Great Falls Chargers.