The Moose Jaw All Stars have found themselves in tough through the first three games at the Little League Canadian Championship in Regina.
After losing their opener 14-0 to Quebec Mirabel on Wednesday, the Prairie representatives dropped a 17-4 decision to Alberta’s Rocky Mountain Little League on Friday night before falling 11-4 to Atlantic’s Sydney Sooners Saturday afternoon.
As a result, the All Stars carry an 0-3 record into play Sunday and will likely need to win all three of their remaining games to have a shot at the playoff round.
The contest against Rocky Mountain lasted only four innings, as Alberta put up four in the first, a further seven runs in the second, five in the third and another in the fourth before the mercy rule brought things to an end.
The All Stars scored two runs in each of the second and third innings and had eight hits on the day.
Back-to-back base hits set up Moose Jaw’s first two runs, as Cruz Schwabe hit a one-out double and Riley Nielsen singled one batter later, with both eventually coming around to score on passed balls.
Grayden Mowrey and Burke Bechard hit singles to lead off the third inning and would also take advantage of battery miscues to score Moose Jaw’s other runs.
The pitching staff didn’t have a lot of luck, as Schwabe, Alex Schmegelsky, Mowrey and Tucker Knoop combined to allow the 17 runs on 14 hits and 10 walks.
The contest against Sydney looked like it could go the All Stars way after they took a 3-0 lead out of the first three innings, but the Sooners would explode for seven runs in the fourth, tag on three more in the fifth before adding one more in the sixth for good measure.
Now for the bad news.
Not a single run Moose Jaw run allowed was earned, as the All Stars committed 10 errors in the field. That led to Taylor Usher giving up seven runs on three hits while striking out six over 3 ⅔, Keith Perry three runs in 1 ⅓ and Will Funston finishing things off with a single run in the sixth.
Bechard got things started for the Moose Jaw offence with a lead-off triple in the first and he’d come around to score on a single by Schmegelsky.
Schmegelsky knocked home Asher Harkness with their second run in the third inning and later came around to score on a single by Usher; Nielsen scored their other run in the fourth.
The All Stars continue the tournament Sunday when they take on unbeaten B.C. Little Mountain at 10:30 a.m. before facing host North Regina on Monday at 2 p.m. and closing out the preliminary round against Ontario West on Tuesday.
The top four teams advance to the semifinal Wednesday, with the championship final set for 3 p.m. on Thursday.
