Players get released to their club teams for the Baseball Alberta season and The Sox lead both The Red Deer BAEL and Olds 18u AAA teams into opening weekend action.
It was a perfect start to the season for the 18U Red Deer Rangers in the Baseball Alberta Elite League.
Weather-wise, Saturday was about as good as it gets in April and the Rangers made the most of it against the Sherwood Park Dukes, with a pair of victories at Great Chief Park.
The Rangers won game 1 of the double header Saturday 10-2. Antonio Juarez was stellar through five innings with 10 strikeouts and only four hits one run allowed. Jace Junk threw two innings of relief, allowing one run, two walks, and a hit, while striking out two.
Five different hitters had RBI for the Rangers, with Thomas Beres driving in three with two hits. Grady Rodzinyak, Seth Clark, Rylan Ramsay and Nathan Vennard also drove in runs.
In Game 2, Red Deer fell behind 2-1 after the first. They responded with eight runs over the next four innings to take a commanding 9-2 lead. Sherwood Park added four in the fifth and another run in the seventh but the comeback fell short, with Red Deer earning a 9-7 victory.
Juarez played right field in the contest and cashed in three runs on one hit and also walked twice. Junk three hits, including two doubles and one RBI. Davin Higgins also had a pair of RBI in the win.
Ryder Farrer allowed two hits and one earned run in four innings, walking six while also striking out six.
Sunday brought flurries to Central Alberta in the morning but didn’t stop the Red Deer bats. They beat Sherwood Park 11-1 and 19-7.
In the 11-1 win, Ramsay had three hits, three RBI and three steals. Juarez picked up where he left on Saturday, with three more hits and four RBI.
Clark pitched five strong innings, with five strikeouts, three walks, with no runs or hits allowed. Kade Strandquist allowed two hits, one earned run, while striking out three and walking one.
Red Deer had 17 hits in the 19-7 win Sunday. Strandquist had a huge game with six hits in eight at bats. He had two steals, a double and a triple, driving in six runs on the afternoon. Chase Lundstrom had three hits and three RBI, while Clark also drove in three runs.
Kruise McGeough had five strikeouts over four innings of work, allowing two hits, one earned run. Kelton Holowaychuk pitched two innings, allowing two hits, one unearned run, while striking out three.
The Rangers are back at Great Chief Park on May 24 at 3 p.m. for a double header with the Calgary Bucks Black.
In other action at Great Chief Park, the Red Deer Porttin Pipeline Rangers 18U AAA-2 split with the Olds Spitfires. Olds won 7-5 Saturday, before Red Deer bounced back with a 13-3 win. Olds won 14-12 Sunday, before Red Deer earned a 19-9 win.
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