With a pair of exhibition games now under their belts, the Sudbury Midget rep baseball crew might have been only slightly disappointed after a weekend trek to Sault Ste. Marie.
Despite dropping both games, it's safe to say that back-to-back one run losses to a Soo program that traditionally has held the upper hand in this northern Ontario rivalry is not the end of the world for coach Mike Lumley and company.
In the opening game, Sudbury scored six times in the third inning, but were only able to muster one additional run in the remainder of the game, dropping an 8-7 decision.
Cory Kennedy provided the key blow for the locals, belting a grand slam, while Kyle Osborne (2/3) and Jon Keehn (1/2 - double) also helped out at the plate.
Josh Lumley pitched three innings for Sudbury, allowing three earned runs as the team struggled somewhat defensively, making a total of five errors over the course of the game.
Game two was equally as close as Sault Ste. Marie scored in the bottom of the 10th inning, walking away with a 7-6 victory.
Eric Levergne (2/4) and Kennedy (1/2) were the top producers offensively as Sudbury pilfered nine bases over the course of the game.
The team also benefited from a pair of solid pitching performances, with Milo Gaudin (4 IP, 0 earned runs, 2 K, 3 BB) and Dan Burritt (4 2/3 IP, 3 earned runs, 7 K, 8 BB) combining to help keep Sudbury in the game.
The midget crew heads off to Kincardine this weekend for tournament action.
- Posted by Laurel Myers
