It was tale of two completely different games when the Sask Five 18U AAA Giants split a pair against the Saskatoon Diamondbacks during a double-header on July 19.
Sask Five earned a 15-2 win in convincing fashion, off of strong pitching, in the first game of the double-header, however, in the second game the Giants struggled and dropped a 7-4 decision, at Cairns Field in Saskatoon.
In the first game, Sask Five received an outstanding pitching performance from Chantze Pauls, who pitched a complete game only allowing two runs on five hits, as the Giants mercied the Diamondbacks in five innings.
“Our big right hander Chantze Pauls pitched a great game and they (Saskatoon) ran into some pitching trouble,” said Sask Five Giants head coach Joey Vanneste. “We played strong defensively and their offense broke down on them and we capitalized on that.”
Saskatoon actually led 2-1 after two innings but the Giants had a huge offensive third inning to take a commanding lead.
The D-Backs had some pitching problems in that inning, surrendering 11 walks, and Vanneste was impressed with the patience of the Sask Five hitters.
“When they put the bat in their hand they want to deliver, they want to hit the ball and they want to get on base. Sometimes you got to be patient up there and wait for your pitch and sometimes, it doesn’t come to you,” he said.
Sask Five ended up scoring 12 runs that inning to take a 13-2 lead and cruised through the remaining innings for the win.
Saskatoon actually out-hit the Giants five to two but just had that one bad inning they couldn’t bounce back from.
The D-Backs regrouped in the second game and cleaned up the mistakes made in that first game.
Sask Five starting pitcher Josh Goldbeck threw three scoreless innings but ran into some trouble in the fourth inning by loading the bases with no outs. The Giants made a pitching change and that didn’t phase Saskatoon, as the D-Backs scored six runs to take a 6-1 lead.
Trailing by six runs after five innings, the Giants started to string a comeback by plating three runs in the sixth inning to pull within in three, however, the D-backs held on for the win.
This is the first incarnation of a U18 AAA team within the Sask Five Baseball Association and so far Vanneste likes what he see from the club, while playing in the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League.
“They’re putting their heart and soul into it and it’s nice to see. Us as coaches, we can only do so much, it’s the players that have to want it at the end of the day,” he said.
Even though this is a new U18 AAA team, there are players who have played at this level before which is very beneficial to the club.
The double-header against the D-Backs was Sask Five’s third and fourth games of the regular season out of 18, and as long as the players put in the work and compete with a full effort, Vanneste believes the team can be successful.
“They’re enjoying the game and we’re glad to see what they are bringing,” he said. “We’ve got talent on our team and they’re improving everyday.”
