If the early returns are any indication, the battles between the Battlefords Trappers and the North Battleford Beavers will become must-see events at Beaver Lions Stadium.
In the first head-to-head meeting between the two North Saskatchewan River Baseball League sides Thursday night, the Beavers used their impressive offence to pull away late as they picked up 7-2 victory over the Trappers.
鈥淚t was a much closer game than the score indicates,鈥� Beavers outfielder Ryan Shepherd of the Beavers said. 鈥淭he Trappers are a really talented team and they鈥檒l stay in a game right until the end.鈥�
The game was tied at a run apiece until the top of the sixth inning, when Blair Geering cleared the bases on a three-run triple.
The Trappers got within a run in the bottom of the frame, but the Beavers pulled away for good in the seventh inning after a two-run home run off of the bat of Jared Inkster.
鈥淚t took us a couple of innings to get going,鈥� Shepherd said. 鈥淲e had some runners on base in the third and fourth innings, but we made a couple of base-running errors that ended our chance of getting runs home.
鈥淭he way we鈥檙e hitting the bat right now reminds me of last year, when we had the most runs in the league. The biggest difference this year is we鈥檙e getting good defence and pitching, especially from Kyle (Palmer) who鈥檚 had three really good starts for us.鈥�
The Beavers, who lead the Albers Division with a 5-2-1 record, have scored 62 runs so far this season and are only one run behind the Border City Blue Jays and Mervin Flyers for the league lead.
Meanwhile, the expansion Trappers are going through a rough patch at the moment.
After starting the season with two straight wins, they have lost their last six games and now sit in third place in the Albers Division.
鈥淭he hitting has been there as it has been from the start of the year,鈥� Trappers coach Michael Hudec said. 鈥淲e just haven鈥檛 had the timely hits that you need and we鈥檝e had the odd error that can hurt you in this league.
鈥淭his was a well-played game that could have gone either way. I feel like our young guys have been adjusting well to playing against older players, but we just haven鈥檛 had the results go our way.鈥�
The Trappers will have a chance to gain a measure of revenge Tuesday, when they鈥檒l meet up with the Beavers in a 7:30 p.m. clash at Beaver Lions Stadium.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking forward to it,鈥� Hudec said. 鈥淭hey are a good team and this was a really enjoyable game to be a part of.鈥�
