Canucks Mosh With Dodgers — MJ Independent

It was an atmosphere more reminiscent a mosh pit than a baseball game as the Moose Jaw 18U A Canucks Grey fell 18 - 17 to the league leading Weyburn Dodgers on Friday evening.

You had the music, the bravado and the bare chest beating of the little guy not backing down and refusing to be pushed around by the big guy.

It was a game where both teams took turns holding the lead.

The Canucks had managed to take the lead 17 - 16 in the bottom of the sixth and victory looked within reach but the Dodgers came back with two runs in the top of the seventh inning.

Moose Jaw managed to get its first two batters in scoring position but failed to collect any runs.

A Canucks base runner is safe at home as the Dodgers bat catcher failed to hold onto the ball - MJ Independent photo

“That is a heartbreaker of a game,” said Canucks head coach Ethan La Rose.

He said he was proud of the team’s effort.

“That Weyburn team I’ll admit they’ve been rolling through everybody. They have one tie with the other Weyburn team. And every other game has been a mercy rule. They’ve beat everyone handily and we made the most of it today,” La Rose said.

“Obviously, I’m disappointed we lost, but I couldn’t be more proud. Every single person got on base at least once tonight. We made their pitchers throw over 200 pitches combined. You can’t be mad at that.”

“They did everything they could right to the bitter end,” he said.

Asked about holding a lead in the sixth inning only to lose it in the seventh he said it’s just the way baseball works..

A swing and a miss - MJ Independent photo

“We lost by one run to the number one team in the league,” he said, adding “we’re a team of dogs and I’m excited to see what they can do.”

He described the team’s progress so far as “awesome”. The team won their first game of the season and then gone back and forth won one then lost one.

The team is a mixture of experience and talent.

“I have two guys on the team that never have played baseball a day in their lives they’re fitting right in. They’re stepping up to the challenge. We got a few days for him. I’ve got a couple years in and doing well,” he said.

The team needs polishing.

“I’m looking forward to the rest of the year. I love this group. This is my favourite group I’ve coached so far. They’re a little bit rough around the edges, but they’re such competitors. They’re going to be one of the teams to watch in his league all year,” La Rose said.