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Offense leads 18U AAA Expos to three wins

Baseball is officially back in Saskatchewan, and the Parkland AAA 18U Expos had their first busy weekend playing four games. Saturday saw the Expos play a doubleheader in Melville against the Swift Current 57's.
AAA Expos
Ryan Rathgeber had an amazing weekend hitting close to .800 over four games. (Photo by Tanner Wallace-Scribner)

Baseball is officially back in Saskatchewan, and the Parkland AAA 18U Expos had their first busy weekend playing four games.

Saturday saw the Expos play a doubleheader in Melville against the Swift Current 57's.

Game one saw an offensive explosion as the Expos scored 26 runs, including 11 runs in the first inning. Ryan Rathgeber and Owen Cook both went 5-for-5 as they combined for 10 of the Expos 26 hits, with Rathgeber picking up 5 RBIs and Cook tallying 4 RBIs. Six other players had a multi-hit game, including Kayden Smith, who went 3-for-5 with 4 RBIs.

Game Two saw Smith continued to produce as he led the way, going 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs with help from the bullpen as three pitchers combined to 5.1 innings allowing just one run in a 9-6 Expos wins.

On Sunday, the Expos continued their hot bats but could only split their doubleheader against the Regina Wolfpack.

Game one saw the Expos off to a hot start as after five innings; they were up 9-1 with Landon Burkwell dealing on the mound. Regina would score ten runs to take the lead at the top of the sixth, but the Expos would battle back in the bottom of the inning as Vinny Junek and Rathgeber led off with back-to-back singles. A wild pitch would see Junek score with a single from Smith tying the game. With the bases loaded, Spencer Phythian would draw a walk to retake the lead for the Expos. A double by Clay Sleeva would add two much-needed insurance runs as the Wolfpack would score two runs in the top of seventh but would fall short of another comeback as the Expos won 14-13.

In game two, the Expos would again lead in the late innings, with Cook, Evan McCubbing, and Brady Bjornstroad all driving in runs. Once again, the Expos would blow the lead allowing four in the top of the seventh, but this time would be unable to come back as they lost 6-5.

In total, the Expos went 3-1, outscoring their opponents 54 to 34 over the four games. It was a weekend to remember for Rathgeber , Cook, and Smith.

Rathgeber  11-14 (.785) 1 HR 7 RBI

Cook 9-14 (.642) 0 HR 8 RBI

Smith 8-17 (.470) 2 HR 10 RBI

The Expos will be back in action as they travel to Regina to face the Athletics before heading to Saskatoon this weekend for a pair of doubleheaders.