They didn’t know how much baseball they needed to play on the evening of July 30. It might have been an inning, it might have been a full game. Either way, the SESBL playoff series between the Yorkton E&S Yankess and the Willowbrook Royals was going to end that night.
The first inning was the end of the previous game in Willowbrook, which was called due to a lack of light on July 24 while tied 4-4. If Willowbrook ended the inning with more runs than Yorkton, there would be a second game. That’s exactly what they did, allowing no runs from the Yankees and then scoring themselves, winning the second game of the series.
“We were prepared to play one inning, or 8 or 9 or 10, however long it took. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy here,” said Mark Jacobs, Yankees player/coach.
The second game went the Yankees way, as they were able to get on the board early with three runs. The Royals came back to tie it with three of their own, but the Yankees were able to connect with the ball and open up a comfortable lead after that.
Jacobs was proud of how the team bounced back after a tough loss at the beginning of the night.
“The guys responded very well.”
Jacobs noted that their pitching was a highlight of the evening.
“Logan Calanchie, he was ready to throw all day... That’s the kind of leadership you need at this level.”
The final score at the end of the evening was 10-3 for the Yankees.
The next series will see the Yankees meet the Langenburg Legends, which Jacobs knows is going to be a tough contest.
“They’ve always been a tough team. They’re a well-balanced team, they hit the ball well, they field the ball well, they’ve got some really good pitchers. It’s definitely going to be a battle, this one wasn’t easy, but the next one isn’t going to be easy either.”
