The Prince Albert Astros came to play at the Max Bell Diamonds at Prime Ministers’ Park on Friday afternoon.
Both the U13 and U11 A Astros claimed a pair of victories
The U13 Astros knocked off the Parkland Wildcats 7-3 in their morning game and knocked off the Dundurn Detonators 10-0 in their afternoon game.
U13 Astros head coach Brad Casavant says he was pleased with the Prince Albert bats in their afternoon game.
“I thought we hit the ball really well. We got some clutch hits when we needed them. I think even more importantly, we threw lots of strikes and played really well on defense and shut them out.”
The Astros scored five runs in the first off of Dundurn starter Cayden Adamus without the aid of a hit, five walks and a hit batter.
A leadoff double off the bat of Liam Bergen set the pace in the second inning as Prince Albert would add four more runs. Kylan Constant would single home a pair of runs in the inning as the Astros would strike for four in the frame.
Another pair of hits in the bottom of the third would lead to two more Astros runs invoking the 10-run mercy rule and ending the game.
The Astros pitching staff held the Detonator bats to no hits in the shutout win. Casavant says he was pleased with how Prince Albert was pitching to contact throughout the game.
“It just goes to show how hard those guys work all the time and we preach strikes and use your defense all the time and that’s what they did today so I’m really proud of the effort.”
With the win, the Astros will be in control of their own destiny heading into the weekend. The top four teams qualify for the championship round. Castavant says he is hoping the team can build on the early momentum.
“(I’m) very happy we’ve put ourselves in a really good spot, standings-wise, heading into tomorrow, so we just got to keep the momentum going. (I’m) just really proud of the team and expect us to keep getting better as the weekend goes on.”
The U13 Astros will take on the Saskatoon Selects at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Kinsmen Field before playing the Ochapowae Loud Voice at 7 p.m. at Optimist Field.
In the U11 bracket, the PA Astros A defeated the Parkland Wildcats Green 14-1 in their morning game before knocking off the Saskatoon Selects Fury 20-0 in their afternoon contest.
The PA Astros B lost in their first game 17-4 after the Parkland Wildcats Blue. Results from the afternoon contest between Parkland Wildcats Green and PA Astros B were not available as of press time.
PA Astros A and PA Astros B will face off at 8:30 a.m. at Optimist Field on Saturday morning. In their afternoon games, Astros A will take on Dundurn at 12:30 p.m. while Astros B takes on the Saskatoon Selects Longhorns. Both games will be an Optimist Field.
sports@paherald.sk.ca
