Most years, the Veitch’s Ultramar Hawks always seemed to find a way.
Whether it was finishing first in the regular season, capturing another Corner Brook Molson Senior Baseball League title, or just holding a decided upperhand in their long-standing rivalry with the Veitch Wellness Aces, the Hawks managed to pull through, despite whatever adversity they may have faced.
It turns out, 2018 will go down as one of the years they didn’t, as the Aces — after edging out the Hawks for second place in the regular season standings — sent gang green out of the playoffs with a 10-2 triumph on Monday night at Jubilee Field. They took the best-of-five semifinal series in four games and will now meet the top-seeded West Side Monarchs in a championship series that begins 7 p.m. Thursday.
Michael Tavenor struck out seven batters en route to the win on the mound, allowing two runs on just six hits throughout his seven-inning showing. He walked one batter.
Tavenor was also a force at the dish, scoring twice and driving in another in a 2-for-4 effort. Doug King, Ryan Park and Steve Kelly were also 2-for-4 on the night.
King scored three runs and picked up one RBI, while Park had two runs and one RBI, and Kelly collected one of each.
Fred Prosper and Ryan Hepditch both recorded 2-for-3 stat lines in the loss, with Prosper accounting for both Hawks’ runs. Perry Alexander drove him in both times.
Cory Lockyer had a rough go in a 3.1-inning outing for the Hawks, where he walked seven batters, including four in the second inning with the bases loaded that led to four Aces’ runs. In total, he gave up eight runs (three earned) on six hits, with three strikeouts.
Frank Humber pitched 2.2 innings, giving up two runs on four hits, while Aaron Purcel Pilgrim closed out the game in the losing cause, allowing two hits.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Aces 1 5 0 2 0 2 0 10 12 0
Hawks 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 6 3
