A fifth-inning comeback by the Stettler Stealers was not enough to send the Rockies Sundevils packing, even though it gave the local team a new wind as it closed up the 12-1 gap.
The Stettler bantam baseball team had a rough start during the first inning as they had to pull their pitcher, whose sore shoulder led to inconsistent pitching, letting the Sundevils get an early lead on the team.
By the fifth inning, the Sundevils had managed to shut down the Stealers’ batters, striking hitter after hitter out, and quickly finishing off anyone who managed to hit the ball with superb catching.
In the fifth, after shutting down the Sundevils in a quick bottom of the fourth, the Stealers seemed to rebound.
The normally adept aim of the Sundevils’ pitcher and players were off, and error after error allowed the Stealers to live up to their name, stealing base after base.
By the end of the fifth, the Stealers had narrowed the gap to 12-7, aided in part by a home run by Andrew Bauman, with a man on base.
“Good rally, boys,” called coach Jeff Lee. “That was awesome.”
The good feeling didn’t last long into the sixth inning as, wary of the Stettler team, the Rockies regrouped and not only recouped the six runs, but gained a seventh, leading to 19-7 score.
The game ended after the sixth inning after the Rockies shut down the Stealers in four batters.
For his part, Lee was still proud of his team and the players who battled hard despite the deficit.
“They came alive at the end,” he said. “They had a rough start and having to pull our pitcher didn’t help.”
It’s one of the few losses for the Stealers so far this season, and the team is one of the leaders in the league.