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For the 5th time since the Rosalind team moved to the Powerline Baseball League, the Rosalind Athletics would travel to take another "Athletics" team, these unique stats presented by the PBL twitter account.  The Sherwood Park Athletics are a new team in the league, after a season of mergering and folding teams, it was nice to add another big city team where the boys can watch playoff hockey post game.

Staff ace, Dan Enright, got his first start of the year after being pencilled in to start the last two games in Leduc and versus Armena that were postponed due to rain.  Enright lost his no hitter quickly, as the lead off batter hit a single up the middle.  The world travelling right hander however showed no Vegas bachlore party rust, as he kept Sherwood Park off the scoreboard in his two innings of work.

Rookie Tanner Foss took to the hill to get some innings in for the bottom of the third, and showed a lot of promise.  Great pop to his fastball with good sinking movement, reserved for higher levels of seniors mens baseball.  Workhorse Brayden Benson closed out the game with a one-two-three inning, while working on adding a new pitch to his arsenal that already made him one of the A's most consistent pitchers in his young career.

Offensively, the 18 year veteran, Adam Enright, was barrelling balls all night during his 3 for 4 performance with 3 RBI's, in the big field of Centennial Park.  The firery ginger, Mark Gjesdal has yet to be put out this young season, adding a 2 for 2 display with a walk.  Chance Wheatley went 2 for 3 with a single and a double, which must have caught the eye of the WMBL scouts, as the youngster will be heading to Yorkton, SK to join the Cardinals for the second year.

Rosalind got out to the early lead in the top of the first inning, as the young Sherwood Park pitcher had trouble finding the zone, yielding four runs while only giving up one hit.  A hit by pitch in the middle of three hits by the top of the order chalked up 2 more runs for the older A's in the second inning.  In the fifth inning, Rosalind was able to the crucial two extra runs in the scorebook, for a ten run lead, after Yuha and Benson walked, Dan Enright pulled a sac fly into left field and Adam Enright put the dagger RBI single in pen.

The Athletics have games on back to back nights next week, as the Armena rainout game has been moved to May 31.  First, Rosalind hosts the resurgent Camrose Roadrunners on Tuesday night before the Armena Royals comem to town on Wednesday night.

Saturday, May 13th, was a big day that signalled Opening Day in the Powerline Baseball League, and the kickoff to the Rosalind Athletics campaign as the reigning PBL Champions after the epic 2016 finals versus the Armena Royals.  It was short off season, as the 2016 playoffs went deeper in to August than ever before.  Not much time for the A's to make roster moves, prepare arms and swing many bats before the 2017 season got underway.

After his remarkable big game performance in game 3 and a half of the Championship Series, Ryan Yuha got the call as the Opening Day starter for the Athletics.  The A's would be taking on a new team, the Tofield Lakers (a merger of the vaunted Ryley Rebels and the Bardo Athletics).  On a side note, with Bardo folding, the "Athletics" team name would have thought to be back to a normal one per league, but the expansion team in Sherwood Park made sure to bring the CFL to the PBL, making sure there will again be two "Athletics" teams.  Back to the game...yes, Ryan Yuha got the Opening Day start.  After throwing a lot during the winter, Yuha looked in fine form as he threw 3 innings, allowing 2 runs, but none of them earned.  Mark Gjesdal closed out the games final 4 innings in impressive fashion.  The young ginger was throwing decent heat, racking up 3 strikeouts, one walk and only two hits allowed on his way to only 1 run allow, which again, wasn't earned.

Offensively, Nic Ronsko made a strong first impression for the legendary A's powerful offence, crushing a 3 run bomb in the bottom of the 2nd inning.  "The Rod of Ron"'s early jump on the homerun title on the A's, that is typically capture with one homerun on the season, got some company, as Sheldon Pederson also hit a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth inning.  Stay tuned to the stats page to see if someone hits more than one this season. The Vegas betting line isn't displaying much confidence.  After Ronsko's dinger, he was pitched around, with two subsequent walks to maintain a perfect on base percentage.  Clayton Harbak provided an RBI single in the bottom of the 3rd, after Ryan Yuha had an important stolen base.

The most important play of the game may not have come from the offence or the pitching.  With the bases loaded and one out, a hard hit ground ball to the right side of the infield and more specifically the first base side of second baseman Steve Enright.  No one would have been disappointed if he made the easier play, to just flip it to first.  However, the crafty veteran spun and fired a strike to a high calibre shortstop who with fundamentally sound footwork completed the back half of the double play with a sidearm bullet back to first to close out the Braves rally in the top of the 4th.

The A's kick off the mid week portion of the PBL schedule by facing the Leduc Milleteers on Tuesday at 7pm in Leduc, followed by a rematch of the last two PBL finals with the Armena Royals on Thursday in Rosalind.

The Rosalind A’s return for the 2017 season as the defending PBL champions. The Athletics finished the 2016 season on a high with a thrilling 16 inning championship game and are eager to get back on the diamond. The goal for the A’s this year is nothing less than to extend their championship series appearances to 9 straight seasons, in both the BRBL and PBL, and repeat as back to back PBL champs.

It’s going to be an interesting year for the A’s as a transition to a younger team begins to take shape over the next few years. The roster is full of veterans, many of whom have been with the team since the mid 2000’s. Returning players include:

-          Brayden Benson, inning eater and owner of the championship RBI in 2016

-          Josh Burnstad, the strongest guy on the team who gets to play whenever he shows up because, well, he is a damn good ball player

-          Adam Enright, entering his 18^th year wearing the Athletics crest and mainstay at shortstop

-          Dan Enright, the center of the A’s rotation when he isn’t  out of the country

-          Matt Enright, hasn’t injures his hammy in at least 3 seasons

-          Steve Enright, led the team in hits and runs scored in 2016

-          Mark Gjesdal, relocated to Camrose for the A’s and beaming confidence after his coming out party that was the 2016 playoffs

-          Clayton Harbak, tearing up the gaps for stand up singles since 2008

-          Cory Lohr, converted slo-pitch fundamentalist

-          Bart Orr, has to play one more year so that he can finally bring his finished  A’s truck out

-          Sheldon Pederson, mainstay behind the plate and the glue behind the scenes

-          Nic Ronsko, Lasik improved his batting average by 200pts last year; Resident kite flyer

-          Brett Yuha, strongest arm on the team and one of the only single guys with stories

-          Ryan Yuha, played every position once again in 2016 and earned the W in the championship game

The team hopes to get contributions from some incoming youth. Local kid Brock Sheets and aspiring base coach Ty Twitchell are expected to contribute when not busy with midget ball. Both players dipped their toes in with the A’s in 2016 and we are pleased to have them out more this year. Fifteen year old Carter MacDonald, son of long time Athletic Skip MacDonald, may be making his A’s debut this coming year as well. All three kids were born after Adam first put on the orange and black. Tanner Foss, product of Round Hill minor ball, is also hoping to become a mainstay of the A’s roster. Tanner comes in unknown to most on the team but he tells us he can pitch, so he gets a jersey.

The A’s are also pleased to be getting a boost from nearby Bawlf product, Sam Johnson. Sam has played the last few years with Spring Lake of the BRBL and current work commitments have made the travel of the PBL more realistic for him. Sam swings a heavy bat and will help out the again pitching staff, provide some relief for Sheldon behind the plate, and fill in throughout the corner infield.

As is every season, guys will come and go as the season progresses.  The A’s hope to get a combination of at least 9 out every night and will once again rely on hitting by committee and strong defense to pick up wins over the upcoming season and to defend the championship title.

The season kicks off with a tough home matchup against the newly formed Tofield Braves, a combination of the 1^st place Ryley Rebels and the Bardo Athletics. Other changes to the league include, thought to be young and upcoming Beaumont Angels, folding for the season which in all likelihood will bolster the roster of the Leduc Milleteers and potentially the Armena Royals. New to the league in 2017 are the Sherwood Park Athletics. The Holden Blue Jays and the Camrose Roadrunners once again return to make a 7 team league. The A’s will host the Armena Royals early on, on May 18^th, for a rematch of the championship series.  

First pitch, Saturday May 13^th. 2PM. Rosalind. Here we go again…

After an exceedingly epic and intense game three, that didn't seem like it could get any better, exceeded expecations and went even further. The Athletics and Royals played an amazing 16 inning game, that even people following play by play on twitter said was "the greatest game ever played".  Jason Buzzell authored a tremendous article, a must read, on the PBL website and perfectly described the highs and lows for both teams all in the matter of 16 innings and two days.  Click here (http://powerlinebaseball.com/2016/08/11/the-greatest-game-ever-played/) to read his insights and comments, you won't be disappointed.

After coming in to close out and hold the Royals in the bottom of the 9th inning, Ryan Yuha continued/got the start for the Athletics in the 10th inning.  Coming into the game, it was anticipated that for better or worse, especially how both teams were scoring runs in extra innings, that the finale to the marathon would be a short affair.  But that was short sighted.  Yuha ended up pitching a "complete game" shutout, going 7 innings to win the championship.  It wasn't without some very intense moments.  The biggest of all was a bases loaded, one out and 3-0 count on the Royals batter.  Yuha and the A's defence pulled off a Houdini of an escape act to prevent any runners from scoring.  When push came to shove, Yuha struck out the final Royals batter capping off a legendary game.  All Yuha does is win Provincial Finals and League Championships, not a bad pitching resume.

Offensively, Rosalind was not without chances themselves, as they had runners in scoring position in the every inning from the 12th to the 16th innings.  In the top of the 16th, Matt Enright led off with a walk before Sheldon Pederson advanced Matt to second with a sacrifice bunt.  Not the fleetest of foot, the A's were fortunate to have Enright advance to third on a passed ball.  Mark Gjesdal, coming off his monster homerun in the first portion of the game, reached first base as he was hit by a pitch for the second time in the back half of game 3.  Brayden Benson looked the opportunity to become a Rosalind hero straight in the eyes, and drove a single through the infield on the leftside to score the eventual game winning run.  Benson made great use of his brand new bat, which assumably will be mounted on the wall in the Rosalind bachelor pad.

Defensively, you have to have numerous highlight reel plays in a 0-0 sudden death ball game to hold the Royals off the scoreboard.  Brett Yuha made 3 or 4 running catches on hard hit balls to left field that were game savers.  Mark Gjesdal tracked down a frozen rope hit into the left center gap by the Royals most dangerous hitter that was sure to be a stand up double.  Lastly, Sheldon Pederson threw out three potential Armena base runners attempting to swipe second base.

After all was said and done, the final game of the PBL Championship series will go down in history as one of the greatest games ever played.  It had it all.  Shutdown pitching, clutch hitting, and memorable defensive plays all culminating in a perfect display of what Senior men's baseball can be.  Talented, exciting, and intense.  The teams may have been playing for bragging rights and a trophy, but that game, and the whole series will be talked about for generations.  Legendary!!

A huge thank you for all the fan support, especially during the playoff run.  It was definitely felt, and greatly appreciated.

The winner take all rubber match for the Powerline Baseball League trophy was to be settled on Tuesday night in Armena.  After a few rain showers during the morning and afternoon, the game was tentative at best, but the weather and diamond turned out to be perfect.  With hundreds of fans, in the stands and down the baseline fences, the Royals and Athletics put on an intense and exciting game for all to see.

Dan Enright, the staff ace this season, got the vital start for the Athletics in game three.  The right hander was coming off the game one win in the championship series, and looking to give Rosalind their first championship since 2011.  Enright battled through, and continued to pitch well through out the game.  The blemish came as the Royals shortstop was able to pull a good inside pitch down the line for a 3 run homerun.  Unfortunately, in the bottom of the eight, the Royals were able to rally around a 2 run shot to the opposite field.  Brayden Benson came on in relief of Enright, who went 7 1/3.  Benson got the A's out the the bottom of the eighth with a tie ball game.  The young right hander had a bumpier start the the bottom of the ninth, walking three batters.  Ryan Yuha came on to stop the Royals rally, with the bases loaded and a 2-0 count on the Armena clean up batter.  After walking the first batter, Yuha was able to induce two fielders choices, but the Royals had tied the game at 8.

Offensively, Rosalind battled and continued to put together solid, productive at bats through out the game.  The A's got on the board first, as veteran Bart Orr hit a one out single and stolen second.  Steve Enright drove in the first run of the game, as Orr scored on a two out single.  After the Royals had taken the lead in the bottom of the third, the A's were put together a rally in the top of the 5th, when Nic Ronsko led off with a double.  Ronsko's smart baserunning got himself in a position to score on Brett Yuha's single.  After a stolen base, Yuha scored on an error by the second baseman on Steve Enright's hard hit ball, tying the ball game at 3.

In the top of the eight inning, firstbaseman Clayton Harbak got the ball rolling for the A's with a one out hard hit single.  Sheldon Pederson walked to put to the go ahead runner in the scoring position.  With two out, Mark Gjesdal hit a monster three run homerun off the Royals hard throwing pitcher, to put the Athletics up 6-3.

After the Royals rallied in the bottom of eight to tie the game, the A's forged ahead again in the top of the 9th.  Ryan Yuha found a hole with a one out single, and Matt Enright walked.  With runners on first and third, Sheldon Pederson hit a two out double to centerfield, scoring two runs and putting the A's ahead 8-6.

With the score tied, 8-8 after 9 innings and the sun setting, the umps suspended the game on acount of darkness.  After a lenghty meeting on the field and then further discussion afterwards, the teams agreed to pick things up tomorrow night, Wednesday at 7:30pm in Armena.  Hopefully the tremendous fan support is able come out and support the A's one more time in the 2016 season.

On Thursday night, Rosalind hosted the Armena Royals for game two of the Powerline Baseball League championship series.  After a game one win in Armena on Tuesday, the A's were one game away from claiming their first League championship since 2011.  With plenty of crowd support, beautiful weather and a trophy at the park, it was going to be an exciting night of PBL baseball.

Steve Enright got the start for the Rosalind Athletics, coming off a dominating performance in game two versus the Ryley Rebels in the semi finals.  Enright has had an impressive bounce back year after two previous seasons were derailed by injuries. The Royals put together solid at bats, and were able to get a few fly balls to fall between A's fielders or seeing eye singles through the infield.  Some tough luck mixed with good Armena hitting.  Steve Enright left the game after a line drive up the middle caught him in the leg.  Enright went 3 1/3 innings, 5 runs against, 4 earned, 8 hits, 2 strike outs and no walks.  Brayden Benson come on in relief, having last pitched a complete game shutout versus Holden at the end of the regular season.  The young right hander continued his tremendous consistency of pounding the zone, keeping the ball down and mixing in his offspeed pitches. Benson did his job, and keep the game within striking distance for the Rosalind offence.  Brayden's line read 3 2/3 innings, 1 earned run, 5 hits, and one walk. 

Brett Yuha made yet another stellar play in the outfield, as he walked into a bases loaded, one out, fly ball to right field and threw an absolute laser home on a line to get the Armena baserunner.

Offensively, the Athletics were unable to string together timely hits and unfortunately left plently of runners in scoring position.  Adam Enright had a game for the A's, going 4 for 4 and continuing to show he's still got decent wheels, extending his stolen base streak.  Sheldon Pederson added a 2 for 3 performance, with a couple of stolen bases.  Rosalind was always one hit away with runners in scoring position from swinging momentum back onto their side, but the Royals pitcher did a good job and you have to give him credit for shutting the door.

The third and final game goes on Tuesday in Armena for all the marbles.  Down, but not defeated, the Athletics are eager to get back to Anniversary Park and bring the PBL Championship trophy home with them.  See you all on Tuesday, it promises to be a good one.

The Rosalind Athletics are in the league finals again.  A quick look back at their history, this is (at least) their 8th year in a row in the league finals of either the Battle River Baseball League or the Powerline League.  Somehow, the A's have only sipped at the sweet taste of victory twice in those years.  After a disappointing showing in the finals last year, Rosalind couldn't be hungrier to prove that they have what it takes when it all counts.  After dispatching of the Ryley Rebels in two games, and the Armena Royals riding a roller coaster to a game three win versus Beaumont, the A's and Royals will face eachother again for the PBL Championship.

Dan Enright has been a Cy Young type canidate in the PBL this year, and was an obvious choice to get the game one start for the finals.  Sporting an ERA of 0.60 this season, the young right hander has been on top of his game through out the year, with good fastball command and his ability to throw his offspeed pitches to both sides of the plate.  His arm was definitely missed in the finals last year, and the A's hoped to make good use of his start in game one.

Early on, the Royals had their hitting shoes on, stringing together 3 hits in the bottom of the first inning to take a 2-1 lead.  Enright settled in from there, and went to work inducing a lot of fly balls over the next 4 innings.  The Royals put runs on the board in the sixth and seventh innings, but at that point the Athletics had the game in control.  Enright threw yet another 7 inning, complete game victory allowing 6 runs on 10 hits, with 5 strikeouts and 3 walks.

Offensively, the Athletics got production throughout the order.  In particular, Steve Enright continued the torrid pace that he's been on, going 4 for 5 with 2 clutch RBI's.  Going into the top of the fifth inning, the A's were trailing 2-1.  Mark Gjesdal led off with a single before Brett Yuha laid down a sacrifice bunt to put the tying run in scoring position.  Steve Enright drove in the tying run and started a rally.  Burnstad followed with another signle, and Adam Enright walked to load the bases for Harbak, who promptly delivered a go ahead single.

In the top of the sixth inning, the Atheltics were able to hang another crooked number on the board

Tournament summary to follow...