~~Archived news From Old Website 2009-2013

 

2013

Article Date: Aug 2, 2013

Milleteers Walk Off The Five Peat
 
 
 
 
After a barn burner in game 1, the Holden Blue Jays and Leduc Milleteers topped it in the finale of the closest PBL final in years.  On the mound tonight for the Holden Blue Jays was all star Logan Skori.  Opposing him for the Milleteers was veteran chucker Steven Pahl, who going into the contest was 10-1 all time in PBL playoff games. 
 
The Blue Jays would get on the board early as they used a one out walk and back to back hits to score one in the first.  The Milleteers would answer back as CF Greg Zilkie led off with a walk and a steal before scoring on a Jon Anstey single.  Another hit would setup a first and second with two outs, when Mark Walker got a clutch two out single and Anstey beat the throw at home to give the Milleteers a one run lead.
 
Pahl would keep the Blue Jays in check for the next three innings as he had the curve and slider working tonight as he would collect nine strikeouts.  The Milleteers would threaten again in the third inning as Anstey mashed a knuckle ball that would have been a bomb in any other park in the league, but had to settle for a double.  Pahl then helped his own cause with an infield single, but Skori would buckle down and get a strikeout to end the threat.
 
In the fourth the Milleteers looked like they would break it open after the lead off man got on with a dropped third strike.  After a sac bunt and two walks the Milleteers had the bases loaded with the meat of the order coming up.  Again Skori would wriggle out of it as he got a big strikeout, and an even bigger ground out to third as Colten Zeigler was a highlight reel over there for the Blue Jays all night as he took away at least three hits.
 
That seemed to get the Blue Jays fired up as they tied it up in the fifth after Grayson Suprovich lined a two out single, then stole second, before being singled in by LF Alan Zeigler.  The Milleteers looked primed to answer back in the sixth as 1B Chad Soucy led off with a single, but the Milleteers would strand two to send it to the seventh tied.
 
Pahl got two strikeouts to start the seventh, but Suprovich again hit a two out single to get something going.  On the first pitch he took off again for another stolen base, but catcher Brad Engel gunned him out to end the threat and setup the dramatic finish.
 
After Skori got Anstey to pop out to left, Steven Pahl stepped in to help his on cause as he ripped a one hopper that knee capped short stop Grayson Suprovich and Pahl rumbled into first.  After a big strikeout Mark Walker would collect his second hit of the night to setup a first and second with two out.  Then the Milleteers went to the bench and brought in pinch hitter Trevor Pahl with his blown out hamstring.  Like Kirk Gibson thirty years before, Trevor only had about one swing left in his injured leg, and like Gibson he delivered the clutch hit with a soft liner up the middle.  Steven Pahl got a great jump on the swing and was chugging as hard as he could to beat the throw, but the center fielder muffed the pick up and the Milleteers poured out of the dug out to celebrate.
 
This one was especially sweet as it took a total team effort and the young Blue Jays gave the Milleteers all they could handle.  With two thirds of the regular starting lineup out of commission the Milleteers got contributions from everyone, and finally showed the defense that earned them the first four championships as they were flawless in the field with an error free game.  After the game the cup took its annual journey to Leanne`s where the mayor of Millet looked on with pride as the boys drank out of it till the sun came up.
 
 

Article Date: Jul 30, 2013

Milleteers Take Game 1 in A Thriller
 
 
 
Game one of the 2013 PBL championship series wasn't necessarily the most well played ball game, but it sure was exciting.  The Milleteers limped into Holden tonight with a short bench and a bunch of wounded bodies as they took on the regular season champs.
 
The Milleteers looked poised to jump on Blue Jay starter Grayson Suprovich in the first as catcher Shane Gerein lined one over the infield, but Suprovich caught him sleeping at first and picked him off.  Jon Anstey would then line a single the other way, but could only get as far second as the Pahl brothers Trevor and Steven failed to cash him in.  In the second the Milleteers got a one out walk, but failed to cash it in as well.

On the other side of the ball Milleteers starter Jon Anstey was cruising early as the Blue Jays couldn't catch up with the fire baller as he sat the first nine batters he faced down, including a handful of strikeouts.  The Milleteers would give him some run support in the third as Gerein would plate on a throwing error on the third baseman on a Trevor Pahl grounder after the Milleteers got a two out rally going.  Steven Pahl would then cash in Anstey with a bloop double down the third base line, but the Pahl brothers would be stranded in scoring position.
 
The offense would strike again in the fourth for the Milleteers as veteran second baseman Shawn Brinkworth would reach on another Blue Jay error.  After a wild pitch moved him to second Brinkworth would score on a Mark Walker double, but just  barely.  Brinkworth had to hold up as center fielder Alan Zeigler looked like he might get to it, but when it fell, Brinkworth started hobbling around the bases nursing his cracked tibia.  After a great rely to the plate it looked like Brinkworth would be dead in the water, but a high tag allowed him to slide in underneath safely to give the Milleteers a three run lead.
 
Holden would answer back in their half of the fourth as the leadoff hitter got on with an infield error.  Then he stole second and got the benefit of the doubt on a bang bang call at the bag.  He would then score on another infield error before Anstey would strike his way out of the jam to keep the Milleteers in front.
 
In the fifth the Blue Jays continued to try and claw their way back in it after they got their first hit of the game to lead off the fifth.  Then after Anstey threw away the sac bunt, the Blue Jays had runners at first and third.  Anstey would promptly pick the runner at first off, but another hit and error would plate the run and setup another first and third.  The next hitter would then hit a little bloop behind second that the second baseman got to, and then doubled off the runner at first as the Blue Jays ran themselves out of a potentially huge inning with two big base running blunders.
 
In the sixth the Milleteers went to the bull pen as Anstey was tiring, but Chad Soucy was greeted with a leadoff single.  After a successful bunt that moved the runner over, another error scored the run as the Blue Jays got another unearned run.  Soucy would then buckle down and get out of the inning with a strikeout with the game tied again.
 
In the top of the seventh the Milleteers had the meat of the order up, but Suprovich finally got Gerein and Anstey out as they had been thorns in his side all night.  Then he needed to just get 0.185 hitting Adam Pahl out, who was in for his injured brother Trevor, to give his team a chance for the walkoff.  Adam had better ideas as the speedster hit a slow roller down the third base line that the third baseman would probably have been better off eating, but made an ill advised throwing error to allow Adam to cruise into second.  Then for the second time in the contest Steven Pahl delivered a two out RBI hit, this one lined just over the short stop's head to send the Milleteers to the bottom of the seventh with a one run lead.
 
The Blue Jays weren't ready to go quietly though as catcher Dylan Boyko led off with a HBP after being grazed with an 0-2 pitch.  After a successful sacrifice moved the runner into scoring position the next batter then hit a grounder down the third base line that third baseman Brad Engel dove an stopped, but had to eat as he had no play.  With the tieing and go ahead runs on base Holden turned the lineup over as Suprovich tried to help his own cause as he hit a grounder up the middle, but Anstey got to it and stepped on the bag for one, but the throw was a little late to first to setup up a first and third with two out.  Soucy then dug deep and got a swinging strike three to end it with the tieing run on third.
 
The tight win was a big one for the Milleteers, but also a costly one as they may have lost their clean up hitter Trevor Pahl for the series with a leg injury.  With Ryan Walker being a question mark with a fractured finger and Brinkworth hobbling the Milleteers are quickly running out of healthy infielders.  Next game will be Thursday in Leduc with the probable starters being All Star Logan Skori for the the Blue Jays and veteran Steven Pahl for the Milleteers.  First pitch at seven bells.
 
 
Article Date: Jul 26, 2013

Milleteers Hold On To Take Out Royals
 
 
 
 
After a well played game in the opener, both teams limped to the diamond in game two dealing with injury shortened rosters.  With Armena's five game winner Ian Sherbaniuk on the DL and Leduc's Ryan Walker suffering a broken finger in last game both teams were short on arms.  The Milleteers handed the ball off to veteran Steve Pahl, while the Royals countered with lefty Dean Prpick.
 
The Royals started off the first with some small ball as SS Adam Johnson led off with a bunt single.  RF Jason Buzzell followed that up with a bloop single to left that the left fielder got a bad jump on as it should've been caught.  Pahl would then get a fly out and ground out and looked like he would wriggle out of it, but a two run throwing error on the third baseman got the Royals on the board.  The Milleteers would answer right back though as they used Prpick's wildness to first score one on a past ball, then another three on a Josh Johnson double that cleared the bases.
 
After both teams went three up, three down in the second, the third inning was another long one.  First in the top half, Johnson again led off with a single to get things started.  A fielder's choice would get the first out, then a lazy fly ball was dropped in left to open the flood gates as the Royals got back to back singles to tie it up.  Then another two run error on second baseman Brad Engel, playing in place of Shawn Brinkworth who is out with a cracked shin, would put the Royals up by two again.
 
The lead was short lived though as the Milleteers would bat around in their half.  Trevor Pahl got it started with a walk, followed by a HBP to his brother Steve to put two on.  Engel followed up with a single to score one and setup a first and third.  Then the Royals got sloppy as Prpick got a comebacker that should have been an easy double play, but threw the ball away at second to tie the game and setup a first and second situation.  Then Mark Walker waved at a sacrifice bunt and missed and the catcher tried to pick off Engel at second, but his throw was off the mark and both runners moved up a base.  Two more walks would give the Milleteers the lead and loaded the bases.  The Milleteers would cash in three more on a sac fly and a two out double from SS Jon Anstey to give them a four run lead.
 
Bolstered by his team's offensive outburst, Pahl would only allow one base runner over the next three innings as he had it on cruise control.  On offense the Milleteers would continue to threaten to tack on runs, but they left four runners on without capitalizing.
 
In the seventh the Royal bats finally showed signs of life as Johnson again led off with a hit, this time a double.  Buzzell followed it up with a hit of his own and the Royals were in business.  Pahl would then get a tailor made double play ball that should've ended the threat, but second baseman Brad Engel booted it, literally, to load up the bases.  Pahl would then get three ground balls in a row that the defence converted to end it with the tieing run at the plate.  With all the costly errors and timely hitting in this one, the difference was in the free passes as Prpick walked nine and hit one, while Pahl made the Royals earn their base runners as he didn't walk anyone.
 
With the win the Milleteers will be off to their fifth final in a row, this time taking on the Holden Blue Jays who also swept their series against the Bardo Athletics.  With the lose the Royals will head into the off season earlier than they anticipated after being the top team in the league most of the year before running out of gas at the end.  They lost their last four games to lose their grip on first place in the regular season and to get swept out in the first round.  Maybe coach Buzzell will have to hire a strength and conditioning coach this off season, or if the players aren't ready for that much hard work, maybe he could get some "consulting" from Biogenesis so the boys can finish stronger.

Article Date: Jul 24

Anstey Powers Past Royals In Game 1
 
 
 
 
For the first time in five years the Milleteers had to start a playoff series on the road, and for the first time in five years the Milleteers didn't need a come from behind win in their last bat in the opening game of the playoffs.
 
It was a tight game early on as starters Jon Anstey and Joel Boettger had no trouble in the first as they each put down the hitters 1-2-3.  In the top of the second the Milleteers managed the game's first base runner courtesy of a one out walk, but it was quickly erased on the next pitch with an inning 6-4-3 double play.  In the bottom half the Royals would get a two out double from player-coach Jason Buzzell, but would fail to capitalize.
 
In third the Milleteers would get a rally going as the Walker brothers led off with back to back singles.  Then with the number nine hitter up to bat, everyone in the park knew a sac bunt was coming, but it was placed so perfectly Boettger had to just pick it up and concede the hit.  With the bases loaded and none out the Royals decided to play for a double play as they had the infield back, and it would cost them as Greg Zilkie hit a grounder to the shortstop, who went to second, but Zilkie beat out the back end at first, while a run scored.  Then Zilkie quickly stole second to put two runners in scoring position, which catcher Shane Gerein cashed in with a single.  The Milleteers threatened for more, but the inning ended on a bizarre runner interference call on a pop up where the second baseman got a bad break on the ball and stuck his arm out at the runner, despite having a clear lane to the ball.
 
The Royals threatened to get back into it in their half with two outs after an error and a miscommunication on a fly ball had runners at second and third, but Anstey would strikeout all star Dean Prpick to end the threat.  After that neither team would offer much offense until the seventh.  Mark Walker would again be in the thick of it as he drew a one out walk, followed by another Adam Pahl bunt that was thrown away to set up a first and third with the top of the order up.  Lead off man Greg Zilkie would deliver a single to score one, but Pahl got a bad read off second and was thrown out by ten feet at the plate to end the threat and send the Milleteers to the bottom of the seventh with a four run lead.
 
The Royals would finally get something going off Anstey in the seventh as a leadoff single and a walk had them in business.  A fielder's choice and another single would finally break the goose egg and bring the tieing run to the plate, but Anstey would dig deep and got two fly outs to center to finish off the game and give the Milleteers the lead in the best of three series.  Game two goes Thursday in Leduc.
 
Article Date: Jul 16

Milleteers Almost Play A Complete Game, Beat Royals
 
 
 
 
The Milleteers limped into this one on a three game losing streak that put them out of the hunt for first place.  Staring across the diamond was the first place Armena Royals who could clinch first with a win tonight.  It was the Milleteers who struck first as they finally looked like a 4 time defending champ early as they got a clean first after catcher Shane Gerein cut down Zennon Sherbaniuk trying to steal second.  It was more good vintage defense in the second and third innings as pitcher Ryan Walker put up zeros, aided by a diving stop and throw across the diamond from third baseman Josh Johnson.
 
The Milleteers struck for a quick run in the first after Gerein walked and stole second, and then was driven in by Trevor Pahl.  Basically the same formula in the third as center fielder Greg Zilkie lead off with a ripped double, then Trevor Pahl singled him in.  In the fifth the Milleteers finally looked like they would break it open against veteran junk baller Jason Buzzell, who looked pretty good tonight for a pitcher that declared retirement earlier in the season, as they used a couple of doubles and error to plate two, but the wily vet limited the damage.
 
After finally playing a good game on defense the Milleteers started to show cracks in sixth as the Royals got one on a bizarre dropped third strike.  Gerein was breaking in his new glove tonight and the ball popped out, but he threw the runner out at first.  The runner on third then tried to break to home, but was gunned out by ten feet, only to have the  ball pop out again for the Royals first run.
 
The Milleteers then answered back in the bottom half with two more runs to give them a little insurance going into the seventh.  It turns out they needed the runs as the leaky defense that has plagued the Milleteers all season decided to show up.  First second baseman Brad Engel dropped a fly ball and then threw it away to put the leadoff man on.  Then after a fielder's choice, back to back singles and an error in center put two more runners on.  Then an error on the third baseman ended Walker's night despite not giving up an earned run.  In came veteran Steven Pahl with little warm up and little on the fast ball.  He got the first batter he faced to hit an infield pop, before another error to the third baseman and a single put the tieing run on second.  Pahl dug deep however to get the three hole hitter to fly out to center for the save to preserve the win.
 
With the win the Milleteers have assured themselves at least a third place finish, with a chance to finish second with a Holden loss on Thursday.  Armena on the other hand still sits in first, but a Holden win in the final regular season game would bump them down to second.  Either way the playoffs will begin on Tuesday, and for the first time in four years the Milleteers won't

Article Date: Jul 12

Milleteers Embarrass Themselves In Bardo
 
 
 
 
Coming off a tough defeat in Ryley two nights ago that saw the squad crush the ball around the diamond only to be rewarded with a tough luck loss the Milleteers headed down the road to Bardo needing a win if they had any hopes of home field advantage in the playoffs. 
 
After the four games on the weekend the team was a little low on pitching, but had hard throwing youngster Mark Walker rested and ready to go in this one.  It seemed like a good fit as Walker was 3-0 versus the Athletics last year.  It was anything but however as the first inning turned into a ridiculous debacle that resembled a blooper video more than an actual baseball game.  Everyone knows that the Bardo fair grounds can be a difficult place to play at times with the bad hops, swirling winds, and the diamond pointing straight into the sun, but even with all of that good stuff to contend with the Milleteers still took awfulness to a whole new level in the bottom half of the first.
 
It started off well enough as the Milleteers got a couple of hits and stolen bases to plate two in the top half before a nifty double play turned in by the Athletics limited the damage.  The bottom half was a different story.  The leadoff hitter grounded out to third, but a good old Bardo hop ate up the third baseman to get the inning started.  Then four four pitch walks later the game was tied.  Another infield error, followed by another walk, an another infield error, a botched pickoff throw to first, and finally another infield error and the A's had scored seven runs without a hit.  With the game imitating a mosquito house league game coach Steven Pahl was calling for the seven run rule to end the inning, and thankfully the A's seemed to oblige with a stikeout.
 
It didn't get much better in the second as the first pitch Walker threw was a hard fastball right to the spine of A's catcher Ken Bragett, then another error, but the A's would only manage to get one leaving the bases loaded.  After a clean third inning the A's finally decided to score some runs the old fashioned way by actually hitting the ball as they potted another four runs off of six hits and another walk.  At least the outfielders were solid tonight or else the game might still be going on.
 
The shell shocked Milleteers finally snapped out of their bewilderment at what had been happening on the defensive side of the ball in the fifth after a one out walk kick started a six run rally capped off by Millet Minor Ball product Josh Johnson's second double of the wall in as many innings.  This outburst chased the Bardo starter and they were forced to bring in PBL vet Chris Middlestat to stop the bleeding.
 
After the Milleteers surprisingly got back in the game in the fifth they handed the ball off to Steven Pahl, working on short rest and with no warm up.  Despite not being able to break the speed limit with his fastball, he mixed and matched his pitches low in the zone and got through two scoreless innings to give his team a chance for a comeback.  That chance would come in the top of the sixth with the top of the order up.  After leadoff hitter Zack Leach would strikeout, in front of his girlfriend in the crowd no less, Shane Gerein would rip his third hit of the night, followed by a Steven Pahl hit to get things rolling again.  It would all be for not though as cleanup hitter Trevor Pahl would hit a hard grounder up the middle that was turned into a 6-4-3 inning ending double play, although the call on the back end of it was a bit atrocious.  After that the Milleteers would go down meekly in the seventh and with it so to went their chance at a third straight regular season title and free league fees.
 
Next up for the Milleteers will be their final regular season game against the first place Armena Royals on Tuesday, a game that would have been an important game to determine first place.  Now after back to back losses this week the best the Milleteers can do is win and hope for some help to finish second.  Or they can keep losing and possibly finish fourth, which might be more fitting considering their ugly play at times this year.
 
 
 
 Article Date: Jul 8

Bridesmaids Again At Goodfish
 
For the fourth year in a row the Milleteers strolled into the annual Goodfish Lake Treaty Days Tournament with a skeleton crew poised to take on some of the better AA teams around.  First up was the perennial NCABL contenders the  Edmonton Blackhawks led by Stanley Cup champion Randy Gregg.  The Blackhawks came into the game as the defending tournament champs as they nipped the Milleteers 1-0 in the finals last year.
 
 
 
The Milleteers had revenge on their mind however as they pounded out twelve hits off Blackhawks pitcher David Schneider.  The offense was led by emergency pickup Ryan Olson from the Combine Pilots as the Milleteers could only muster up eight bodies for the game as he went three for three out of the nine hole.  Milleteers starter Steven Pahl went the distance picking up eight strikeouts.   After struggling early Pahl found his groove and mixed his pitches well as he put up zeroes the rest of the way.
 
Next up was a noon engagement with the Combine Pilots on Sunday with the winner going straight to the final as the two squads were the only undefeated teams left in the draw.
 
 
 
The Milleteers managed to scrounge up nine players for this one and they handed the ball to hard throwing Brad Engel.  Engel was effectively wild as he would walk six and bean three, but only gave up four hits.  The Milleteers made two costly errors that led to three unearned runs that ended up being the difference as they made a late comeback bid and stranded the tieing and go ahead runs in scoring position after the Combine Pilots made the call to the bullpen.  With the comeback coming up short the Milleteers would have to play an extra game to earn their spot in the final.
 
 
 
In the semi final the Milleteers drew the Edmonton Indians, winners of two of the last three Goodfish tournament titles.  The Milleteers were the better squad in this one though as they pounded the Indians pitching to the tune of eleven runs and seventeen hits.  Even the outs were hard hit balls.  On the defensive side the Milleteers went with their ace Jon Anstey as he blew the Indians away the last time he faced them.  He got off to a rough start as he gave up two in the first, but then he settled in and kept them at bay the rest of the way as he racked up ten strikeouts in his complete game victory to put the Milleteers in the final.
 
 
 
Waiting in the final for the Milleteers were the hard hitting Provost Combine Pilots.  The Milleteers just simply ran out of gas in this one as they had no arms left for their third game in a row, while the rested Combine Pilots had their ace ready to go.  The Milleteers started with Anstey, but he didn't have much zip after already throwing a complete game on the day as the Combine Pilots struck for three in the first.  Anstey then settled down and the defense held tight as he soldiered on for three innings. 
 
The Milleteers got one back in the fourth, and then turned to lefty outfielder Gregg Zilkie, who hadn't seen the mound in two in a half seasons.  Zilkie pitched a clean fourth, then was looking good to start the fifth when he beaned the leadoff hitter on an 0-2 count.  That seemed to rattle him a bit as the Pilots struck for two runs, but then he righted the ship and got the Milleteers out of the inning, then pitched a clean sixth as well to give his squad a chance to comeback.
 
That chance came in the sixth with the meat of the order up as Jon Anstey leadoff with a line drive single as the Milleteers finally started to look like they had solved the Combine Pilots ace.  Trevor Pahl, who had been 6 for his last 7 at that point then stroked the first pitch he saw for another single, but Anstey got a bad read on the ball as the center fielder decoyed him and then threw him out for the force at second.  Steven Pahl then ripped a hard grounder up the middle but the second baseman snared it and the Pilots turned a nifty double play to end the threat and take the wind out of the Milleteers sails.
 
The Pilots would add three more off reliever Josh Johnson in the seventh after Johnson did a Mitch Williams belly flop and winded himself on the first batter he faced as he lost his footing on a pitch, and it took him awhile to recover as he gave up a few hits.  The Milleteers threatened with two on in the last bat, but the failed to capitalize and the Combine Pilots took the championship 8-1.
 
It was a great weekend for ball and the tournament was well run as always.  They even had a home run competition at the end which the Milleteers Steven Pahl won by a score of 1.5 to 1 versus the Combine Pilots Shawn Pilgaard as there was some confusion as to whether one of Pahl's hits was a homer or a ground rule double.  He also had the advantage of the right field fence being 44 feet shorter then left field, but when you get old you need every advantage you can get.
 
 
Article Date: Jul 3

Milleteers Walk Off Rebels
 
 
Tonight both teams finally got back on the field as inclement weather has kept both squads idle for over two weeks.  With the regular season winding down this one was an important one for both teams as the Rebels perilously clung to the final playoff spot, while the Milleteers were looking for a win to regain top spot in the standings.
 
Ryley got off to a good start in the first as the leadoff hitter got on with a walk.  After a couple of strikeouts clean up hitter Craig Koughan blooped a single to right that looked like it would score the runner, but a great throw from right fielder Kirk Smith cut the runner down at the plate on a close call to end the inning.  The missed opportunity was a harbinger for things to come for the Rebel offense as they would leave runners in scoring position in every inning except the seventh.
 
The Milleteers answered back in their half of the first as they got their leadoff hitter on after an error, but he was quickly erased on a nice 6-4-3 double play on the next pitch.  Then a walk and a hit from the Pahl brothers would put two more on, but a soft line out to the short stop would end the threat.
 
After that starter Craig Koughan would put it on cruise control for the next few innings, waiting for his offense to finally cash in some runners.  The Rebel offense finally broke through in the fifth as reliever Ryan Walker came into the game after starter Chad Soucy somehow managed to wriggle out of jams every inning to keep the game scoreless.  Walker would walk shortstop Dylan Solberg, who would then advance to second on a swinging bunt.  After a strikeout would get the Milleteers their second out Walker got a ground ball up the middle that second baseman Shawn Brinkworth got to, but bobbled, leaving no play at first.  Solberg took a big turn around third so Brinkworth threw behind him to pick him off, but the old vet's arm isn't what it used to be and Solberg turned a went home scoring the first run of the game little league style.
 
The Milleteers would answer back in their half of the inning as they finally got to Koughan.  Brinkworth would atone for his miscue earlier as he ripped a leadoff single.  Then with one out catcher Shane Gerein would bloop one behind third setting up a first and third.  Jon Anstey would then step up and rip a double to plate one and put the go ahead run at third.  With the infield drawn in Koughan got a grounder to second and the runner was cut down at the plate on a bang bang play.  Steven Pahl would then step to the dish and he hit a hard grounder to second that should have ended the inning, but the ball took a nasty hop on the bad Leduc infield as they city was too busy cleaning up after the Glass Tiger concert the night before to give the diamonds any attention.  The error would put the Milleteers ahead by one.
 
The Rebels would answer back in the sixth as they got another bizarre run.  Nine hole hitter Donny Oslund got on after striking out, but the ball went to the backstop on the third strike.  Then after a two out hit would put runners at first and second the catcher Shane Gerein tried to pick the runner off at first, but with fielder, runner, and ball all arriving at the same time the ball somehow managed not to hit anything and ended up in right field.  Oslund then got on his old horse and hustled around the bases and just slid in ahead of the throw at the plate to tie it up.
 
Oslund then came in to relieve Koughan, but after a clean sixth, the Milleteers got a leadoff walk and a stolen  base to put the tieing run at second.  Then a past ball moved the runner to third with the Milleteers hottest hitter Trevor Pahl up.  Pahl looked like he had worked a walk, but the umpire gave Oslund a questionable low and outside strike to get the count full.  The cagey vet then throw an off speed pitch in the exact same spot, but Pahl went down to a knee to rip a line drive single to center to walk it off for the Milleteers.
 
The win, combined with a Holden loss puts the Milleteers back on top of the standings, while the Rebels still hold on to fourth after Bardo blew a lead late against Armena.  Next up for the Milleteers will be a tournament on the weekend as they head to Goodfish.

Article Date: Jun 16

Milleteers Slug Their Way To Ryley Days Final
 
 
 
 
 
 
It finally looks like the Milleteers have righted the ship on offense.  After pounding out 15 hits in their last league game the Milleteers kept it up at the annual Ryley Days Tournament.  With the wind blowing out of the smallest park in the league its was going to be a tough day for the pitchers.
 
In the first game the Milleteers faced off against the Barrhead Orioles.  The Orioles jumped on Milleteers starter Ryan Walker with a leadoff single and double before a two out single put them up 2-0 early.  Walker would then settle in as he would only allow one more run and would rack up 8 strikeouts in his five innings of work, but he just could not get out the Orioles leadoff hitter as he was in on all the scoring early.
 
The Milleteers couldn't get anything going against the Orioles starter early, but with two outs in the third they managed to get a couple of runners on to set the table for cleanup hitter Chad Soucy.  Soucy then delivered as he ripped one over the beer gardens in left to give the Milleteers a 3-2 lead.
 
The Milleteers would keep it going in the fourth as they scored another two runs on four hits to increase their lead.  Barrhead would get one back in the sixth off of pitcher Steven Pahl as he came in to try and nail down the save as he gave up a wind aided bomb to the number nine hitter to cut the lead to one.
 
After two quick outs in the bottom of the sixth the Milleteers bats came alive again as the top of the order came up.  Catcher Shane Gerein got on with a single, followed by an Anstey walk and a Pahl RBI single.  Then another single from Soucy and a walk to Walker would load the bases.  Up stepped slumping center fielder Greg Zilkie who connected on the first pitch he saw for a grand slam (maybe a bit wind aided) as he doubled his RBI total for the year and extended the lead to 6.
 
The Orioles wouldn't go down quietly however as they would use a combination of a hit, error, and HBP to load the bases.  Pahl would then walk a run in as he battled his control, but then would settle down and strike out the guy who homered off him the inning before to end the game.
 
Next up for the Milleteers would be the powerful Provost Combine Pilots, fresh off a mercying of the Holden Blue Jays.  The Milleteers went with another Walker to start as Mark toed the rubber for this one.  After a clean top of the first the Milleteers struck for 4 runs in the bottom half as they got 4 consecutive walks and a bases clearing double from Mark as he helped his own cause.
 
After Provost got one back in the second the Milleteers again got on the bats as Jon Anstey lead off the inning with a solo shot over the beer gardens.  It was his first ever home run and he definitely savored the moment as he had the slowest trot in history as he stopped to take a picture at every base.  The Milleteers would then put together a few more hits to plate another to jump out to a five run lead.
 
With the score 7-2 the Milleteers shaky defense would make an appearance as they allowed the Pilots to get back in the game.  First the leadoff hitter would hit a shallow pop up that would bounce out of the center fielder's glove to get it started. Then after some walks and hits Walker would look like he was out of it, but an error on the second baseman would extend the inning and tie the game up at seven.
 
The tie was short lived however as Anstey would again strike with almost an identical solo homerun to left.  He got around the bases much quicker the second time.  After retaking the lead the Milleteers went to the bullpen as Steven Pahl again trudged out to the mound, looking for his second save on the day, something he hadn't attempted since 1996.
 
After Provost got the leadoff hitter on with an error in the sixth Pahl would wriggle out of the jam stranding the runner at third with a strikeout.  In the seventh Provost again got the leadoff hitter on as he hit a double.  After a grounder moved the runner to third with one out the Milleteers were forced to bring the infield in.  Pahl got the hitter to ground out up the middle and shortstop Jon Anstey picked it and fired an absolute strike home to gun down the runner at the plate.  Pahl then got another weak grounder to end it and send the Milleteers to the A final on Sunday.  Unfortunately mother nature wasn't cooperating and the finals were rained out, but it was great to see the sticks stay hot as they ripped 22 hits, including 4 bombs in the two games this weekend.  The Milleteers will look to keep the hot hitting up as they face the Armena Royals on Tuesday at home in league play in a battle with first place implications.

Article Date: Jun 11

Milleteers Finally Put One Together
 

 
 
 
 
After a frustrating first half of the season that saw the team waste a bunch of good pitching performances with brutal defense and an anemic offense the Milleteers finally put together a solid seven inning effort tonight.  The Angels quickly capitalized on a couple of walks in the first as they strung a few hits together, but after that the pitching combo of hard throwing Jon Anstey and finesse righty Tara Sliwkanich held the fort.  They were aided by some decent defense that made all the plays with the exception of a base hit played into a double in the first.
 
On the other side of the ball the Milleteers finally got a few bloops and bleeders go their way, and then the offense started rolling as they pounded out 15 hits, including 7 from old Wetaskiwin Rockies teammates Chad Soucey and Steven Pahl as they turned back the clock to 1997.  The rest of the lineup chipped in too, as everyone had a hit except starting pitcher Jon Anstey, but he scored two runs and pitched five strong, so we will let it slide.
 
Hopefully the bats can keep it going as they take on their old nemesis, the Bardo Athletics on Thursday at the old Bardo Fairgrounds.  The Athletics have been on a roll of late and are in a battle for the last playoff spot.  Game time is seven bells.

Article Date: Jun 6

Armena Takes Another Close One From The Milleteers
 
 
 
 
You might call it a changing of the guard, but the Armena Royals have already beaten the Milleteers as many times this year as they have in the previous five seasons combined as they took their second closely contested regular season win against the defending champs in as many weeks.
 
It was the same old story for the Milleteers as they had more errors in one inning than they had hits in the game as they wasted a great pitching performance from a well rested Steven Pahl tonight.  With the MLB amateur player draft going on during the game Pahl turned back the clock and gave one of his better performances, since he was actually eligible for the draft some twelve plus years ago.  Despite the terrible defense he gave up only three hits in his eight plus innings, which was more like eleven due to all the extra outs he had to get as he only gave up one earned run back in the second inning.
 
Offensively the Milleteers had their chances again, but they continued to strand runners in scoring position and shoot themselves in the foot as they had two runners picked off and botched a sacrifice bunt late.  On top of that they couldn't buy a base hit when they needed it.  The only runs they scored was a  streaking Greg Zilkie stealing third with the catcher air mailing it into the outfield and a two out, two strike HBP to RF Adam Pahl with the bases loaded to tie it in the sixth.  Other than that it was wasted opportunity after wasted opportunity.
 
The Royals on the other hand played a fairly clean game as they only made two errors, one on the first batter of the game, and the other in the sixth that lead to the Milleteers first run.  Other than that first Zenon Sherbaniuk and the lefty Dean Prpick kept the Milleteers  anemic offense in check as they scattered four hits, six walks, and a couple hit batters.
 
The solid game the Royals put in paid off for them in the second extra inning in the ninth as they got the lead off hitter on after an error to the third baseman on an easy grounder.  Then a good sac bunt turned into a free out when the third baseman couldn't get it out of his glove cleanly.  After another sac bunt was finally fielded cleanly by the pitcher Pahl to at least finally get an out the table was set with runners at second and third with one out and a drawn in infield.  Leadoff hitter Adam Johnson would walk it off after he tomahawked a high fastball for a line drive single over the drawn in infield to win the game.
 
The loss puts the Milleteers hope of home field advantage in peril as both the surging Royals and the Holden Blue Jays have games in hand.  Next up for both squads will be the Tri Hosted Tournament on the weekend as the Milleteers face off against the Blue Jays and East Park Orioles, while the Royals face off against the Roadrunners and Rosalind A's

Article Date: Jun 5

Milleteers End Losing Streak Against Roadrunners
 
 
 
 
The Milleteers came into this one on a two game losing streak and a tenuous hold on the top of the standings as they needed a win to keep pace with the surging Royals and Blue Jays.  All year long the Milleteers have been plagued by sloppy defense and, save for one inning in Beaumont, have been brutal with the bats.  This game started out like most of the others so far this year as the Milleteers were sat down 1-2-3 in the first, and then Camrose struck for two in the second after a couple of walks, two botched pickoff plays, and a timely hit.
 
In the bottom of the second the sloppy play continued as the Milleteers failed to capitalize on a high fly ball to left that got lost in the sun as the runner on first was just out for a leisurely jog with two out.  For some odd reason that seemed to spark the team as they played good defense and got a good effort on the mound from pitchers Shawn Brinkworth and Mark Walker to keep the Roadrunners off the score sheet the rest of the way. 
 
In the third inning the Milleteers offense came to life as they batted around using a combination of walks, HBPs, and hits to put up a five spot to chase the young Camrose starter.  They would bat around again in the sixth as they really started crushing line drives as a whole host of Milleteers busted out of their slumps.  OF Adam Pahl even got himself a batting average finally half way through the regular season.
 
Next up will be another important game in the standings as on Thursday the Milleteers head to Armena to take on the third place Royals.

Article Date: May 28
Blue Jays Take One In Extras
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Holden Blue Jays rolled into Leduc Tuesday night on a three game win streak looking to even the season series with the first place Milleteers.  Both teams went with the same starting pitchers as last time as hard throwers Logan Skori and Jon Anstey squared off again after the Milleteers took the season opener.
 
It was a different result this time as Skori kept the Milleteers at bay at the plate only giving up one run and one hit in his five strong innings.  On the flip side the Blue Jays managed some bloops and infield singles, mixed in with seven Milleteers errors to jump out to a slim lead.
 
Both teams went to the bullpen as the Milleteers Chad Soucy continued his strong season as he pitched three scoreless to give the Milleteers a chance to comeback.  That chance came in the sixth as they were finally able to manage their second hit of the game to tie it off reliever Grayson Soprovich, but that was it for the Milleteer offense.
 
In the top of the 8th the Blue Jays got a couple on with a walk and another bloop, then two wild pitches plated a run before Soucy was able to get a weak comebacker and the last of his 7 strikeouts on the night to end it.  There was no miraculous comeback tonight for the Milleteers however as Soprovich struck out the side to end it as the Milleteers seemed to wave the white flag after an awful night at the plate and in the field.
 
On the positive side the Milleteers were 2-4 with RISP.  Problem was that those were their only 2 hits.  With the Blue Jay pitching staff and defense in excellent form, you probably aren't going to win too many games when you make almost four times as many errors as you have hits.
 
Next up for the Milleteers will be a suddenly real important game in the standings as they take on the hard hitting Armena Royals on the road in a battle for first place.  A loss could drop the Milleteers down to third in the standings, a spot they haven't occupied in over five years.  Game time is seven o'clock.

Article Date: May 23
 

Milleteers Lucky Seven  Angels
 
 
 
 
 
Tonight the Milleteers made the short drive down to Beaumont.  The expansion Angels were fresh off a big win knocking off the second place Rebels on Tuesday and looked to keep the momentum going.  The Milleteers went with old Millet Minor Ball product Josh Johnson, fresh off eight years of retirement on the hill.  Johnson gave the Angels fits when he found the strike zone, as he struck out seven of his eight outs, but six walks and a big bases clearing triple were his undoing as the Angels raced out to a quick five run lead after three.  Mark Walker had to come in and bail him out in the third and he kept the Milleteers in it.
 
On the other side the Angels went with big hard throwing Ryan Lehman.  The TRU Wolfpack hurler blew the Milleteers away for the first three innings, save for a one out triple in the first.  Then the wheels fell off for him in the fourth as all of a sudden he needed a map to find the strike zone.  Four walks and two beanings later the call to the bullpen was made as Beaumont brought in a hard throwing lefty, a rarity in the PBL, to try and stem the tide.  After a walk to score another he settled down and struck out the last two hitters to end the threat, but the Milleteers were back in it, despite not putting a ball in play in the inning as they found themselves down by one.
 
The teams then traded zeroes until the bottom of the fifth when the Angels scored an unearned run to give them a two run cushion.  In the top of the sixth the Angels then went to the bull pen bringing their veteran player coach Butch to try and close it out.  The Milleteers mustered their second hit and a walk to threaten, but were unable to score.
 
In the bottom of the sixth the Milleteers had to go to the pen again after pinch hitting for Walker and opted to go with national team member Tara Sliwkanich.  Sliwkanich battled wildness however and loaded the bases with walks before the Angels connected on their second triple of the game to increase their lead to 8-4.
 
In the bottom of the seventh the Milleteers, who had only mustered two hits all night to go along with eight strikeouts, suddenly looked like a different team.  Kirk Smith and Ryan Walker lead off with first pitch line drive singles to get something started.  Then the Angel vet balked in a run, which seemed to rattle him as he then walked the next two batters.  Steve Pahl then ripped a pinch hit single and Greg Zilkie followed with a walk before catcher Brad Engel, who was 0-4 on the day and struck out twice in the same inning crushed a bases clearing double to give the Milleteers the lead.  The Milleteers would then plate Engel on a sac fly to give the Milleteers a four run cushion.
 
The Angels would not go quietly however as they scored a couple and got runners on off their old minor ball team mate Kirk Smith who had to warm up in a hurry once the Milleteers took the lead as they pinch hit for Sliwkanich.  A liner in the gap with the visibility getting pretty iffy looked to bring the tieing run to the plate, but RF Shane Gerein found it just in time to cut it off and get the second out.  Then Smith would strikeout the last hitter to seal the comeback and keep the Milleteers in first place, despite being totally out played in all facets of the game for six of the seven innings.
 
The Milleteers will look to keep the hot hitting going as they get the early morning game Saturday against the defending champion Lloydminster Blue Jays in the annual Axemen tournament this weekend.

Article Date: May 21

Milleteers Comeback Against Bardo
 
 
Despite the two teams being at the opposite end of the standings, as usual the two rivals had another close game, albeit, not the most esthetically pleasing.  The Milleteers went with knuckle baller Shawn Brinkworth as the conventional thinking was that the gusting winds would make it virtually unhittable.  The problem was the strong winds made it also uncontrollable so the veteran would have to turn to the fastball and curve.  The Bardo hitters however were all over those offerings as they slugged two in the first, one in the second, and another in the third on six hits, including a double and a triple.
 
The Milleteers would counter with two of their own in a bizarre bottom of the second as starter Ryan Oleson, who usually has quite good control, beaned the first two batters.  The Milleteers then botched a bunt, but got a favorable call on a fielder's choice to the third baseman to load the bases.  Then a blown call on a check swing almost got the Athletics out of the jam, but a walk and an error to the second baseman allowed the Milleteers to score two.
 
After three the Milleteers went to the bullpen as first big Chad Soucy got the call and faced the minimum as he went two scoreless aided by a double play in the fourth (and possibly another blown call.)  Then closer Ryan Walker worked a scoreless sixth and seventh to give his team a chance for the comeback.
 
In the fifth the Milleteers tied it up after another bizarre inning as a two one out singles and a walk loaded the bases before two wild pitches tied it up.  Then Oleson buckled down and got a strikeout and a flyout to end the threat.
 
In the sixth the Milleteers again got back to back singles as they finally got one by 3B Ken Bragett who was knocking them down and throwing guys out from his knees again tonight to go along with some hard hits at the plate.  The Milleteers then got the sac bunt down to get runners at second and third with one out.   Then with the drawn in infield catcher Shane Gerein ripped a line drive just over the 2B glove to give the Milleteers their first lead of the game, which they wouldn't relinquish.
 
Next up for the Milleteers will be a short road trip to Beaumont on Thursday to take on the expansion Angels.
Article Date: May 14

 

 Milleteers And Rebels Play To A Tie After Eight
 
 
 
 
 
 
Even extra innings tonight could not produce a winner tonight as an early season game between the two teams that have usually battled it out for first place took place tonight.  With the Milleteers playing this one for their fallen superstar Kevin Doyle, who was lying in a hospital bed after season ending shoulder surgery today, you would've thought they would play with more fire.
 
The Rebels quickly jumped on starter Steven Pahl as he had trouble locating the fastball early and plated three in the first after a few hits and hits and an error.  Pahl had the strikeouts going tonight and it was a good thing as it kept his team in the game after some shaky defense and timely Rebel hitting got them out to an early lead.
 
On the flip side the Milleteers struggled as usual against the finesse pitching of Ryley as they kept getting guys on, but failed to break it open as the Ryley played good defense and got some timely strikeouts.  After four innings the score was 5-3.
 
The Milleteers then turned to Wetaskiwin product Chad Soucy who finally made his Milleteers debut after flirting with playing with the squad since 2008.  The big right hander shut the Rebels down the rest of the way to give the Milleteers a chance for a comeback.
 
In the fifth the Milleteers threatened as the got the leadoff man on and scored him on a single, but the Kirk Smith got thrown out at second trying to stretch it into a double.  Tough break as Soucy would quickly rip a single in his first at bat since 1996 that would've scored a run.
 
The Milleteers would get a chance to end it in the seventh as catcher Shane Gerein lead off with a triple and scored on an Engel double. After an intentional walk Soucy helped his own cause with a sac bunt.  Another intentional walk loaded the bases, but with the tieing run on third the Milleteers failed to capitalize.
 
It was more of the same in the eighth as Shawn Brinkworth lead off with a beaning, then stole second, and got to third with no out.  Two strikeouts and a ground out to the pitcher would strand him however and the game was called due to darkness.
 
Despite the result, neither team will be happy with this one.  The Rebels made pitches when they had too and had some clutch hits and good defense, but they also blew a five run lead.  The Milleteers on the other hand left a boat load of runners on again as they have in every single game they have played this year, and they also played some shotty defense.  They will need to turn it around quickly as they get back at it in Camrose as they face the 1-0 Roadrunners.

Article Date: May 12
 

 

Milleteers Hold On In Holden
 

 
 
 
 
 
On opening day in the PBL the Milleteers traveled to Holden to take on the Blue Jays on a great Saturday afternoon for ball.  After two strong seasons the young Blue Jays had a tough year last year and will need a bounce back if they want to compete for the playoffs this year.  The Milleteers went with 2012 PBL pitcher of the year Jon Anstey while the Blue Jays countered with hard throwing knuckle baller Logan Skori, who has battled arm troubles through his first three season in the league.
 
Both pitchers where tough early as neither offense could get anything going as the hurlers racked up strikeouts and quick innings.  In the third though Skori started to tire a bit as he got a little wild and after the Milleteers got a walk and a couple of hits to score a run the call to the bullpen was made as Skori's little brother was brought in to try and bail his big brother out.  He hit the first batter he faced to load the bases and then gave up back to back doubles to catcher Brad Engel and the red hot Ryan Walker to give the Milleteers an early five run lead.  The Blue Jays pitching then settled down as the bullpen held the Milleteers in check the rest of the way to give them a chance to win.
 
That chance would come in the sixth as the Milleteers went to the bullpen and brought in hard throwing Kirk Smith.  After a clean fifth that included another caught stealing by Brad Engel, Smith would run into trouble in the sixth as he walked the first three batters of the inning to load the bases.  The Milleteers then brought in Ryan Walker to try and wriggle out of the jam.  He struck out the first batter, then gave up a single to left, but a heads up cut off got an out at second when the base runner took too wide of a turn.  Walker would then get a ground out to stop the Blue Jay rally at two.
 
In the seventh the Milleteers went to the bullpen again as national team member Tara Sliwkanich came in to try and nail down the save.  After getting the first two outs she ran into some trouble as a walk and a hit brought the tieing run to the plate, but she was able to get a pop up to the catcher to nail down the save.
 
It was a remarkably well played ball game in terms of defense early in the year as only a couple of wild pitches kept it from being an error less game.  Next up for the Milleteers will be the Ryley Rebels, fresh off a come from behind one run victory in their opener against their rivals from Bardo.  The Rebels and Milleteers usually battle for first place in the regular season so it will be an important early game in terms of the pennant race.
Article Date: May 7
 

 Milleteers Welcome Beaumont to the League In Final Preseason Tilt
 
The Milleteers hosted the Beaumont Angels in their first ever game in a PBL preseason game Tuesday night as the Milleteers triumphed 7-4.  For the third game in a row the Milleteers got to face a left handed starter, and for the third game in a row the Milleteers drew a ton of walks, but failed to bust it open with some timely hitting.
 
With the Milleteers short on arms after the weekend festivities they gave the ball to veteran junk baller Shawn Brinkworth.  After mediocre results the past few seasons Brinkworth decided to work on his knuckler in the offseason and it looked great tonight as the Angel hitters didn't get a sniff when he threw it as he had seven strikeouts in his four innings of work to get the win.  The Angels did plate two off Brinkworth as they were able to connect on a couple of fastballs, but the knuckler was dancing.
 
On the sticks the Milleteers could only muster seven runs despite drawing 12 walks and another 3 errors as they couldn't buy a hit with runners in scoring position for most of the game.  Defensively they only made one error and had another web gem from center fielder Zack Leach.
 
In the fifth the Milleteers turned to the bullpen and brought in hard throwing Kirk Smith.  Smith must of spent the off season in a sports psychologist's office as he was dynamite tonight after suffering through Rick Ankiel syndrome last season as he pounded the strike zone as he struck out nine in three innings and only walked two as he overpowered the Angels. 
 
Now that spring training is complete the Milleteers  will go into the season with a ton of questions still to answer as they look to fill the holes left by the absence of the Doyle brothers.  The pitching so far has been good, especially considering the great unexpected performances tonight, and there is more help on the way as long time Millet stalwart Josh Johnson and big power pitching Chad Soucy have decided to postpone retirement and suit up for their home town team.  The hitting has yet to get on track and capitalize on some early season wildness.  Time will tell how it will sort itself out, but it should be another exciting year for the Milleteers.
Article Date: May 5
 

Milleteers Split At The Axemen Spring Training Invitational
 
 
  1 2 3 4 5 6  7  R  H  E
Axemen 0 0 0 3 2  1  0  6 6  2
Milleteers 1 0 0 0 3  1  0  5  7  3

 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
Milleteers 1 2 1 0 0  0  1  5  5  4
Warriors 0 0 0 1 1  0  1  3  3  3
 
The Milleteers headed down the highway to Camrose to try and shake some rust off in a little pre season tournament hosted by the Axemen.  First up the Milleteers drew the hosts, fresh off a dominating season in the AA NCABL which saw them coast home to a regular season title before bowing out in the finals of the playoffs.
 
Mark Walker took the hill for the Milleteers and he got some help early as he used two double plays to work around three walks to pitch three scoreless.  Then Canadian Woman's National Team member Tara Sliwkanich came in for relief, but after a lead off error she had to work out of trouble and kept the game close as she gave up three.  Then hard throwing reliever Brad Engel finished off the game giving up another three runs as he battled some wildness.
 
On the sticks the Milleteers were still working off the cobwebs as they left a ton of runners on base thanks to a ridiculous 11 walks, but failed to get the big hit to break it open as the Axemen pitching staff threw just enough strikes to seal the victory.
 
In the second game of the day the Milleteers again squared off against  a AA opponent from the NCABL as they took on the veteran Edmonton Warriors.  For the second game in a row the Milleteers had to face a hard throwing lefty starter as Warriors ace Curtis Burlet got the ball.  The Milleteers however gave the big lefty a rough ride as they used a combination of hits, walks, and errors to put up a four run lead before he was relieved after three innings of work.  After that the Milleteers offense went into hibernation as usual as they managed just one late insurance run to help out the pitching staff.
 
On the mound the Milleteers started 2012 PBL pitcher of the year, John Anstey, and he looked good for his two scoreless innings before leaving with lower back stiffness.  Veteran Steve Pahl came in to relieve him and had an adventurous 2 innings as he was a bit wild and had to deal with some shaky defense, but was able to strike his way out of trouble as he only gave up one unearned run, before he left when his pesky old elbow trouble flared up.  Then Ryan Walker, fresh of his far east vacation and an elbow injury as well came in and nailed down the old fashioned three inning save to preserve the victory.
 
It was a beautiful day for ball and the Milleteers definitely needed a few games to break in some new faces and try and get into regular season form.  It was also great to see big Murray Doyle hobbling about on his crutches, giving hope for a return next season.  Next up will be another exhibition game on Tuesday as the Milleteers will take on the PBL expansion Beaumont Angels.

Article Date: Apr 17
 
 
 
 
Milleteers All Time Records vs PBL Teams
 
 
Total:  86-27-2   (0.748)
 
Exhibition and Tournaments:   16-3   (0.842)
Regular Season:   53-19-1   (0.726)
Playoffs:   17-5-1   (0.739)
 
Armena Royals:
 
   Exhibition and Tournaments:  4-0   (1.000)
   Regular Season:  13-1   (0.929)
   Playoffs:   2-1  (0.667)
   Total:   19-2   (0.905)
 
Bardo Athletics:
 
   Exhibition and Tournaments:  3-2   (0.600)
   Regular Season:   12-3   (0.800)
   Playoffs:   7-3-1   (0.636)
   Total:   22-8-1   (0.710)
 
Camrose Roadrunners:
 
   Exhibition and Tournaments:  0-0   (0.000)
   Regular Season:   6-7   (0.462)
   Playoffs:   0-0   (0.000)
   Total:   6-7   (0.462)
 
Holden Blue Jays:
 
   Exhibition and Tournaments:   2-0   (1.000)
   Regular Season:   5-3-1   (0.556)
   Playoffs:   2-1   (0.667)
   Total:   9-4-1   (0.643)
 
Ryley Brewers:
 
   Exhibition and Tournaments:   0-0   (0.000)
   Regular Season:   2-1   (0.667)
   Playoffs:   0-0   (0.000)
   Total:   2-1   (0.667)
 
Ryley Rebels:
 
   Exhibition and Tournaments:   7-1   (0.875)
   Regular Season:   8-4   (0.667)
   Playoffs:   6-0   (1.000)
   Total:   21-5   (0.808)
 
Tofield Lakers:
 
   Exhibition and Tournaments:   1-0   (1.000)
   Regular Season:   7-0   (1.000)
   Playoffs:   0-0   (0.000)
   Total:   8-0   (1.000)
 
 
Article Date: Mar 26
 
2013 Milleteers Preview
 
 
The 2013 edition of the Milleteers will look an awful lot like last year's team that took home a record 4th straight PBL Championship.  There will be a few new faces however that will be counted on to contribute as veteran lefty and 4th outfielder Kelly Landaker retired and utility infielder Andrew Toner hasn't been seen or heard from since punching out a few Blue Jays at the Ryley Social.  The biggest loss to the roster however will be full time contributions from the Doyle brothers as both of them will have to go under the knife at some point this season as Kevin has a bad shoulder and Murray blew out his knee, which will leave two gaping holes in both the lineup and pitching staff. 
 
 
 
 
Pitching Staff:
 
Despite the likely loss of both Doyles for most of the season the pitching staff is still the class of the league.  In his first year in the starting rotation Jon Anstey proved he could handle the big work load and would have to be considered the most dominant pitcher in the league as he went 5-2 with a 1.76 ERA and piled up the strikeouts.  Number two starter Steven Pahl struggled early on with some mechanical issues, but righted the ship in time for the playoffs as he didn't allow an earned run in his two complete game victories.  Number three starter Ryan Walker got off to a great start early, pitching a perfect game against Holden, but then hit the DL with elbow issues and wasn't himself when he returned.  Ryan's brother Mark more than picked up the slack when his brother went down on the DL as he ended up 3-1 with a 4.34 and had a few bullpen saving outings.  The hard throwing youngster will need to cut down on the walks if he wants to take the next step and become a top of the rotation hurler.
 
 
 
In the bullpen the Milleteers still have junk baller Shawn Brinkworth as the long man and hard throwing Brad Engel, who closed out some games last year.  The Milleteers also have added rookie Tara Sliwkanich, who I`m guessing is the first national team player the PBL has ever had as she picked up a silver medal pitching in the 2012 World Championships.
 
 
 
Catching:
 
The Milleteers will be bringing back the tandem of Shane Gerein and Brad Engel who have back stopped them to the last four championships.  The duo provide both defense and offense.  Shane had an excellent year last year as he went 10 for 26 throwing out runners last season to go along with a 0.352 batting average.  For depth purposes the Milleteers have aquired the services of local Gwynne product Dereck Iles, who last played for the  Sherwood Park AAA Midgets Athletics to round out the depth chart.
 
 
 
Infield:
 
The Milleteers will be bringing back the same starting infield this year as well, but with the loss of the Doyles they will have a lot less depth.  With the slick fielding of Trevor Pahl and Jon Anstey on the left side of the diamond and veterans Shawn Brinkworth and Steven Pahl on the right the infield should be solid.  The team will need to have some players step up and show they can fill in when Pahl and Anstey take the mound however, and are stll in scouting mode for some backups.
 
 
 
Outfield:
 
Another strength for the team as the starting trio of Mark Walker in left, Greg Zilkie in center, and Kirk Smith in right all track the ball well and have outstanding throwing arms as the Milleteers outfielders combined for 8 outfield assists last year, many of the late inning run saving variety.  The Milleteers also picked up undrafted free agent Zach Leach out of the Camrose Minor Ball system, who inexplicably couldn't`t get an offer from any of the local teams.  Veteran speedster Adam Pahl also returns to the mix.
 
 
 
Offense:
 
As usual the offense was hot and cold for the Milleteers, which was exacerbated in the second half due to lineup linch pin Kevin Doyle`s shoulder injury.  The team still managed to finish second in the league in offense as they averaged almost 7.5 runs a game, but they scored at no where near the pace they did the year before.  Also the stolen base numbers declined from previous years, likely due to the extra pounds most of the Milleteers are sporting these days.  In fact 1B Steve Pahl and his beer gut were leading the team in swipes most of the year.  Hopefully those extra pounds will start to produce some more extra base hits or the Milleteers will have to rely more and more on their pitching.  

2012
Article Date: Jul 27

Milleteers Force Deciding Game
 
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
LEDUC 2 0 0 0 1 2  0  5  8  1
ARMENA 0 1 0 0 0  0  0  1  4  3
 
 
The Milleteers evened the series Thursday night as they got a great performance out of starter Steven Pahl.  Pahl held the hot hitting Royals to only four hits.  His only trouble came in the second after he botched a comebacker with one out, and then gave up a triple to Zenon Sherbaniuk to score the unearned run.  He then got a strikeout and an easy comebacker to strand the runner at third.  That was the only time a Royal made it past first base in the game.  The only other hard hit ball was also off the bat of Sherbaniuk in the fifth when he lined one off the pitcher, but was then caught stealing to end the threat.
 
Offensively the Milleteers again had trouble cashing in runners as for the second game in a row they had a man on in six out of the seven innings but stranded seven.  The bend, but don't break defense of Armena was in effect again tonight.  In the first the Milleteers managed to cash a couple on an error, some past balls and a two bloop single from Pahl, but still stranded two in scoring position.
 
The Milleteers would be held off the scoresheet till the fifth when CF Greg Zilkie led off with a single and a stolen base, before being cash in on a sac fly.  Then in the sixth Steven Pahl led off with a solo shot to chase Royal starter Cody Sroka, one of his four hits on the night.  The Royals brought in their closer, Kyle Ellis, but he walked the first three he faced to load up the bases with no out.  After a bloop single scored one the Milleteers let Ellis off the hook as they failed to break it open.
 
The five runs were enough though as Pahl held the Royals in check to force a deciding game on Tuesday in Leduc to decide the 2012 PBL championship.

Article Date: Jul 24

 
 Royals Keep The Momentum Going As They Take Game One
 
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7 R  H  E
ARMENA 3 0 3 0 0  0  0  6  8  2
LEDUC 0 0 0 0 1  0  0  1  6  3
 
 
 
A game that was a mismatch on paper turned into exactly that, except it was the Armena Royals that dominated game one to take the lead in the three game series for the PBL Cup.  Their hot hitting continued as they made the Milleteers pay after a couple of first inning errors extended the inning and the Royals were able to push three across.  The Milleteers looked to bounce right back as they got the first two on in their half, but a flyout and back to back strikeouts ended the threat.  That was the ongoing theme all night as the Milleteers had base runners on every inning, but could not get a hit when it mattered as Boettger was tough on the hill and the Armena defense held.
 
The Royals would get to starter Jon Anstey again in the third as they strung some hits together to put up another three spot, which was plenty tonight as the offense could not get on track.  No the Milleteers face a do or die on the road in Armena Thursday night if their championship run is going to continue.

Article Date: Jul 19
 
 
Milleteers Beat Out Bardo In Semis
 
 
  1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
LEDUC 0 0 1 0 1  1  7  10  14  3
BARDO 0 0 0 0 0  0  0  0  6  4

 
After a grueling extra inning battle in game one, the Milleteers and Athletics looked to be headed towards another close one early on as pitchers Steven Pahl and Ray Lehman were on their game tonight.  The Milleteers struck first as they played a little small ball as SS Drew Boyer laid down a perfect drag bunt to start the third, and moved into scoring position on an ill advised throwing error.  After another sac bunt and a sac fly the Milleteers punched across the first run.
 
The Athletics looked poised to answer back in the third as they had two on with two out, but Pahl used the old spaghetti leg move on the full count to pick off the runner on second to escape without any damage.  In the fourth the Athletics threatened again as CF Dylan Berreclothe got on with a swinging bunt, and then stole second on a botched pitch out, but he thought it was a foul ball and started to go back to first and was promptly picked off.
 
After those plays broke the Milleteers way they again played a little small ball as 2B Shawn Brinkworth got hit to leadoff the inning and Brad Engel came in to pinch run.  Engel stole second, then scored on a Anstey single after the relay throw was off line.  The Milleteers got another run in the sixth after Greg Zilkie led off with a double off the fence, but could of had more as Mark Walker was gunned out at the plate trying to score on a sacrifice fly on a good throw from All Star Craig Neufeld.
 
In the sixth the Athletics threatened again after a couple of errors brought the tying run to the plate, but Pahl got a flyout and a weak comebacker to end the threat.
 
In the seventh Lehman finally tired after pitching a whale of a game.  A leadoff error followed by three hits and a walk chased the future hall of famer, who pitched well enough to deserve a better fate.  With no other available arms left in the game, Ryan Oleson, who pitched nine innings on Tuesday, came in to try and keep his team in the game, but the Milleteers kept the line moving and ended up with a seven run inning to put the game out of reach.
 
In the bottom of the seventh Lehman led off with a ripped double, and Oleson followed up with a single, but Pahl stranded the runners to preserve the shutout.  The win tonight sets up a PBL final with the Milleteers hosting the Armena Royals on Thursday as the underdogs swept the favored Ryley Rebels in walkoff fashion in a 9-8 comeback victory.  The Milleteers have only lost to the Royals once in the last five years holding a 13-1 record, but the hard hitting Royals are on a roll and look for their first championship since 2004.

Article Date: Jul 17

 
Milleteers Walk It Off In Extras In Playoff Opener
 
 
 1 2 3 4 5 6  7  8  9  R  H  E
BARDO 2 0 0 0 0 0  0  0  0  2  9 2
LEDUC 0 0 0 0 1  0  1  0  1  3  11  3
 
 
For the fourth year in a row the Milleteers needed a comeback in their last bat to secure a 3-2 win to start off the PBL playoffs, with the first three years ending in a championship run.  Tonight playoff rivals Bardo and Leduc squared off, and as usual the two teams were involved in a bitter battle that ended up in an extra inning classic.
 
Both teams had their number ones rested and rearing to go on the mound.  Bardo struck first as they used a good approach and seemed to solve the hard throwing Jon Anstey, who has been dynamite all year, as they punched across two on four hits.  One of those runs came courtesy of a good old Bardo hop (except the game was played in the normally good infield in Leduc) as a grounder to the shortstop with two out took a wicked hop over Trevor Pahl`s head to score the second run.
 
After that Anstey pitched masterfully as he struck out eight and walked none.  Bardo got runners on and tried to play some small ball, but he was able to work around it.  He had to work out of a jam in the third when he got strikeout and a groundout.  In the sixth he found himself in another jam after a leadoff error, but got a little help from a botched suicide squeeze to keep the tying run at third.  In the seventh he stranded a runner at third with the top of the order out to give his team a chance to comeback.
 
Not to be out done Bardo`s starter All Star Ryan Oleson confounded the Milleteers as he pounded the zone and changed speeds, and when the Milleteers did manage to stroke a ball hard the Bardo defense held tight, including Oleson as he snagged at least four hard comebackers, and first baseman Ray Lehman added to his legend as he made a Bill Ranford kick save to turn a double down the line into an out at first. 
 
The Milleteers were finally able to scratch a run across in the fifth after CF Greg Zilkie led off with an infield single and an error.  He then came around to score on a Mark Walker RBI single to get the Milleteers within 1.
 
That set the stage for the seventh as 2B Shawn Brinkworth got a two out single to keep the Milleteers alive.  Then speedster Adam Pahl pinch ran and stole second on the first pitch, then got to third on a wild pitch.  Then with two strikes on number nine hitter Mark Walker, the left fielder connected with his third hit of the game to send it to extras.
 
In the eighth Bardo got the leadoff hitter on and moved him to second on the sacrifice, but Anstey was able to get a flyout and strikeout to keep the game tied, but the Milleteers were unable to capitalize with the heart of the order up.
 
In the ninth Bardo again got a runner on with a single, but Anstey was able to keep the runner at first as he struck catcher Rob Berreclothe and got the hot hitting Mike Leclaire to pop out on a great catch in foul territory by third baseman Murray Doyle.
 
That catch got the Milleteers fired up and Doyle then led off with an HBP.  After a bunt moved him over to second the Milleteers hottest hitter came up, Mark Walker.  Walker quickly struck his fourth single of the game in the left center gap, but Doyle got a late jump on the ball and was gunned out on a good relay on a close play at the plate.  Walker alertly moved to second on the throw to the plate, and the move paid off as catcher Shane Gerein got a single through the left side of the infield.   Another good relay saw another close play at the plate, but this time Walker beat the throw to give the Milleteers an extra inning game one victory.  Not bad for his first PBL playoff game.
 
The two teams are scheduled to lock horns again Thursday in Bardo.  While it will be tough to top this game, I wouldn`t put it past these two rivals, especially with the rumored starters being PBL legend Ray Lehman vs Steven Pahl, who has amassed a 7-1 PBL playoff career record.

Article Date: Jul 11

Milleteers Comeback In Bardo
 
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
LEDUC 0 5 0 1 0  2  3  11  15  3
BARDO 1 5 1 0 0  3  0  10  11  1
 
 
The ball was flying off the bats in the heat in Bardo tonight as the teams combined for 26 hits.  The Milleteers strolled into Bardo tonight with just 9 guys after a tough game the night before.  To make matters worse they were down to their last healthy arm as everyone else was either pitched out or on the DL.  The lucky guy tonight was Mark Walker as he had a tough task to deal with as the veteran Athletics were focused as they were fighting for their playoff lives. 
 
Bardo struck first as four out of their first five batters reached base, but Walker was able to wriggle out of a bases loaded jam with minimal damage.  The Milleteers then answered back with five of their own to chase starter Chris Mittlestad.
 
Bardo would not go quietly however as they capitalized on a dropped ball on a two out liner to center to score five unearned runs to take back the lead.  They scored another unearned run in the third, but then Walker settled down and retired six in a row to keep the Milleteers in the game.
 
In the sixth the Milleteers got a rally started to chase reliever Sean Melanson.  Surprisingly Ryan Olsen came in to pitch, after going the distance the night before.  He stifled the rally, but not before the Milleteers took back the lead.
 
In the bottom of the sixth Walker seemed to tire as Mike Leclaire led off with a single, his fourth hit of the night.  Bardo then strung some more hits together to retake a two run lead into the seventh.
 
In the seventh the Milleteers pounded out five more hits, including a clutch two out single from Walker to help his own cause and retake the lead.  With no one in the bullpen to spell him Walker soldiered out for the seventh in the hot temperatures to try an nail it down.  A one out single to catcher Rob Berecloth and a walk to Leclaire put the tieing and winning runs into scoring position, but Walker settled down and got a couple of fly ball outs, including a deep fly to left off the bat of Ray Lehman, to end the game and put a dent in Bardo's playoff hopes.  Now to secure a spot in the big dance Bardo will need a victory tomorrow night in Camrose and hope for some help from their rivals from Ryley.
 
Meanwhile the Milleteers will wait and see how the playoff picture plays out as they have secured first place for the third season in a row with an 11-4 record.

Article Date: Jul 10
 
 
Roadrunners Wear Out Milleteers To Keep Playoff Hopes Alive
 
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
CAMROSE 2 5 0 1 1  0  2  11  6  6
LEDUC 4 0 1 2 0  0  0  7  12 2
 
With their playoff hopes on the line the Camrose Roadrunners were the hungrier team tonight as they outlasted the Milleteers in the plus 32 heat tonight.  With the Milleteers a little low on pitching from the weekend they turned to hard throwing rookie Kirk Smith, but he could not overcome his wildness and had to be relieved in the second by Trevor Pahl, making his fifth pitching appearance in five years. 
 
Pahl threw well and stopped the bleeding, but the damage was done as the Milleteers kept getting runners on, but could not break it wide open against 2011 PBL pitcher of the year Alex Roth.  Despite some hard hits and early errors, Roth kept on pumping the strike zone and it paid off as he hung in there to give his team a massive win and keep their playoff hopes alive.  The Roadrunner attack was paced by leadoff hitter Sheldon Petryshen who got on base four out of five times, much like he did for the Milleteers on the weekend.
 
Next up the Milleteers will head to Bardo tomorrow to try and spoil their playoff chances.

Article Date: Jul 9
 
 
Milleteers Come Up 1 Run Short In GoodFish
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  R  H  E
LEDUC 0 2 2 4 2  6  16  13  2
GOODFISH 0 0 0 0 0  0  0  0  6
 
 1 2 3 4 5  R  H  E
LEDUC 2 1 2 0 0  5  7  0
LEGAL 0 0 0 1 0  1  1  2
 
 1 2 3 4 5  R  H  E
LEDUC 0 0 0 0 0  0  2  1
EDMONTON 0 0 1 0 X  1  2  0
 
 
The Milleteers wound up the bridesmaids again at the Goodfish Lake Treaty Days as they could not muster any offense in the final against the Edmonton Blackhawks.  As usual the Milleteers were scrambling for players and managed to field just nine guys on the hot weekend.
 
In the first game the Milleteers were two much for a rusty Goodfish Lake Braves team that had only been able to play one game so far this year due to rainouts.  The offense pummelled the Braves as the Milleteers stole 10 bases and even got a homerun from cleanup hitter Steven Pahl.  The real story was the combined no-hitter from crafty lefty Kelly Landaker, who went five innings before tiring, and hard throwing Kirk Smith.
 
Later in the afternoon the rains came and drenched the diamond and rained out a couple of games.  After the elders convened in a tribal council it was decided that the games would be played on Sunday, and only 5 innings in length to get the seven games remaining in.
 
The Milleteers then met the two time defending champs from Legal in the semi finals.  With their ace lefty on the mound, Blair Cowley, Legal looked poised to make it three in a row.  The Milleteers had other plans however, as they finally got to Cowley, who had been their kryptonite in their previous trips to Goodfish as they jumped on him for 5 runs early.  Those 5 runs would be plenty for starter Jon Anstey as he put in one of the most dominant pitching performances in recent memory against one of the better teams around as he threw a one hitter and struck out twelve of the fifteen outs.  His only blemish was a fourth inning solo homerun over the short porch in right field.
 
In the final the Milleteers met up with the Edmonton Blackhawks.  The Randy Gregg led Blackhawks had a tough road to the finals as they squeaked out a 5-4 win against Cold Lake in the quater finals.  Then they were matched up against the 4 time defending North Saskatchewan River Baseball League champs and defending Senior Provincial silver medalists, the Lloydminster Twins.  The Twins also picked up former Dodger farmhand Brant Stickell for the tournament and pitched him against the Blackhawks, but a walk off solo homerun from Gregg`s son Ryan got the Blackhawks to the final.
 
In the final neither team could get much going offensively as pitchers Reagan Hoet from the Hawks and Steven Pahl from the Milleteers were stingy with the hits as they only gave up two a piece.  The only run came on the exciting sac fly in the third inning as the doctor Randy Gregg rumbled in from third for the championship winning run.
 
All in all it was good performance from the Milleteers, especially on the mound as the pitching staff only gave up three hits in three games against a couple of the better AA teams in the province. 

Article Date: Jun 29

 
 Milleteers Walk Off In Extras At Telus
 
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  8  R  H  E
BARDO 0 0 0 0 2  0  0  0  2  8 0
LEDUC 1 0 0 1 0  0   0 1  3  8  0
 
 
 
 
 
On a beautiful night for a ball game in front of a record size PBL crowd the Bardo Athletics and the Leduc Milleteers squared off at Telus Field as the entertainment for the Oilers Rookies in the luxury box.  Nail Yakopov approved of the well played game.  In fact it might have been the first error free PBL game in recent memory.  Funny how a well groomed field would improve the defense exponentially.  The crowd was even big enough to do the wave in the sixth inning.  It was a treat to play on the same field that many major league greats like Tim Salmon and Johan Santana used to grace. 
 
 
 
With the game having playoff implications as the Milleteers were looking to wrap up first, while Bardo was looking for a win to help them stay in the hunt, the game had a little extra intensity.  On the mound tonight young Mark Walker faced off against veteran Ryan Olsen.  Walker was excellent in his three innings as he fanned five and kept Bardo off the board.  Olsen was touched up for a run in the first on a Trevor Pahl astro turf double, then he wriggled out of a big jam in the fourth, only giving up one run.
 
 
 
After that both teams went to the bullpen.  The Milleteers turned to big righty Murray Doyle, but he could only go one inning after his elbow tightened up.  The Athletics started a rally, but despite seeing first hand in the All Star game on Tuesday the strength of RF Kirk Smith's arm, Ryan Olsen decided to test it anyway as he tried to score from second a Ray Lehman single, but was cut down at the plate by ten feet.  The Milleteers then turned to veteran Shawn Brinkworth, but the Athletics chased him after he gave up two runs on three hits to begin the fifth.  Flame thrower Jon Anstey came in to halt the rally, but the damage was done and the game was tied.
 
Bardo went with PBL legend Ray Lehman on the mound in the fifth, and he was in fine form as he kept putting up zeros to give his team a chance to win.  When the Milleteers did hit the ball hard the Bardo defense always seemed to be in the right place at the right time as they turned two double plays and snared multiple liners in the outfield to keep the game even.
 
 
 
The Athletics threatened to score in both the seventh and eighth innings as they managed to get the leadoff batter into scoring position both innings off of hard throwing reliever Brad Engel, but both times Engel dug deep and the defense held as Bardo failed to capitalize.
 
 
 
In the bottom of the eighth the Milleteers finally got to Lehman.  With two outs and nobody on 1B Steven Pahl poked a single through the left side to get it started.  RF Kirk Smith then drew a walk to put the runner in scoring position with the Milleteers hottest hitter at the plate, Jon Anstey.  Anstey came thru with his third hit of the game, and with the 240lb Pahl rumbling around third it looked like there would be a play at the plate, but the throw was off line, and the Milleteers came out on top in another Leduc-Bardo classic.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Article Date: Jun 21

 
Milleteers Win Slugfest
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
LEDUC 7 0 0 1 4 3  1  16  15  3
ARMENA 0 5 0 1 0  1  0  7  13  6
 
 
The Milleteers continued to swing hot bats this week as they again pounded out double digit hits and runs for the second consecutive game.  The Milleteers jumped all over starter Cody Sroka as they put up seven in the first as they sent 12 batters to the plate.  It was good to see the bats get on Sroka early as the Milleteers usually have tons of trouble against the finesse righty.  Sroka then settled down to give his team a chance to comeback.
 
The Royals answered back as they got to Milleteers' starter Ryan Walker, fresh off both his perfect game and the disabled list with elbow tightness.  In the second the Royals pounded out five hits, including three doubles to put up a five spot of their own.
 
In the fifth the Milleteers put up another crooked number to chase Sroka thanks to some hits and errors.  Kyle Ellis came in to try and stop the bleeding, but got absolutely no help from his defense in the sixth as the Royals infield made three errors in a row to put the game away.
 
The Milleteers went to the bullpen as well in the fifth as they brought in hard throwing righty Brad Engel, who also just got of the disabled list.  Engel held the Royals in check for the most part earning the old fashioned three inning save.  He ended the game on a bizarre plunk'em and picke'em as he drilled catcher Chad Samosetti with an errant fastball to the chest, then was about to pitch from the windup before Samosetti took off a little early and he stepped off and got the easy out at second.
 
The offensive attack tonight was led by Ryan's little brother Mark as he had four hits and scored four runs, plus a couple of RBIs to stick it to his old team.  2B Andrew Toner also scored four runs, and SS Trevor Pahl also chipped in three hits.
 
The win gives the Milleteers a three game winning streak and a little first place cushion heading into the Allstar break.  The Allstar game goes down Tuesday, June 26th in Camrose.  The Milleteers are being represented by pitcher Jon Anstey, catcher Shane Gerein and outfielder Kirk Smith.
Article Date: Jun 19

 
Milleteer Bats Come Alive Against Bardo
 
 
 1 2 3 4  5  6  7  R  H  E
BARDO 0 0 0 0 5  0  0  5  7  7
LEDUC 1 0 3 3  1  6  X  14 15  4
 
In the first league meeting of the year between the two playoff rivals both teams sent promising young arms to the mound as Mark Walker of the Milleteers faced of against Sean Melanson of the Bardo Athletics.  Despite some afternoon rains the diamond was playable after some grounds keeping and the weather held off to get the game in.
 
The Milleteers got on the board first after SS Jon Anstey hit a swinging bunt down the third base line for a base hit, but the third baseman tried to bare hand it and made an ill advised throw into right field.  Then a second throwing error on the play allowed Anstey to scurry into third for the little league triple, before being cashed in on a Trevor Pahl double.
 
The Milleteers would put up crooked numbers in the third and fourth after a combination of hits, walks, and errors kept the line moving.  Melanson probably deserved a better fate, but every time he seemed to get the ground ball he needed, it got booted to extend the inning.
 
After getting down 7-0, Bardo rallied back with their trade mark resilience as they loaded the bases to start the fifth.  Then it was the Milleteers turn to kick the ball around as they misplayed two double play grounders into runs to extend the inning and allowed Bardo to get back in it and put up a 5 spot.
 
That was as close as they would get however as the Milleteers answered back with 7 unanswered runs and Walker blanked the Athletics the rest of the way for the complete game victory, his second consecutive strong start in a row as he seems to be finding his groove in the rotation.
 
The 14 runs were the most scored all year by the Milleteers as some of the bats that were cold to start the season are starting to heat up just in time as the team got some bad news as it looks like their all time hits leader Kevin Doyle is going to be out for awhile with a shoulder injury.  CF Greg Zilkie chipped in 3 hits, to go along with Anstey's second consecutive 3 hit game.
 
Next up for the Milleteers will be the Armena Royals on the road before the All Star break.  Next Thursday the Milleteers will again face off against the Bardo Athletics, but this time the game will be at Telus Field.

Article Date: Jun 14

Milleteers Take First Place Showdown
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
LEDUC 0 0 0 2 2  3  0  7  14 1
RYLEY 0 0 0 0 0  0  0  0  4  2
 
 
Tonight the battle for first place went down in Ryley as the Milleteers took to the road to face the red hot Rebels who were looking for a fifth straight win.  A win for either team would give them sole possession of first and more importantly they would hold the tie breaker as they would take the season series.  With the Milleteers short on arms due to injuries and work commitments they needed a big effort tonight out of Murray Doyle, who himself just came of the disabled list.
 
The game started off as a good old fashioned pitching duel.  The Rebels threatened in the first after the leadoff batter got on after an error, but he was cut down at the plate trying to score on another outfield assist from center fielder Greg Zilkie.  That was as close as the Rebels would get to scoring as Doyle only allowed three more base runners after that and the defense was good, especially the outfield defense as they tracked down close to a dozen balls out there.  The Ryley ball park is usually not a good place for fly ball pitchers, but Doyle kept the powerful Rebels in the park, and also racked up seven strikeouts and no walks on his way to a four hit shutout.
 
On the other side of the ball the Milleteers were held at bay early by starter Corey Epp.  They would finally get to Epp in the fourth after Kevin Doyle decided to help his brother out and led off with an infield single, followed by an RBI single from cleanup hitter Steven Pahl.  After a double from Murray Doyle, one of his three hits on the night, and a sac fly the Milleteers had a two run lead.  The Milleteers tacked on another two runs in the fifth before chasing Epp in the sixth.  The Rebels brought closer Kris Kushnerick to stop the bleeding, but he was greeted on the first pitch with a two run double off the bat Kevin Doyle to put the game out of reach. 
 
The win now puts the Milleteers in first with a game and a half cushion, plus the tie breaker on their nearest rival.  It would look like it would take an epic collapse to lose home field advantage now, but stranger things have happened.  With a hungry Rebels team that has shown the capability to rattle off a long winning streak the stretch drive should be interesting.

Article Date: Jun 12

Micklich Cools Milleteer's Bats
 
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R H  E
HOLDEN 1 0 1 1 0  0  0  3 5  1
LEDUC 0 1 0 0 1  0  0  2  7  2
 
 
In a rematch from last year's championship deciding game starters Steven Pahl and Maury Micklich squared off.  The game closely resembled the the final as the Blue Jays got ahead early as they they got a couple of hits in the first to score 1, then used some sloppy Milleteer defense in the third to plate another after an error to the first baseman and then a mental error when the middle infield could not decide who had the bag on a steal attempt to score a run.  In the fourth cleanup hitter Zack Lang took a first pitch fastball deep for the first homer in Leduc since the switch to wood bats.  After that starter Steven Pahl settled down and did not allow another run as he ended up with 11 strikeouts on the night to give his team a chance to win.
 
That chance came in the fifth as Micklich kept getting outs, just as he did last year in the playoffs.  With two out Micklich got an easy comebacker from third baseman Trevor Pahl, but he threw it away to extend the inning.  After back to back singles and a walk the lead was cut to one and the bases were loaded.  The Milleteers tapped Mark Walker to pinch hit, but after working the count in his favor with a 2-0 count, he ended up striking out on a curve in the dirt to end the threat.  The Milleteers then went down meekly after that as they again failed to solve the soft tossing Micklich riddle as he gained a complete game victory to put the Blue Jays back in the playoff hunt.
 
With the loss the Milleteers now face the red hot Ryley Rebels on the road Thursday in what could be the critical battle to determine home field advantage for the playoffs.  The way the Milleteers have played at home this year they might want to cede home field advantage as they have been much better on the road.  Either way they need to find a way to break out of their offensive and at times defensive funk.

Article Date: Jun 7

 
Milleteers Sweep Home And Home With Armena
 
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7 R  H  E
LEDUC 4    0    0    1    3     0     0     8     10  3
ARMENA 0 0 2 0 0  1  2  5  7  4

The Milleteers swept the home and home tonight with a road win tonight in the tiny hamlet as the Royals continue to have trouble with any team not from Bardo.  Mark Walker got the start against his old team tonight and was tough on his old teammates as he only allowed 1 earned in six good innings.  He got into a little trouble in the third due to a couple of errors, but manged to minimize the damage.  In the sixth he got into another jam, but again was able to limit the scoring and left the mound with a five run lead.
 
The Milleteers got the party started early on Royal starter Adam Johnson as they put up 3 with a walk, hit, and back to back doubles before the majority of the crowd had got to their seats.  The offense kept chipping away and finally chased Johnson in the fifth as Kyle Ellis came in to keep his team in the game.
 
In the seventh the Milleteers went with their one time closer Kevin Doyle, who made it a little interesting as the Royals refused to go quietly.  In the end the Royal's over exuberance on the base paths cost them as center fielder Greg Zilkie gunned down a runner trying to go first to third on a single to end the game and preserve the win.
 
Next up for both teams will be the Bardo Sports Day tournament on Saturday as the Milleteers take on the suddenly on fire Ryley Rebels and the Royals take on the one team they have mastered so far this year in the host Bardo Athletics.

Article Date: Jun 6

Milleteers Comeback On Armena To Win Shootout
 
 1 2 3 4  5  6  7  R  H  E
ARMENA 4 2 1 0  0  0  0  7  10  5
LEDUC 3 4 2 2  0  0  X  11  9  1
 
It wasn`t pretty, but the Milleteers managed to outscore the best offensive team in the league so far this year, the Armena Royals.  The Royals jumped on starter Steven Pahl early as they put up 4 in a bizarre first inning that say a botched bunt play and a bases loaded walk to score a run on only 3 balls as the umpires lost the count.  The Royals brought their hitting sticks touched up Pahl for 10 hits on the night.
 
The Milleteers responded for 3 runs of their own off of crafty veteran Jason Buzzell in their first bat as three walks and some errors led to the damage.  The second inning was more of the same as the Royals cranked out another 4 hits and scored two, while the Milleteers answered back with 4 to chase Buzzell and take the lead.
 
After he got the lead Pahl settled in and quit throwing his bread and butter curve ball that had been his go to weapon the last few years as the Royals were hammering it everytime he threw it.  Instead he went with the slider and his new found splitter, which he has been working on for 15 years and debuted last night to good effect.  After retiring 13 batters in a row, the Royals got something started in the 7th, but stranded 2 runners to end the game. 
 
The difference in the game was the free bases, as the Milleteers played good defense and made the Royals hit their way on, while the Milleteers got the benefit of 5 errors, 4 walks, and 2 hit batsmen.  The two teams will have a rematch on Thursday in Armena to complete their home and home.

Article Date: May 31

 
 
Walker Perfect
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
LEDUC 0 0 0 2 3  0  2  7  8  0
HOLDEN 0 0 0 0 0  0  0  0  0  3
 
 
With the Milleteers on a two game losing streak due to some brutal pitching and defense they needed a good start from Ryan Walker, and boy did they get one.  21 up, 21 down.  It was obvious early on that Walker had his A game as he was popping the glove and hitting his spots.  Historically he has always pitched well against Holden, narrowly missing a 10 inning perfect game against them two years ago as he only allowed one hit.  Tonight he did even better as he faced the minimum, with no hits or walks, and seven strikeouts.  His defense was good as well as they converted all 11 ground balls.  The only hard hit ball all night came off the bat of veteran slugger Pat Kawaliuk in the first inning as he scolded a liner to the second baseman.  Other than that Walker was simply masterful.
 
The offense took awhile to get going for the Milleteers as they finally got on the board with a two out, two RBI single from cleanup hitter Steven Pah in the fourthl.  It turned out that was all that was needed, but for insurance purposes the Milleteers kept the peddle down and put up seven on a quartet of Holden hurlers.  Not satisfied with just pitching a perfect game Walker also chipped in a couple of hits to help pace the attack.
 
The perfect game was the first in Milleteers history, and second no hitter as they had a combined no hitter back in 2010 in an ugly blowout against Ryley in the preseason.  I believe it is also the first no-no in league play in at least the last seven or eight years as Scott Peterson no-hit the Tofield Lakers in the early 2000s.  As for the last perfect game, I have no idea, but it was great to be apart of such a historic accomplishment.

Article Date: May 29

 
 Roadrunners Comeback To Capitalize On Milleteers Collapse
 
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
CAMROSE 0 1 1 5 1 2  0  10  8  3
LEDUC 2 2 5 0 0  0  0  9  11  3
 
 
The Milleteers carried on with their sloppy play from Sunday as they blew another big early lead tonight in Leduc.  The Milleteers quickly racked up an early seven run lead, only to have the resilient Roadrunners chip away and eventually take the lead.  Both teams were frustrated with the atrocious strike zone from the home plate umpire that led to a combined 15 walks, 12 from the Milleteers pitching staff.  The Roadrunners were the ones to stay composed and it payed off as they capped off the comeback in the sixth after the Milleteers made two errors that would have ended the inning, reminiscent of what happened on Sunday. 
 
After building up the big lead on starter Marcel Lesoway the Milleteers could not muster anything against All Star Alex Roth who was in top form for the win and a good bounce back as the Roadrunners had dropped their last two games, and now find themselves tied for first.
 
Next up for the Milleteers will be a road trip to Holden where they will try plug their defensive holes and play some good baseball, something they have struggled to do so far this year.

Article Date: May 26
 
 
Milleteers Split At Axemen Tournament
 

 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
EDMONTON  A'S 0 0 0 0 0 0  0  0  3  3
LEDUC 1 0 0 0 0  0  X  1 2  1
 
 
In the opening game the Milleteers got a great pitching performance from Jon Anstey as he made a first inning gift run stand up as he 3-hit the Edmonton Athletics.  The Athletics kicked the ball around in the first inning that led to the only run of the game.  The Milleteers seemed to have tons of runners on base in the first four innings, but could not get a clutch hit to bust it open.  Then in the fifth the A's were forced to bring in their lefty ace after their starter had to leave the game after he hurt his finger on a misadventure on a dropped pop up, his second dropped pop-up of the game.  The Milleteers went down meekly after that, but it didn't matter as Anstey was overpowering as he struck out nine.
 
The only drama came in the seventh after the leadoff man got on after an error.  With runners on first and third with one out catcher Shane Gerein caught the runner on third napping as he picked him off.  Anstey then struck out the last batter to seal the deal and punch the Milleteer's ticket to the semi finals.
 
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
LEDUC 1 3 0 0 0  1  1  6 14  4
LLOYDMINSTER 0 0 2 4 1  7  X  14  12  1
 
After a pitcher's duel in game one with 5 combined hits, the second game saw both teams combine for 26 hits in a sloppy affair.  It started out well for the Milleteers, but a couple of pickoffs killed some early rallies which could have put the game to bed early.  After two clean innings to start the game the Milleteers gave up a couple in the third after some two out errors got the Lloydminster Blue Jays on the board.  The Blue Jays then turned it up a notch in the fourth as they pounded starter Steven Pahl for another four runs.  Reliever Ryan Walker didn't fair much better as the Jays got to him for seven runs in the sixth to put the game away.
 
It was good to see the bats finally wake up from a season long slump, but some really poor base running stalled the offense and some unfundamentally sound defense was the undoing.  The Milleteers will try and tighten things up in league play this week as on Tuesday they host the Camorse Roadrunners and on Thursday they make the long trip to Holden to take on last year's runner ups.

Article Date: May 17

Milleteers Comeback Late To Squeak One Out
 
 
  1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
Leduc 0 1 4 0 0  0  2 7  8  3
Camrose 0 0 1 0 0  5  0  6 8  4

 
Leduc traveled to Camrose tonight to try and right the ship after the disappointing showing at home on Tuesday.  It started out well as they built up an early five run lead on veteran hurler Josh Banack, but Banack and his defense dug in and put up some zeros to give the offense a chance to comeback.
 
That chance came in the sixth as the Roadrunners strung a rally together against hurler Andrew Toner, working his first game on the mound in over a decade.  After a clean first inning of relief for starter Jon Anstey, Toner got roughed up as the first five runners reached on a combination of hits and walks.  Steven Pahl came in to try and stop the bleeding, but all the innings his arm has seen over the years makes tough to come in cold.  The first three batters he faced reached on a walk, hit, and an error, before he settled down got three outs.  The damage was done though as the Roadrunners took the lead to the bottom of the seventh.
 
With the Roadrunners All Star closer Alex Roth on the shelf with an injury the home squad had to stick with the veteran Josh Banack.  A one out error due to the incredibly fast infield tonight that played like the old 1970s astro turf and gave both teams fits, opened the door for Leduc.  Steven Pahl then stepped up and helped his own cause with a deep opposite field double to cash the tyeing run, then catcher Shane Gerein ripped his third hit of the night to cash in Pahl and give his team the lead.
 
In the bottom of the seventh Eldon Banack got a one out single to get the tyeing run on, but the game ended on the next batter with a strike'em out throw'em out.
 
With the win the Milleteers move to 3-1 and are tied for first going into the third week of the season.  Next week will be a busy one as they first host the struggling Bardo Athletics before heading down the highway to take on the surprising Armena Royals in a battle that could be for first place.  Then on the weekend they head back to Camrose to participate in the annual Camrose Axemen Tournament.

Article Date: May 15

Ryley Shows Up, Whips Leduc
 
  1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
RYLEY 0 0 0 0 4  0  2  6  9  3
LEDUC 0 1 0 0 0  0  X  1 5  4

After a no show by Ryley on Sunday, the Milleteers pretty well  no showed tonight as they were listlessly trounced in all facets of the game.  The only run the Milleteers were able to scratch out was on a two out gift error.  Other than that starter Craig Koughan kept the Milleteers in check as he did not allow another batter past second in his six innings of work, before closer Kris Kushnerick finished off the seventh.
 
The Milleteers started off OK on the mound as starter Kevin Doyle worked out of jams as with key strikeouts to blank the Rebels in his four innings.  The Milleteers then turned to the bullpen as young right hander Mark Walker got the call to bridge the gap to the back end of the bullpen.  He failed to get an out as he gave up a walk, an error, and three hard hit singles.  The Milleteers then had to go to the closer early as Jon Anstey then struck out the side to stop the bleeding, but the damage was done.  The Rebels then tacked on two more runs in the seventh on a deep double to left, probably the deepest shot the diamond has seen to left since the league went to wood off the bat of Koughan.
 
Next up for the Milleteers will be the first place Roadrunners in Camrose on Thursday as they look to bounce back.

Article Date: May 8

Walker Brothers Team Up To Blank Holden
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
HOLDEN 0 0 0 0 0  0  0  0  2  5
LEDUC 0 0 0 8 0  1 X  9   8 2
 
 
In a rematch of last year's final the Milleteers were too much for the shorthanded Blue Jays.  After a slow start where both teams were held hitless for the first three innings the Milleteers exploded for eight runs after an error got the inning started.  Holden stater Steven Hrabec probably deserved a better fate, but with many regulars missing, his defense let him down as the Milleteers used a combination of hits, walks, and errors to keep the line moving.
 
Ryan Walker got the start tonight as historically he has faired well against Holden, and tonight was no exception as he only allowed one hit and struck out seven in four innings.  His only trouble came in the first as he stranded a leadoff walk at third.  His brother Mark came in and pitched two scoreless innings in his Milleteers debut on the mound as he struck out two and walked two.  New closer Drew Boyer came in and capped off the shutout with a scorelessseventh.
 
The news was not all rosy as promising youngster Kirk Smith sprained his ankle beating out a ground ball at first.  In a freak accident he stepped on the ball on the errant throw as he ran through the bag.  After a quick trip to the hospital and a shiny new walking cast he will be out at least a month.
 
Next up will be a road game in the comfy confines at Ryley, as the Milleteers take on the slugging Rebels.

Article Date: May 2

 

Milleteers Collapse Late Against Axemen In Preseason Action
 
 
  1 2 3 4 5  6 7   R H  E
Milleteers 0 1 0 0 0 0  2  3  3  4
Axemen 0 0 0 2 0  0  2  4 5 3

In a game that closely resembled their preseason game last year, the Milleteers and Camrose Axemen took to the field for the first time this season for some preseason action.  Early on the teams traded zeros, save for a run on a passed ball in the second that gave the Milleteers the lead.  The pitching was ahead of the hitting tonight, as it usually is early in the year. The Axemen answered back with two runs in the fourth, one coming on the only decently hit single all night from cleanup hitter Ryan Mehler, who also hit a laser comebacker in the first that pitcher Steven Pahl snagged in self defense.
 
Both teams used four pitchers, and save for a combined twelve walks, not much happened offensively until the last inning. With two out and nobody on Paul Offrim walked the number eight and nine hitters in the lineup to put the tieing and winning runs on base. He then got a weak ground out to third to end the inning, only to have the third baseman bobble it to extend the game and load the bases. The next hitter then hit another weak grounder to short that might have been good for an infield single to tie the game, but the shortstop missed it completely and allowed the winning run to score as well.
 
With sidewinding closer Drew Boyer on the hill the Milleteers looked to cap off the comeback, but the defense which had been pretty good all night suddenly imploded.  The first batter grounded weakly to third, but the throw to first was low and couldn't be handled.  The next batter did the exact same thing, and despite the throw being on target the result was the same as the first baseman Murray Doyle dropped the ball.  With runners on first and second the Axemen elected to move the runners over, but the Milleteers botched the play as Murray Doyle airmailed the throw into right to tie the game.  After a hit batsman loaded the bases the Axemen won it on a seeing eye single through the drawn in infield. 
 
Despite the uncharacteristically bad defense on both sides in the last inning, the game was well played for the first six innings.  The Milleteers will look to squeeze in another practice or two before they open the regular season at home against the team that took the to the limit in the final last year next Tuesday as they host the Holden Blue Jays.

2011

Article Date: Aug 3

Milleteers Take Game One
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
HOLDEN 0 0 0 0 0  0  1  1  3  4
LEDUC 2 3 0 2 0  1  X  8 11  1
 
 

For the third time this season the two Stevens faced off tonight as Steven Pahl of the Milleteers took the mound against his counterpart Stephen Hrabec from Holden.  The two had split their previous two meetings, but tonight the stakes were higher as game one of the PBL Championship Series was on the line. 
 
The Milleteers used their championship experience to their advantage tonight as they kept the pressure up with their contact hitting and aggressive base running and it paid off early as they were able to plate a couple in the first and a three spot in the second.  The normally strong Holden defense was a little leaky tonight as the youngsters looked a tad nervous in their first finals appearance, and it showed as a couple of errors lead to some runs.
 
This was all starter Steven Pahl would need as he had the curve and the slider working tonight and mowed down the Holden hitters as he took a no hitter into the fourth and ended up with a three hitter and twelve strikeouts.  The only blemish came with two out in the seventh when Pahl fielded a weak grounder to potentially end the game, before throwing it away and allowing Holden's only run to score.
 
Game two goes Tuesday in Holden at 7:00pm.

Article Date: Aug 2

 
Milleteers Polish Off Rebels
 
 
  1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
LEDUC 1 0 8 3 0  X  X  12  19 0
RYLEY 0 0 0 1 2  X  X  3  8  4

 
The Milleteers ended their semi final series with the Ryley Rebels tonight as they scored early and often before the game ended early due to darkness.  The game started late as the Rebels again had trouble rounding up a team, a reoccurring theme to the second half of their season, and a big reason why their season ended earlier than they had hoped.
 
The Milleteers got on the board first against starter Craig Koughan, who was making his third straight start against the Milleteers.  Some good defense limited the damage as a timely double play got the Rebels through the inning only down one.  After leaving the bases loaded in the second the Milleteers would finally get to Koughan in third as they sent 12 batters to the plate and scored 8 runs.  They would add some more insurance in the fourth to put it out of reach.
 
On the mound tonight for the Milleteers was young right hander Ryan Walker, and he was tough early as he wiggled out of a few jams before the Rebels would finally get a run across in the fourth to break the goose egg.  They would add two more in the fifth courtesy of a Kyle Reinholt bomb to left.  The Milleteers would answer with a bomb of their own in the top of the sixth, but then the game was called due to darkness, so DH Steve Pahl saw his homer wiped off the board.
 
Next up will be the finals tomorrow night in Leduc as the Milleteers will take on the Holden Blue Jays.

Article Date: Jul 27

Milleteers Comeback In Game One
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
Ryley 0 0 0 0 0  0  1  1  2 2
Leduc 0 0 0 0 0  0  2  2  5  1
 
The Milleteers are hoping history repeats itself as they started their third straight semi final playoff series with a come from behind win in their last at bat, with the first two being the launching point for championship runs.  After a dominating run through the regular season the Milleteers faced off against a determined Ryley Rebels squad who fought and clawed their way into the playoffs with a walkoff homer with their season on the line against the Milleteers in their last regular season game, and then staging a come from behind win in a sudden death playoff versus their arch rivals from Bardo.
 
Tonight the largest home crowd of the season was treated to an old fashioned pitching duel as Rebels starter Craig Koughan and Milleteers starter Steven Pahl were basically untouchable for the first six innings, albeit in different ways.  Koughan was efficient as after six he had given up only an infield single and a bloop single, to go along with only one strikeout and no walks.  Pahl on the other hand had the strikeouts going as he only had given up one bloop single of his own, but also had been a little wild with a couple of walks.  The wildness would hurt him as he hit shortstop Dylan Solberg with a slow curve to leadoff the seventh.  After a weak grounder got him to second and an error got him to third the Rebels were in business.  After pitching a great game Koughan then helped his own cause as he battled to a 3-2 count, then got a fastball he could handle to cash in the go ahead run.  After another walk, Pahl then showed some moxy as he struck out the next two batters with the bases loaded to keep the game close.
 
In the bottom of the seventh the heart of the order finally came through as All Star Trevor Pahl led off with a bloop single, then clean up hitter Kevin Doyle followed with a single of his own to put runners on first and second with none out.  Then the turning point of the game came up as the Milleteers all time home run leader Steven Pahl came up to the plate and laid down a picture perfect bunt to sacrifice the runners over.  With the defense caught off guard and the 240 pounder hustling down to first Koughan had to rush his throw and he threw it away to not only let Pahl reach safely, but also let his brother Trevor score the tying run.  After the Rebels walked the bases loaded to set up the force at home, the Milleteers hottest hitter Murray Doyle stepped up to the plate and drove a 2-2 pitch to the fence for a long single and a walk off, hard fought win for the Milleteers.
 
Game two will go in Ryley on Tuesday, with a big crowd expected to be on hand.

Article Date: Jul 6

 
Milleteers Beat Up On Shorthanded Rebels
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
RYLEY 0 0 0 1 0  X  X  1  1  5
LEDUC 0 6 0 3 4  X  X  13  10  1
 
The biggest crowd of the season on a hot, muggy night in Leduc was treated to a less than stellar ball game tonight as neither team showed much energy tonight.  The Milleteers had clinched first with a Rebel loss the night before, so they played like they were just using this game as a tuneup for a tournament on the weekend.  The Rebels, who needed a win of their own to sow up a playoff spot, again could only round up 8 guys and had to play shorthanded for the forth or fifth game in a row, and it seemed to wear on them.
 
After a clean first inning for both teams the flood gates opened for the Milleteers as they found some holes and capitalized on miscues, which was the story for the rest of the game on offense for the Milleteers.  On defense they played alright, save for an error in the fourth that allowed Ryley player coach Kevin Reinholt to stroll into third.  Trying to send a message and fire up his team, Reinholt then stole home cleanly as he timed pitcher Ryan Walker who was going out of the windup.  The message went for not as the Rebels couldn't mount any offense after that and showed little life, except for an unsuccessful hidden ball trick that ended up in a balk with the bases loaded.
 
Both teams are in action tomorrow as the Milleteers take on the last place Royals, while Ryley has a pivotal game against Bardo where a win would punch their ticket to the playoffs and severely hamper their rival's chances of sneaking into the big dance.

Article Date: Jul 3

 
Milleteers Dent Bardo's Playoff Hopes
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
BARDO 0 1 1 0 0  1  0  3   7 4
LEDUC 0 0 1 1 0  3  X  5  9  1
 
 

The Milleteers were able to edge the Bardo Athletics on Thursday night in Leduc with a come from behind 5-3 effort.  Murray Doyle got the start for the Milleteers and gave his team a chance to win as he went five good innings only giving up 2 runs, striking out 4 and walking no one.  On the other side Bardo went with their big game pitcher, future Hall of Famer Ray Lehmen.  Lehmen was tough early as he kept the Milleteers off balance with his changing speeds, arm angles, and windups.  He also mixed it up when runners got on base to shut down a running game that had been wreaking havoc as of late. 
 
With the game tied going into the sixth the Milleteers turned to their closer Jon Anstey.  As they always seem to do with their backs against the wall, the veteran laden Bardo squad dug down deep and were able to scratch across a run to take the lead in their half of the sixth.
 
The Milleteers offense would come alive to answer back in their half of the sixth to chase Lehmen from the mound as they finally got to him with a three run inning to take the lead into the final inning.  The Athletics would not rollover as a leadoff error and a walk had them in business.  Then their number nine hitter tried to lay down a sacrifice, but the bunt was placed so well the third baseman just had to eat it to load the bases with none out and the top of the order coming up.  Anstey would then dig down deep as he struck out the next two batters and got the final batter to fly out to center field to preserve the win.
 
With the win the Milleteers have all but assured themselves a first place regular season finish as they would have to lose all their remaining games and Ryley would have to win out.  With the loss Bardo is now on the outside looking in for the final playoff spot and will need some help as they no longer are in control of their own destiny.  They only have one game a piece against the teams they are trailing, and are a 1.5 games back, which suits the Milleteers just fine as the Athletics always seem to find an extra gear, or four, and crank it up come playoff time.  With 2 championships in the last 5 years and a playoff series win against the Milleteers the Athletics have always been a playoff force, despite often underwhelming regular seasons.  If they can't make up the ground and find a way to squeeze into the playoffs the chase for the PBL Cup will look markedly different this year as for at least the last half decade the road to the championship had to pass through Bardo.

Article Date: Jun 29
 
 
Peterson To The Rescue
 
 
  1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
HOLDEN 0 0 3 0 0  0  0  3  2  3
LEDUC 0 0 3 4 2 3  X  12  15  2
 
After calling it a Hall of Fame career at the end of last season, Scott Peterson left the door open to the possibility of returning to the field on an emergency basis only.  The Milleteers put him on the roster just in case, and sure enough tonight they needed his services one more time.  Twenty minutes before game time a number of players canceled so Peterson got the call to suit up for his home town and he didn't miss a beat as he went 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored, while providing solid defense at second. 
 
On the mound tonight the two Stevens faced off for a second time this year as Holden's Steven Hrabec handed Leduc's Steven Pahl the loss in the season opener, the only league loss the Milleteers have suffered all year.  Early on it looked like Hrabec and the Blue Jays were ready to duplicate the feat as they punched 3 across in a bizarre top of the third.  First the normally overly generous strike zone in Leduc seemed to evaporate to nothing that lead to a leadoff walk and a single.  Then a botched fly ball in left lead to a run and a first and third situation.  Pahl seemed to have the runner picked at second after using the old bush league move, but the base ump missed the call.  Then a solid single lead to another two runs scored.
 
The Milleteers would answer back, as they have done all year as they plated three runs of their own in their half of the third.  They would then take the lead for good in the fourth as light hitting left fielder Adam Pahl atoned for his defensive miscue by ripping a standoff triple to start the inning, and was followed by a singles from Kelly Landaker and Scott Peterson as the bottom of the order got a four run inning started.
 
Steve Pahl cruised the rest of the way on the mound as he didn't allow a baserunner after the three run outburst in the third as he ended up with a 12 strikeout 2 hitter.  The only hard hit ball after the third came off the bat off of Holden veteran Pat Kawaliuk, who was robbed on a diving stab in the gap from right fielder Kelly Landaker.
 
The offense kept plugging away for the Milleteers and they ended up putting 12 runs up on the normally stingy Holden defens to seal the victory.  Both teams will be back in action tomorrow as Holden takes on the second place Ryley Rebels and Leduc takes on their playoff nemesis the Bardo Athletics, with both matchups having playoff implications.

Article Date: Jun 22

 
Milleteers Sweep Season Series With Roadrunners
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
CAMROSE 0 2 1 0 1  0  0  4  4  6
LEDUC 6 0 2 1 3  0  X  12  11  3
 
Both teams looked rusty tonight in Leduc as the ten day lay off due to inclement weather did neither team any favors.  The Milleteers gave Shawn Brinkworth the start tonight and he looked good in the first, but ran into a little trouble in the second as an error and a few hits allowed the Roadrunners to get on the board.  The Milleteers countered with six in their first at bat as they jumped on starter Marcel Lesoway as they parlayed some walks, errors and a few bloops and bleeders into an early lead.  Lesoway would settle down after that as he showed signs of the form that got him an All Star nod last year the rest of the way.
 
The Milleteers then went to the bullpen to try and get the staff some innings as they sent Steve Pahl, Kelly Landaker and Jon Anstey to the bump, and it was effective as the trio kept the Roadrunners in check the rest of the way, save for two unearned runs on some defensive miscues.
 
The bats were somewhat quiet tonight as there were only a few balls hit on the screws, but the Milleteers made up for it in the running game as they swiped 12 bags tonight to pace the offense.  The Milleteers now get another week off as they don't play again until Wednesday when the host the second place Holden Blue Jays, then play another home game Thursday as they host the Bardo Athletics.

Article Date: Jun 12
 
Milleteers Make It Back To Back At Bardo Day
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
LEDUC 2 0 0 5 4  0 4  15  14  6
ARMENA 2 0 0 0 2  6  0  10 5 12
 
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
LEDUC 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 10 3
BARDO 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 6 2
 
For the second year in a row the Milleteers traveled to Bardo to play some ball and eat some Bardo pies, and for the second year in a row they came away as tournament champs.  In the first game they drew the Armena Royals.  The game was not very pleasing on the eyes as both teams played brutal defense.  The Royals went with their veteran arm Jason Buzzell, who pitched well but got absolutely no help from his defense as the Royals made a dozen errors to allow the Milleteers to jump out to a big lead. 
 
Milleteers starter Brad Engel for the most part was able to work around the miscues as he pitched five strong innings for the win.  Ryan Swenson then came in to pitch for the first time this year and he looked a little rusty as the Royals pushed across six runs to get within one.  The offense then came through to put it away in the seventh and Trevor Pahl came in and pitched a scoreless inning to finish the game. 
 
In the final the Milleteers faced off against the home town Bardo Athletics.  The Athletics jumped out to an early lead as they got an unearned run in the first off of starter Murray Doyle, and then added another run in the third.  The Milleteers finally responded in the fifth after letting some early opportunities slip away.  As he has done all year Gregg Zilkie lead off the inning with a single.  Then Jon Anstey, Trevor Pahl, and Kevin Doyle hit consecutive doubles to put the Milleteers ahead and chase Bardo starter Todd Martin.  The Bardo bullpen held the fort as their knuckle balling reliever kept the Milleteers off the score board the rest of the way.
 
The Milleteers also turned to the bullpen as Kevin Doyle came in and pitched a scoreless fifth.   He got in a little trouble in the sixth though and closer Jon Anstey came in to wriggle out of it, only giving up one run.  In the bottom of the seventh the Athletics again threatened, but a great block on a ball in the dirt with a runner on third from catcher Brad Engel saved the day, as Anstey got the final batter to fly out to preserve the win. 
 
 
 
 
Article Date: Jun 9

 
Milleteers Take Out Bardo Again
 
 
  1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
LEDUC 2 0 3 1 3  3  2  14 15 2
BARDO 0 1 1 0 1  0  1  4  9  5
 
The Milleteers came to Bardo for a second consecutive Thursday, and were again scrambling just to field nine guys.  With number nine hitter Adam Pahl showing up just in time to run out to left field in his work clothes in the bottom half of the first the Milleteers were in business.  Again the lineup hit from top to bottom and pounded out 15 hits, including a no doubter home run from lead off hitter Greg Zilkie, the first of his career, ever, including slow pitch.  The offense was helped out by a few Bardo miscues as well as some errors prolonged some innings.
 
On the mound the mound the Milleteers went with Steve Pahl, his second consecutive start against the Athletics.  He battled some command issues early and needed a timely double play on a hard hit ball up the middle to escape the first.  He began to settle down in the middle innings and handed the lead over to veteran lefty Kelly Landaker who pitched two good relief innings, only surrendering one run on a ball that the right fielder lost in the sun.
 
All in all it was another well played game by the Milleteers as they kept the lineup moving on offense and played some solid defense, highlighted by a couple of web gems from second baseman Shawn Brinkworth to cap off the effort.  Next up will be a one day tourney back in Bardo on Saturday.

Article Date: Jun 7

 
Milleteers Boat Race Roadrunners
 
 
  1 2 3 4  5  6  7  R  H  E
LEDUC 5 5 8 1  1  X  X  19  24 1
CAMROSE 0 0 0 0  0  X  X  0  4  6

 
The Milleteers traveled to Camrose tonight to take on the hard charging Roadrunners as they have seen a surge in the standings the last few weeks after a tough start to the season.  The Milleteers quickly jumped on Roadrunner starter Josh Banack as they brought their hitting sticks tonight, and the Camrose defense that had been so good on their recent winning streak was pretty leaky as well.  Pitchers are paid to get three outs an inning, not five, so the official scorer was kept busy when the Milleteers were up to bat. 
 
Staked to an early lead starter Murray Doyle cruised through his three innings, only allowing two base runners.  Lefty Greg Zilkie came in to mop up, sporting a nice ERA of 108.00.  He got through two scoreless and saw his ERA drop to a much more respectable 15.43.
 
Next up for the Milleteers will be a road trip to the Bardo Fair Grounds as they play a league game there on Thursday and then the annual Bardo Sports Day tourney on Saturday.

Article Date: Jun 2
 
 
Shorthanded Milleteers Hand Bardo Another Loss
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
Leduc 3 0 0 0 2  0  3  8  12 0
Bardo 0 2 0 0 0  0  0  2  5  3
 
Despite the fact the Milleteers should have been well rested after getting Wednesday off as for the first time in the hundred plus years of the PBL Bono caused a game to be postponed as the Ryley Rebels had half their team at the U2 concert, the Milleteers rolled into Bardo shorthanded due to injuries and work.  This forced 60 year old coach Brian Pahl from the bench to right field.  Despite the the slim roster the defense was air tight tonight as they made no errors.  They needed to be good as starter Steven Pahl was going on short rest and with all the absentees there were few options in the bullpen.  With little on the fastball he mixed up his pitches and was around the plate all night as he only walked one.  He also got a lot of help from the normally hard hitting Athletics as they had a lot of quick ground outs to keep his pitch count down.
 
The only trouble he had was in the second as he gave up three hits to start the inning before he got a strikeout and pop up, followed by a base running error to double up the runner on second to preserve the lead.  After that he basically cruised the rest of the game as he only gave up two more hits and kept getting ground balls, including a half dozen comebackers to the mound.
 
On offense the Milleteers quickly jumped on starter Todd Martin for three in the first, but let some opportunities slide away, including bases loaded, none out in the fourth without capitalizing.  They finally got a couple in the fifth after Trevor Pahl and Kevin Doyle started the inning with back to back hits, then they did it again in the seventh to put the game out of reach as the duo continues to rake.
 
The win puts the Milleteers in first, a game and half up on the Rebels.  The loss puts the struggling Athletics into a tie for fourth with Camrose and Armena nipping at their heels a half game back.  The big story tonight had to be the defense as the infield went 16 for 16 on ground balls tonight on the tough infield and Bardo.  Next up for the Milleteers will be a road trip as they head to Camrose on Tuesday to face the Roadrunners and then back to Bardo for a rematch on Thursday, then back to Bardo on Saturday for the Bardo Sports Day tournament.

Article Date: May 29

 
Milleteers Come Up Short In Semi Finals
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
Milleteers 0 0 0 2 0  0  1  3  7  1
Prospects 0 0 0 2 3  1  X  6 7  1
 
The Milleteers came up a little short against the eventual tournament champions in the semi finals of the Axemen Tournament on Sunday.  The Edmonton Prospects Academy, a travel ball team made up of midget age players from all over the country proved to be a little too much for the rest of the field.  Steven Pahl got the start for the Milleteers and he kept the talented youngsters off the board for the first three innings before some defensive miscues in the fourth allowed the Prospects to get a few across.  Pahl was forced to leave after four innings due to blister problems on his pitching hand.  Hard throwing closer Jon Anstey came in and looked good early as he fanned the first two batters before his control eluded him as he walked the next two and also hit a batter before the Prospects got back to back hits to take the lead for good.
 
Offensively the Milleteers got their chances but only got one big clutch hit, a Brad Engel double in the fourth to give the Milleteers a two run lead.  I guess they could take solace in the fact that they were the only team in the tournament to score a run on the Prospects as they mercied the Axemen 8-0 in their opener and clipped the powerhouse Parkland White Sox 2-0 in the final.
 
Next up for the Milleteers will be a couple tilts this week versus the top teams in the PBL to settle the early leader in the standings as they take on the Ryley Rebels Wednesday in Leduc and the travel to Bardo to take on the Athletics on Thursday.

Article Date: May 28

 
 
Milleteers Mercy Cougars In Tournament Opener
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
Cougars 0 0 0 1 0  0   X 1 5  4
Milleteers 2 0 0 0 5  1  X  8  11 1
 
The Milleteers traveled to Camrose Friday night to take part in the annual Axemen Tournament.  They took on the young Camrose Cougars in a rematch from the tournament last year.  This game played out much like the previous contest as the Midget AA Cougars hung tough and threatened to tie the game early before the Milleteers bats came alive and put the youngsters away.  The Milleteers really exploited the youngster's lack of experience as they got out of a jam in the third as veteran lefty Kelly Landaker picked off a runner on first.  Then the Milleteers started running the bases aggressively as they stole seven bags and forced some errors to put the game out of reach.
 
Next up will be another young team from the Edmonton Prospects Academy.  These youngsters come from all across Canada and travel to tournaments all over North America year round.  The Prospects mercied the Camrose Axemen 8-0 in their first game to punch their ticket to the semi finals.

Article Date: May 26
 
 
Milleteers Comeback In Holden
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
LEDUC 2 0 0 1 0  2  4  9  8  0
HOLDEN 0 0 5 0 0  0  0  5 6  3
 
The Milleteers strolled into Holden tonight looking to avenge their only loss of the season to remain atop the standings in the PBL, while the surprisingly struggling Jays looked to clip the the champs again at home to claw themselves back to 0.500.  The Milleteers jumped on Blue Jays starter Steve Hrabek early as Jon Anstey lead off with a line drive single, followed by a deep double from CF Kevin Doyle and a single up the middle from 1B Steven Pahl for a two run lead.  Hrabek would settle down after that and put up a few zeros to give his team a chance to get back in it.
 
Murray Doyle got the start for the Milleteers as he had looked sharp so far this year and continued to pitch well as he cruised through the first two innings.  The wheels fell off in the third though as the number nine hitter stroked a double to lead off before a bloop and a walk loaded the bases for PBL veteran Pat Kawaliuk.  Doyle though he had the veteran rung up on a curve at the knees, but the vet got the call from the ump and a run was walked in which seemed to unnerve Doyle a bit as he gave up a couple of hard hit singles before digging deep and stopping the rally at five.  Doyle came back out and had a clean fourth before giving way to hard throwing Brad Engel who gave the Milleteers two scoreless and a chance to get back in it.
 
After the Milleteers snuck one across in the fourth the Jays turned to last year's PBL pitcher of the year Kyle Muzechka.  Fresh off a Canadian College Championship run with the Lethbridge PBA Dawgs the lefty had no problems mowing down the top of the order in the fifth.  The sixth was a different story though as the Milleteers capitalized on a two out error that put a runner on second.  Shortstop Jason Russell then came up with a single up the middle and then 2B Shawn Brinkworth beat out a swinging bunt to score a run.  Then on the first pitch Brinkworth broke for second as the lefty tried to pick him off, but he beat the throw for a SB while Russell scored from third on the double steal to tie it.
 
In the top of the seventh Anstey led off with a hard single up the middle and then was sacrificed over to second.  Kevin Doyle came up and stroked a double to the gap to take the lead, then the Milleteers loaded the bases on some free passes and put it away with another double from Russell to give him 4 RBIs on the night.  Anstey would come on to strike out the side in the bottom of the inning to preserve the win.
 
Next up for the Milleteers is a Friday night tilt in Camrose to kick off the Axemen tournament.

Article Date: May 20

 
Big Week Three Coming Up For Milleteers
 
After winning both their matchups in week two to move to the top of the standings the Milleteers will look to cement their stay at the top with a couple of wins in week three before taking part in a tournament on the weekend.
 
Wednesday, May 26th In Leduc
 
Leduc Milleteers
 
 
                           VS
 
 
 Bardo Athletics
 
 
 
Matchup:  These two teams have met in the playoffs in each of the last three years with all the series being close, three game affairs.  So far the As have had an up and down season as they dropped their first two, before rebounding with two wins to get back to 0.500.  The veteran laden As have some new faces this year that they are trying to work into the lineup.  The Milleteers have also been a little up and down this year as they lead the league in runs scored by a wide margin, but their normally strong pitching and defense has been inconsistent so far.
 
Keys to the game:  The Milleteers will need to keep their bats and running game going and put pressure on the sometimes leaky Bardo defense.  On the flip side they will need to throw strikes and try to avoid the big inning that often seems to plague them against the veteran Bardo hitters.  For the Athletics they will need a good pitching performance to cool down the league's leading offense to keep them in the game and avoid the errors that cost them dearly in last year's playoffs.
 
Thursday, May 27th  In Holden
 
 Leduc Milleteers
 
  
                              VS
 
 
 
      Holden Blue Jays
 
 
Matchup:  After surprising the Milleteers in the season opener the Blue Jays proceeded to lose their next two, before rebounding for a win in their last outing.  The Milleteers will be looking for revenge, but they always seem to have trouble playing in Holden.
 
Keys to the game:  The Milleteers will need to capitalize on their chances as they left a ton of men on base the last time out.  On defense they will have to tighten up both mentally and physically as the young Blue Jays like to use their speed and small ball to put pressure on their opponents.  The Blue Jays will need some good pitching (the return of All Star Kyle Muzechka would help) to keep the score down as they would have trouble keeping up to the Milleteers in a slug fest.  On offense they need to put the ball in play and use their running game to try and force mistakes.
 
 
 May 28th to May 30th  In Camrose
 
2011 Camrose Axemen Invitational Tournament
May 27 – 29th 2011
Harry Andreassen Field, Camrose, AB

 

Game #1 - Friday 7:00pm - Leduc Milleteers vs. Camorse Cougars
 
Game #2 - Saturday 9:00am - Camrose Axemen vs. Edmonton Prospects Academy
Game #3 - Saturday 11:30am - Provost Combine Pilots vs. Edmonton Warriors
Game #4 - Saturday 2:00pm - Parkland White Sox vs. Calgary Diamondbacks
Game #5 - Saturday 4:30pm - Loser Game #1 vs. Loser Game #2
Game #6 - Saturday 7:00pm - Loser Game #3 vs. Loser Game #4
 
Game #7 - Sunday 9:00am - Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #4
Game #8 - Sunday 12:00pm - Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2
Game #9 - Sunday 3:00pm - Winner Game #5 vs. Winner Game #6
Game #10 - Sunday 6:00pm - Winner Game #7 vs. Winner Game #8
 
The Milleteers then head to Camrose to participate in the annual tournament.  This year's field features teams from leagues all over the province.  The Milleteers draw the Camrose Cougars first on Friday in a rematch from last year.  The Milleteers beat the AA midget team in the tournamnet opener last year, only to have the rest of the tournament wiped out by rain.  This should be a good early test for the Milleteers as they will face some of the Provinces better teams this weekend.

Article Date: May 18
 
Milleteers Top Rebels
 
 
  1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
RYLEY 0 1 0 0 0  0  0  1   6 1
LEDUC 0 0 3 0 1  0  X  4  8   3

 
After being involved in some sloppy and wild games so far this season the Milleteers finally found themselves in a well played ball game as they battled the undefeated Ryley Rebels for first place.  Ryan Walker got the start for the Milleteers as he just made it in time for the game from Ft. Mac and he was just what the doctor ordered for a pitching staff that had given up an average of seven runs per this season.  He held the powerful Rebel bats in check for five innings, only giving up one unearned run before turning it over to closer Jon Anstey who got the two inning save.  For the most part the defense was good tonight for a change, and it had to be with the amount of balls the Rebels put in play.
 
On offense the Milleteers did not have the same success against Rebel starter Corey Epp as they had seen in the last few games, but it did enough with the big blow coming with a deep two out triple from catcher Shane Gerein in the third after a hit and an error led to two runners on. 
 
The Milleteers now get to rest up for a busy schedule next week as they host Bardo on Wednesday, head to Holden on Thursday, then play in the Camrose Axemen tournament on the weekend.

Article Date: May 18

 
Milleteers Hammer Royals In Holden
 
 
  1 2 3 4 5 6  7  R  H  E
LEDUC 9 2 8 0 3  1  1   24  21  3
ARMENA 4 2 3 4 0  0  1  14  18  5

 
Another game in the PBL, another football score.  It looks as though hitters have finally adjusted to using wood bats as scores soar and stats are padded.  The Milleteers traveled all the way to Holden tonight to take on the Armena Royals as the diamond in Armena is still being worked on.  The Milleteers jumped all over Armena starter Wes Wilson as they put up 9 in the first as 1B Steven Pahl hit two doubles in the first inning.  Not to be out done his little brother Trevor hit four hammered doubles, which would have been five if not for a spectacular catch from LF Jason Buzzell.  After the Milleteers chased Wilson in the third hard throwing youngster Mark Walker came in and kept the Royals in the game as he would only allow five more runs the rest of the way.
 
On the flip side Shawn Brinkworth got the start for the Milleteers as he had looked pretty good so far this year, only allowing one run.  The only blemish to his record was that he was walking a batter per inning.  He solved that problem tonight as he only walked one of the 28 batters he face.  Problem was that the pesky Armena hitters touched him up for fourteen hits of their own to try and stay in the game.  In the fourth Murray Doyle came in with the Royals threatening and he quickly quelled the rally.  He then went the rest of the game only allowing one run to preserve the wild victory.  Despite all the hitting the difference in the game had to be a few key errors that the Royals made that lead to the big innings in the first and third.  The Milleteers meanwhile were able to work around their miscues with limited damage.
 
In the end the Milleteers set several offensive team records tonight including most doubles in a game, most total bases, and tied their record for runs in a game.  Trevor Pahl also smashed the individual team record for most doubles in a game.  On the downside the team also set some dubious pitching records tonight for most hits and runs allowed in a game.
 
Despite the outcome in the Milleteers favor the real winners tonight were the hordes of mosquitoes that got a chance to feast on both teams during the near three hour marathon game.  Next up for the Milleteers is a battle for first place versus the hard hitting Rebels at home tonight.

Article Date: May 16
 
Milleteers Look To Move Up In The Standings In Week Two
 
After splitting their two games in week one the Milleteers find themselves in unfamiliar territory as they sit in fourth place.  The good news is that they can climb back into first with two wins this week.  The bad news is they will have to beat the only two remaining undefeated teams to get there.
 
Tuesday, May 17th
 

 Leduc Milleteers

                                        vs
 Armena Royals

Matchup:  The young Royals surprised the pundits as they took their opener versus the perennial contenders from Bardo.  The Royals have fallen on hard times recently as they haven't made the playoffs in three seasons as they wait for their talented youngsters to start producing on their promise.  If the youngsters can come through and the veteran holdovers from the dynasty years can wring another year out of their aging bodies the Royals could make a playoff push.  The Milleteers on the other hand had an up and down week as errors and a lack of clutch hitting wasted a good pitching performance as they dropped their opener to Holden.  They rebounded the next night however as they mauled the Camrose Roadrunners and reminded everyone why they are the defending champs as they unleashed a 19 hit assault.
 
Keys to the Game:  It will be in the Milleteers' best interest to continue their hot hitting and kill any momentum the young Royals gained in week one by rushing out to an early league.  In the past the Royals have had trouble staying in ball games with the Milleteers when they get down early.  If the Royals can hang around and keep it close they will gain in confidence and could be able to pull one out and put the rest of the league on notice that they are no longer to be taken lightly.  Veteran Shawn Brinkworth is expected to get the ball for the Milleteers.
 
 
Wednesday, May 18th
 
 Leduc Milleteers
    vs
 Ryley Rebels
 
 
Matchup:  This rematch of last year's final should be a good one as both teams have been pegged as contenders for the PBL cup again this year.  So far Ryley has pounded the ball as expected as they lead the league with 27 runs in their two wins to start the year.  Their pitching has been improved as well as the experience gained from their bullpen last year has given them some depth behind their top starters.  The Milleteers pitching and defense have consistently been able to keep the Rebel offense in check the last few years and has led to a 13-3 record versus the Rebels.  On the flip side the Milleteers were able to ding the Rebel's pitching staff for an average of almost 8 runs a game last year.
 
Keys to the game:  The key for the Rebels will be to get their offense on track against the Milleteers' pitching staff.  Since the game is to be played in the giant Leduc diamond the Rebels won't be able to rely on the long ball and will need to show a more diverse offense attack with some running and small ball thrown in, which is precisely what they have been doing so far this year.  For the Milleteers the formula is the same as it has always been versus the Rebels.  Use good pitching and defense to keep the Rebel attack in check and try to pressure the Rebel defense with some speed, small ball, and timely hitting to frustrate them and to try and get into their bullpen. 
Article Date: May 11
Milleteers Rebound In A Romp
 
 1 2 3 4 5  6  7  R  H  E
CAMROSE 0 0 0 0 0  7  X   7 3  3
LEDUC 2 9 3 4 2   X  X 19   19  2
 
After a tough night at the plate where the Milleteers could not buy a clutch hit they took out their frustrations on the new incarnation of the Camrose Roadrunners as they unleashed a 19 hit attack on their opponents.  All Star Marcel Lesoway got the ball for the Roadrunners and he was quickly greeted with two runs in the first and nine in the second, including the first ground rule double to the gap in the cavernous Leduc diamond since the switch to wood bats courtesy of 1B Steven Pahl.  Not to be outdone catcher Shane Gerein came within two feet of hitting the first wood bat home run in the diamond as he clanked one off the top of the fence.  The hits came from everyone tonight as newcomers Kelly Landaker and Andrew Toner each got themselves a batting average.
 
On the mound the Milleteers went with veteran junk baller Shawn Brinkworth and he gave the team three shutout innings as he struck out six, walked three and allowed no hits.  Crafty lefty Kelly Landaker came in for two scoreless innings, which was nice to see as he hadn't pitched since the 2008 edition of the Milleteers.  Young lefty Greg Zilkie then took the mound to get some work and the Camrose offense finally woke up as they batted around and managed to put up seven runs before Murray Doyle came in to quell the rally.
 
After splitting the first week the Milleteers will head to Armena (or possibly Sherwood Park) to take on the Royals on Tuesday, then Wednesday they will host the powerful Ryley Rebels in a rematch of last year's final.
 
 
 
Article Date: May 10
 Milleteers Drop Game One
 
 
 
  1 2 3 4 5   6 7  R  H  E
LEDUC 1  0 1 0  0 2  0  4  7  3
HOLDEN 0 0 2 0 1  2  X   5  6  2

 
For the first time in their history the Milleteers will start the PBL campaign 0-1 after dropping a close one late in Holden tonight.  Despite a team record tieing 14 strikeouts from starter Steven Pahl in only 6 innings of work, the pesky Holden hitters capitalized on a couple of walks and key errors with some clutch hitting.  The normally solid Milleteer defense was pretty rusty tonight after the weather shortened Spring Training as they had a few drops and uncharacteristic defensive miscues that all seemed to turn into runs.
 
On the flip side the offense just could never put Holden starter Steve Hrabek away despite five walks in the first two innings and stranded 12 base runners throughout the game.  After letting Hrabek off the hook he settled down until the sixth when the Milleteers finally got a two out hit as Pahl helped his own cause with a two out double to take the lead.  It was short lived though as Holden pushed two across in their half of the inning and then held on to the win with the tieing run on second.
 
The Milleteers will look to bounce back tomorrow night as they host the rebooted Roadrunners at home in Leduc.

Article Date: Mar 30

2011 PBL Preseason Predictions
 
With a relatively stable offseason by PBL standards the prognosticators should have an easier time predicting the regular season this year.  Should being the operative word.  Last season saw a two tiered league emerge last season as the playoff teams were too much for the Lakers and Royals to handle most nights last season.  With the top four teams remaining relatively stable in maintaining their cores and adding a few pieces they should be tough again this year.  If Armena can keep developing their youngster while enticing their veterans to come out more regularly and  with Tofield's move to Camrose and the increased talent and resources they would have access to, the two franchises may be able to exert some pressure on the top four and fight for a playoff spot. 
 
1. Leduc Milleteers       11-4 
 
The Milleteers cruised to a regular season title last season before locking up their second consecutive championship.  While the core returns there are some questions that will have to be addressed as they will be without two of their top three starters from last year as Scott Peterson retired and Ryan Walker is working in Fort Mac.  All Star closer Jon Anstey is coming off an off season knee injury as well.  With some former players returning to plug the holes and the addition of fomrer Millet Minor Ball great Jason Russell the pitching should be alright and if the offense continues to improve they should be a lock for the playoffs and have a good chance at PBL history as they look to complete the three peat.
 
2.  Ryley Rebels    10-5
 
 
With all the injuries to their pitching staff  and a dreadfull start last season it was quite remarkable the way the Rebels  rebounded to a second place regular season finish and an appearance in the finals after coming from behind in their opening round sereies.  With some semblance of health to their top four pitchers to go along with the top offense in the league the Rebels will contend for first.  The continued improvement to their bullpen with all the experience they gained in their trail by fire last year and limiting mistakes on defense will be the keys to beating the Milleteers in the close games the clubs often seem to be involved in.
 
3.  Bardo Athletics  9-6
 
Everyone keeps wondering when age will finally catch up to the A's.  It will come eventually, but they should still be one of the top teams this season.  The A's had a decent regular season last year and then turned it up in the playoffs as they gave the Milleteers another stiff playoff test in the first round.  With the addition of young All Star catcher Dylan Berrecloth the A's should feature a little more speed and athleticism to go along with their grit and experience.  With some rumoured additions to their pitching staff they should at least be able to maintain their status as one of the elite teams over the past several seasons, and everyone knows that with all their championship experience that the road to the PBL Cup will most likely have to  pass through Bardo again this year.
 
4.  Holden Blue Jays      8-7
 
The young expansion franchise surprised many as they they challenged for first place and won a playoff game last season.  The young Blue Jays played fundamentally sound baseball and put a lot of pressure on teams with their speed and defense.  They also featured a good young staff led by the leading All Star vote getter Kyle Muzechka.  They did lean on Muzechka heavily last season though as he seemed to tire down the stretch and in the playoffs.  Keeping him fresh for the playoffs will be key for the Blue Jays to make a run at a championship.  The lineup also lacks consistent power behind veteran Pat Kawaliuk and seemed to have trouble scoring against the league's top pitchers, issues which will have to be adressed if the Jays want to see their name etched on the PBL Cup for the first time in almost twenty years.
 
5.  Armena Royals      4-11
 
First year manager Jason Buzzell had his hands full last season as he just barley steered his team away from tieing the franchise record for futility.  After entering the season with some optimism after barley missing the playoffs the previous year the team struggled mightily.  The potential is still there for possible playoff contention, but the same questions marks still remain.  If the Royals can entice their ace Joel Boettger to make more than one start, if hard throwing acquisition Brian Rademacher can stay healthy enough to make more than one start, and if talented, but enigmatic youngster Mark Walker can start to figure it out, the pitching staff could be one of the better ones in the league when you throw experienced finesse pitchers Lee Palmer and Jason Buzzell into the mix.  The offense could be good as well if the youngsters start to produce on the promise they have shown and the veteran holdovers make a more committed effort to come out.  If all these things go right the Royals should make a serious push towards contention, but it could easily go the other way towards another frustrating season for the former league powerhouses.
 
6.  Camrose Roadrunners   3-12
 
The Camrose Roadrunners aren't used to being at the bottom of the standings, but this reincarnation of the franchise is unlike the ones before it.  After a bitter end to an acrimonious relationship with the town over diamond up keep the Tofield Lakers folded up shop and moved to Camrose to restart the defunct Roadrunners franchise.  With the move the former Lakers will get to play in a better facility, have access to a new and larger talent pool, and have an association with Larry Lewsaw, the architect behind the most successful regular season franchise in the PBL over the last half decade.  Not all is rosy for the Roadrunners however as they have lost the services of young All Star Dylan Berrecloth as he decided not to make the move with the team and defected to Bardo.  It should be a season of promise for the reborn franchise as they can focus on just playing ball instead of worrying about grounds keeping, but time will tell if switching franchises will be enough to end the long playoff drought
Article Date: Mar 29
Walker Out For 2011 Season
 
 
 
The quest for a 3rd straight PBL title just got a little tougher as the Milleteers are going into the season having lost 2 of their top 3 starting pitchers.  With the retirement of Scott Peterson and the recent news that Ryan Walker will be working in Fort Mac this summer, and will only be available on weekends, the Milleteers will have to find some new starters to replace the 10 wins and quality 80 innings that the pair threw last year. 
 
Despite not being well liked around the league due to his precociousness, Walker was a god send for the Milleteers the last two seasons as he went a combined  9-1 on the mound.  Even better than the numbers was that he had a resilient young arm that could handle a heavy work load as he was always ready to go and gave his team a chance to win when called upon.  When matched up against the league's best he would always rise to the challenge as evidenced by his gem where he faced one batter over the minimum in 8 innings to beat the league's best pitcher last year, Kyle Muzechka of the Holden Blue Jays.  Then not even a week later he went a full 10 innings to battle Muzechka to a tie, and if not for some shotty defense it would have been another win.
 
Walker was also a versatile piece in the filed as he could fill in at third and short and hit at a near 0.300 clip the last two years.   With the season fast approaching the Milleteers are anxious to get into Spring Training to see what they have to work with so that they can begin to rebuild a starting staff that was a point of strength last year.  With some free agent signings, returning players, and some talent already within the organization the coaching staff should have an interesting time rounding out a staff.
Article Date: Aug 3

2011

Milleteers Cruise To Game One Victory
 
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E

3 3 0 2 3 0 X 11 14 3

0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 7 7
 
The Milleteers jumped out to a one game series lead after they convincing took game one in Leduc against the Ryley Rebels.  After Ryley rallied to win their tight series against Holden they came out flat tonight in game one against the Milleteers.
 
The Milleteers continued their hot hitting from their semi final series as they jumped all over Rebels starter Dylan Solberg, who did not have his normal stuff after coming off the DL for the playoffs.  In the first inning Trevor Pahl got it started after he reached on an error, then Kevin Doyle followed with a hit.  Then Steven Pahl followed with a liner to left that was dropped, and scored two runs.  Then Pahl scored on a grounder to give the Milleteers an early three run lead.
 
In the second it was more of the same as a combination of hits and errors allowed the Milleteers to score another three runs to jump out to a six run lead.  The Rebels then turned to veteran Ronny Oslund to stop the bleeding, but the Milleteers continued to score runs, including a bizarre inside the park homer from Trevor Pahl as he waltzed home after catcher Dustin Solberg and base runner Adam Pahl were having words after Adam took an elbow from a frustrated Solberg as he crossed the plate.  While the two were arguing, no one thought to retrieve the ball at the backstop so Trevor kept going and ended up walking across home with a dumbfounded look on his face.
 
On the other side of the ball last year's playoff hero Steven Pahl got the start and he was tough on the Rebels as he did not walk a batter and did not allow an extra base hit to the power hitting Rebels.  Early on the Milleteers defense was tight as Pahl was finding his footing, then he got the strikeouts going and ended up with 10 Ks and only one unearned run.
 
Game two is scheduled for Thursday in Ryley and it should be a good one as the Rebels should have their ace Curt Stensrud rested for the tilt.  It is not known who the Milleteers will throw as they have a bevy of options as all-star Scott Peterson, 7-0 Ryan Walker, and even lights out fire baller Jon Anstey are all rested and available.
 
 

Article Date: Jul 29
 
 
Milleteers Punch Ticket To The Finals
 
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5 0 2 2 3 0 0 12 13 0

0 1 0 1 0 7 0 9 12 2
 
  
After letting the Bardo Athletics off the hook early on Tuesday the Milleteers were determined to cash in some of their base runners, and that is exactly what they did early on as the put up a five spot to chase starter Chris Mittlestad in the first. Mike Leclaire came in to try and stop the bleeding, but the Milleteers kept the peddle down as they scored two in the third, two in the fourth and three in the fifth to race out to a 12-2 lead. Ryan Olsen, Tuesday’s starter came in and finally quelled the offense in the fifth as he pitched two plus scoreless innings.
 
Normally a twelve run out burst would be plenty of runs for the Milleteers pitching staff as they sent 6-0 Ryan Walker to the mound tonight. Despite getting through the first five innings relatively easily, Walker could not get his curve ball over for stirkes, and when you’re a two pitch pitcher you need to have both of them working. Bardo finally got to Walker in the sixth as they started to rip the ball as they crushed five hits in a row off of him. After a walk to the number eight hitter, Walker was finished and the Milleteers gave the ball to Steven Pahl. Despite a sub one ERA this year, Pahl’s arm has seen a lot of innings over the years and does not respond well to coming in cold . After inducing an infield fly he hit lead off hitter Craig Neufield right in his can of snuff, then gave up a walk and a bases loaded double before escaping with a three run lead.
 
After the Milleteers failed to score in the top of the seventh the Athletics made it interesting as Ray Lehman hit a two out single to get something started and Dan Chambers followed with a single of his own to get the tying run to the plate. The comeback was halted however as Pahl was able to strike out the next hitter to end the game and get the Milleteers their first ever playoff win in the “Bardo Triangle” and set up a date in the finals with the Ryley Rebels.

Article Date: Jul 28

Nothing Solved In Bardo
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0 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 5 13 4

0 2 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 11 5
 
After a dramatic come from behind win in game one, the Milleteers tried to duplicate the feat in game two, but just could not get that winning run across.  Fortunately the Athletics couldn't either, so the game ended up in a tie due to darkness, so the Milleteers retain their one game lead.
 
The Milleteers went with veteran Scott Peterson on the hill, as he had not given a run all year.  Bardo would get to him with two in the second as the infield defence was a little shaky, although the Bardo diamond is not an easy place to play as it is facing the wrong way so you get the sun in your eyes, plus it is small so the ball gets on you in a hurry.  Peterson would hold the fort until the fifth when Bardo got two more and then added an insurance marker in the sixth.
 
At the plate the Milleteers struggled badly with runners in scoring position as they left four men on in the first two innings without scoring.  A big hit could have really broken it open, but it never came as the two thru four hitters went a combined 2-17 on the game, not good enough in the playoffs.  They kept chipping away and with some help from the Bardo defense managed to tie it in the seventh as Brad Engel got on after the catcher dropped the third strike, then Karl Zimmer followed after an error to the third baseman.  After Zimmer was pinch ran for Adam Ducarme sacrificed the runners over.  Then Engel scored on an overthrow and Ryan Walker moved to third.  Murray Doyle than layed down a safety squeeze, but it was right to the pitcher so Walker had to hold ground, but then broke for home after the throw went to first and scored.  Doyle was ruled safe by the first base umpire, but then inexplicably was called out after the callwas overturned, the first in a series of bad breaks for the Milleteers the rest of the way as every time they got something going the rally would seem to die on a close call.
 
After tieing the game the Milleteers turned to the closer Jon Anstey, and he was lights out as he struck out 11 in his five innings and pitched around some errors to keep the game tied. After the game was called due to daylight, the teams agreed to meet again in Bardo on Thursday to play as the league rules state that a whole new game must be played on the same field in the event of a tie.
 
 
Article Date: Jul 22
 
Milleteers Strike First In Extras
 
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0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 7 4

0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 3 9 4
 
History has shown that when these two team meet up in the playoffs that it was going to be a dramatic hard fought series, and game one did not disappoint.  Steve Pahl got the start for the Milleteers, as he had been almost unhittable in his last two starts, but the Bardo hitters proved to be a much tougher challenge as they worked counts and had tough at bats against the big right hander and were able to scratch out runs in third on a Mike Leclaire single and in the sixth on a suicide squeeze from Ray Lehman.
 
It looked like one or two runs was all that starter Ray Lehman would need as he kept the Milleteers off balance at the plate and when they managed to get on base, as the Milleteers went 1 for 3 on the base paths, normally a stat they dominate.  The Milleteers kept chipping away as they finally got a run in the fifth as nine hole hitter Greg Zilkie hit a two out single and then promptly stole second.  He was then driven in by Trevor Pahl.
 
After the Athletics took back the lead in the sixth, they turned to their closer, PBL Hall of Famer Donny Oslund.  With one out first baseman Murray Doyle chopped one to third, but an over throw allowed him to not only get on base, but to make it to second.  Doyle was pinch run for by speedster Adam Pahl.  Then Greg Zilkie again came thru as he hit a single, and then on another overthrow advanced all the way to third.  With the top of the order due up the Milleteers looked primed to complete the comeback, but Zilkie got overzealous and tried to score on a passed ball that did not travel far enough, and the threat ended.
 
After the Milleteers brought in closer Jon Anstey to pitch a scoreless top of the eighth catcher Shane Gerein led off with a bloop single and the Milleteers were in business.  He tried to steal second on the first pitch, but was gunned out by a pitchout as Bardo guessed right and the threat seemed to be over.  Then Anstey hit a sharp ball to third, but third baseman Ken Braggett made his third throwing error of the game and allowed Anstey to scurry all the way to third.  After an intentional walk to cleanup hitter Steve Pahl to set up the double play Kevin Doyle stepped into the box and drove a 2-0 fastball for a walk off single and a series lead for the Milleteers.  Just as the teams finished shaking hands a hail storm started, a fitting end to a back and forth struggle.  Game two goes in Bardo on Tuesday.
 
 

Article Date: Jul 15
 
Brinkworth Out For The Rest Of The Season
 

 
Shawn Brinkworth, the teams emotional leader will have to lead from the bench the rest of the way as it turns out his thumb was fractured from a comebacker in the final in Goodfish Lake.  Brinkworth was having a decent season on the mound as he sported a 2-1 record and a 5.96 ERA in 23 innings.  Known for his big slow curve and dancing knuckler his outings were fun to watch as he often had batters ducking on strikes and taking feeble swings at his off speed stuff.
 
At the plate Brinkworth was in a funk of late, but was still contributing by often leaning into pitches to get on any way he could.  His heart and dedication has so far rubbed off on the rest of the team and his contributions to the outstanding season so far that the Milleteers have had go far beyond the stat lines.  For the rest of the year Brinkworth will have to wear the coaches hat and flash some signs down at third.

Article Date: Jul 15

Milleteers Route Royals
 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E

5 3 0 0 0 2 10 10 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 4
 
For the second year in a row the Milleteers and Royals hooked up in Sherwood Park after rains rendered the Armena Rec Grounds unplayable.  The Royals decided to play a double header to round out their tough season versus the Milleteers first, then the Holden Blue Jays under the lights.
 
The Milleteers started where they left off after a good weekend in Goodfish Lake as they quickly realized that Royals starter Kyle Ellis couldn't find the plate as they used some walks, hits and errors to put up a five spot in the first and a three spot in the second.  That would be all they would need as Murray Doyle was strong on the hill as he went four shutout innings with some relief from Ryan Walker and Greg Zilkie. 
 
Next up for the Milleteers, weather permitting, will be a pair of five inning games on Bardo on Monday to round out the regular season.  The Milleteers will need to win at least one of those games to clinch first and home field advantage in the playoffs.

Article Date: Jul 12

Milleteers End Up Bridesmaids In Goodfish Lake
 

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0 0 7 0 2 2 4 15 14 3
ST. PAUL CUBS 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 4
 
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4 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 7 1
EDMONTON BLACKHAWKS 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 5 2
 
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0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 2
LEGAL INDIANS 3 2 0 1 0 1 X 7 13 2
 
The Milleteers traveled to Goodfish Lake this weekend to participate in their Treaty Days tournament.  It was quite the spectacle as there was a Midway complete with a Ferris Wheel just beyond center field, as well as a Rodeo, live music and an announcer that might have been even more colorful than Bob Uecker in Major League.  With the high cash payouts some good teams were on hand to compete.
 
The Milleteers drew the St. Paul Cubs first, and not knowing much about the Cubs, decided to go with their best available arm Steve Pahl, as Ryan Walker and Scott Peterson were unavailable to make the trip.  It turned out they didn't need much pitching as they smashed the Cubs pitching to the tune of 14 hits and 15 runs.  Pahl almost matched the run total with strikeouts as he tied a team record with 14 and only allowed 3 hits and 1 unearned run.  Everyone in the lineup had a hit, except for pickup Mason Pahl, who set a new team record in striking out 5 times in the game.  Greg Zilkie also tied a team record with 4 steals, including 3 in one inning.
 
Then on Sunday morning the Milleteers faced off against the Edmonton Blackhawks with a chance to go to the final on the line.  The Blackhawks are again having a good season in the "AA" North Central Alberta Baseball League as they sit with a 9-5 record and are the highest scoring team in the league.  Despite being the underdogs on paper the Milleteers charged out of the gate in the first inning as Trevor Pahl and Jon Anstey hit back to back doubles to get the game started.  Then Brad Engel hit a solid single and cleanup hitter Steve Pahl drilled a hanging curveball over the right-center field gap for a two-run shot to give the Milleteers a four run lead before they even got an out.  Then in the second inning they would add another after Shawn Brinkworth took a fastball to the dome before scoring on an error by the shortstop.  After that the Blackhawks brought in their power pitching ace Regan Hoet to stop the bleeding, but it was too late as the Milleteers had scored enough for the win.
 
On the mound the Milleteers turned to 18 year old Mason Pahl, who hadn't thrown a ball in months, and it showed as he battled some wildness as he walked five before being relieved in the third.  Some good defense, including a double play limited the damage to only one run.  The Milleteers were forced to go to the closer early as they brought in Jon Anstey with the bases loaded in the third with two outs, and he managed to get a ground ball to get out of the inning.  Anstey battled as he could not get his curve over, but the Blackhawks could not catch up to his heat either as he kept pounding the mitt and managed to keep them in check, save for an unearned run in the sixth.  The pitching performance would be enough to punch the Milleteers ticket to the final.
 
In the final the Milleteers would meet up with the powerful Legal Indians, a team loaded with good young talent.  The Indians currently sit second in the NCABL and have been perennial favorites in the league for the last several years.  The Milleteers went with veteran Shawn Brinkworth on the mound and he got hit hard in the first, but was settling in before getting hit with a comebacker on his pitching hand and he had to come out of the game.  The Milleteers went with Mason Pahl again and he faired better this game as he only walked 1 the rest of the way, but the Legal hitters were able to pound the Milleteers for 13 hits and 7 runs.
 
On the other side of the mound the Milleteers had to face off against the reigning NCABL MVP Blair Cowley.  Cowley was on his game and was too much for the Milleteers hitters as he threw a two hitter and had eight strikeouts.  The Milleteers can take solace however that they broke up the shutout bid as they were the only team to score a run on the Indians in the tournament and also the only team to keep them under double digit runs.
 
Here is how the tournament ended up:
 
1. Legal Indians
2. Leduc Milleteers
3. Edmonton Blackhawks
4. Lac LaBiche Dodgers
5. St. Paul Cubs
6. Goodfish Lake Chiefs

Article Date: Jul 8

Blue Jays And Milleteers Kiss The Sister After 10
 
 
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1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 4 5 4

0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 8 2
 
On a beautiful night in front of a large crowd by PBL standards the Milleteers and Blue Jays played a little overtime, but in the end nothing was solved.  The game had a bit of playoff type intensity to it as both sides went with their top arms.  In a rematch from two weeks ago Ryan Walker and Kyle Muzechka faced off again on the mound.  After Ryan got the better of it in the first matchup, this one was a draw as the offense for both teams dried up after the two defenses settled down and started to play some good ball and zeroes were put on the board until the game was called due to darkness. 
 
The game was reminiscent of last year's marathon tie between the A's and the Rebels where Oslund and Stensrud battled it out, only to wear themselves out for the playoffs.  Luckily for the Milleteers they have plenty of other arms to go to if Walker's doesn't bounce back after this great effort.

Article Date: Jul 7
 
Milleteers Take Care Of Lakers
 
  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E

1 5 0 0 0 2 X 8 8 1
 
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 3

 
The Milleteers got back into action tonight as they took on the Tofield Lakers.  The first two meetings of these teams this season saw the Milleteers take the Lakers to the woodshed, but with their playoff hopes hanging in the balance the Lakers came in a lot more focused tonight.  Both teams had runners on seemingly every inning, the difference being that the Milleteers got a few key hits, including a bases clearing double from Trevor Pahl to break it open in the second.  The Milleteers never looked back as they cruised to victory. 
 
On the mound the Milleteers gave the ball to Ryan Swenson, who was fresh off the DL and hadn't pitched much in the last ten years, but he looked alright getting the win with four shutout innings.  Murray Doyle continued his battle back from arm trouble as he picked up the old school three inning save as he worked some shutout baseball as well.  Next up for the Milleteers will be a battle with the Holden Blue Jays tomorrow night. 
 
The Jays were poised to try and take over first, but now have lost their last three and will need to start stringing some wins together to get home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.  A win here for the Milleteers will all but wrap up first place for them as they will hold the tie breaker advantage over both the Jays and the surging Ryley Rebels.

Article Date: Jun 23
 
Walker Nearly Perfect As Milleteers Take Over First Place
 
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0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 2

1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 9 2
 
For the second night in a row the Milleteers faced off against a PBL All Star hurler, as they faced lefty Kyle Muzechka tonight, although tonight would be a much different game.  Muzechka confounded a lot of the Milleteers hitters tonight as finding a dominant lefty pitching in the PBL has been almost as rare as finding a unicorn the last few seasons.  Muzechka made fools of the left handed hitting Kevin Doyle and Steven Pahl, but the other left handed hitter in the lineup was his undoing.  Catcher Shane Gerein, who had been in a bit of a slump had three hits tonight and drove in both Milleteer runs.  Trevor Pahl and Scott Peterson, who had both been in slumps coming into the game also had multi hit games as I guess facing off against one of the league's best pitchers is a good way to break out of your slump.
 
The story of the game however had to be Milleteers starting pitcher Ryan Walker.  Pitching on short rest and having felt the shame and embarrassment of seeing his little brother get three All Star votes to his zero, despite being 4-0 with a sub two ERA going into tonight, Walker was on a mission.  He ended up with 12 strikeouts and only allowed one base runner on a bloop single in one of the most dominating performances in recent PBL history.  The only unearned run he allowed to score was in the fourth when a leadoff bloop single turned into a double when right fielder Steven Pahl tried to throw the runner out at first only to over throw the bag and allow the runner to get to second.  Then a passed ball moved the runner to third and a weak grounder cashed the run.
 
Prevailing in the pitchers duel allowed the Milleteers to cement their status atop the standings with an 8-2 record going into the All-Star break, while the loss puts the Blue Jays back into a tie for second with the Bardo Athletics.  The Milleteers now get a much deserved break as they don't play until July 7th when they host the Tofield Lakers.

Article Date: Jun 22

Bats Come Alive In Tofield
 

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3 2 2 2 0 6 2 17 16 3

0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 6 6
 
After the Milleteers offense sleep walked through the A Final in the Ryley Tournament, it came back with a vengeance on Tuesday night in Tofield.  Kevin Doyle got it started as he sent the first pitch of the game from Tofield hurler Marcel Lesoway into the trees in right and the hits kept coming all night.  In the end Doyle would end up with a four hit night.  Not to be out done his little brother Murray chipped in with a couple of hits of the bench and three RBIs.  Shortstop Jon Anstey also had a multi-hit game as he hammered a couple of doubles and a single.
 
On the mound tonight for the Milleteers was Trevor Pahl as he decided to dust off his pitching arm after all the innings the normal pitching staff had to throw last week.  He was solid except in the third when he walked a few that ended up coming around to score, but seeing as he had only threw a couple of innings in the last seven years, he was happy to get what could actually be his first win in the new century.  Murray Doyle came in to get the old fashioned three inning save as he continues to battle back from elbow trouble and was effective as well as he did not allow a run.
 
Next up for the Milleteers will be a big first place battle with the Holden Blue Jays tomorrow night in Leduc.
 
Article Date: Jun 20

Milleteers Come Up Short In Ryley Tournament Final
 
After winning their first game on Friday against Holden the Milleteers then hooked up with the Battle River League champs from Heisler.  The Cardinals were a little shorthanded this week so they picked up a few guys from around the BRL, including former PBL All Star Steve Ofrim.  Ofrim got the start for the Cardinals and held the Milleteers in check for the first few innings, but after they Milleteers got their base running blunders out of the way they managed to put up five runs on the big righthander.
 
On the other side of the ball Steven Pahl got the start for the Milleteers.  He managed to shut out the Cardinals on the strength of eleven strikeouts and two double plays to help get the Milleteers into the A final.
 
In the final the Milleteers went up against the defending tournament champs, the Provost Combine Pilots.  The last time the two teams met the Combine Pilots lit the Milleteers up as the pounded them 12-0 last year.  This time was a closer game as the Combine Pilots triumphed
5-1.  The Milleteers left a ton of runners on and just could not get that clutch hit to bust it open.  Defensively the Milleteers were solid again, but could not recover from a bad second inning that saw All Star Jon Anstey give up three runs.  After the inning Anstey had to come out of the game with a shoulder strain, and will be re evaluated this week.  Ryan Walker came in and pitched well as he gave the Milleteers a chance to win but they just could not string together any offense.
 
Despite the tough loss in the final it was a great tourney as the weather was awesome and the beer was cold.

Article Date: Jun 19

Peterson Pitches Another Gem
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0 0 2 0 2 0 3 7 8 3

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
 
After getting an All Star snub Scott Peterson ran his scoreless streak to 20 innings to start the year as he threw his second consecutive two hit shutout to run his record to 3-0.  This time the unfortunate victim of his precision pitching was the Holden Blue Jays.  The Blue Jays beat the Milleteers the night before in league play, but tonight in the opener of the Ryley Rebel tournament the Milleteers got the better of them. 
 
The Blue Jays picked up PBL Hall of Famer Donny Oslund to start for them and he was tough, but the Milleteers managed to scratch two runs off of him in the four innings he pitched.  That was all Peterson would need to best his long time foe as he was on tonight as he struck out seven and only walked one.  The only trouble he had all night was in the third when the first three batters reached to load the bases, only to see Scott wriggle out of trouble with a strikeout and a double play to end the threat.
 
The Blue Jays then went to the bullpen, but the Milleteers managed to score five more insurance runs, capped off by a three run shot from clean up hitter Steven Pahl.  Next up for the Milleteers will be a date with PBL pride on the line as they face the defending Battle River League champions, the Heisler Cardinals tomorrow at 5:00pm in Ryley.

Article Date: Jun 18
 
Holden Bests The Milleteers In First Place Battle
 
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The Milleteers travelled to Holden last night to battle it out for first in the standings as each team only had one loss on the year.  The teams had not met since the first game of the preseason that saw the Milleteers dominate on the way to a 14-0 win.  It looked early on that this game might go the same way as the the Holden starter battled some control problems early that allowed the Milleteers to jump out to a two run lead.  On the other side of the ball junk baller Shawn Brinkworth was tough early as he needed only five pitches to get through the first and then struck out the side in the second.
 
Holden battled back to tie it in the third as they learned to lay of Brinkworth's soft stuff and worked a few walks and a hit by pitch to load the bases.  Then veteran Blue Jay Pat Kawilalak cleared the bases as his single up the middle hit a tractor rut and skipped over center fielder Kevin Doyle's head.  In the fourth the Blue Jays scored another run on a safety squeeze to take the lead.
 
After the good first inning, as they often do, the Milleteers let Holden starter Jake Thorowsky settle in and find the strike zone in the middle innings.  The Milleteers have had a history of just doing enough on offense and not showing enough killer instinct to put teams away early when a pitcher is struggling.  In the fifth the Milleteers finally got a clutch hit by Murray Doyle to plate two to retake the lead, and then they scored one in the sixth to take a two run lead.
 
It all went downhill from there as the Blue Jays managed to score four runs on reliever Kevin Doyle.  After a bloop single from the lead off hitter, Doyle managed to get an out on a sacrifice bunt.  Then a slicing liner was misplayed into a double by right fielder Brent Thomas, who looked pretty rusty after being activated off the DL.  Then number nine hitter Kyle Muzechka hit a single up the middle, but center fielder Steven Pahl came up throwing and looked to have the tieing run gunned out at the plate, but inexplicably Doyle tried to cut it off, only to see it tick of his glove and have it roll to the catcher to not only allow the run to score, but the other runner to advance to second.  Then the next hitter hit another fly to Thomas in right to allow him to redeem himself, but he misplayed this one into a triple.  In the end the uncharacteristically bad defense from the Milleteers allowed the Blue Jays to plate four runs and win the game after the Milleteers failed to score in their last bat.
 
On a positive note catcher Brad Engel, who the Milleteers nominated to send to the all star game, tied a team record with four steals on the night.  Brad was an absolute terror for the Blue Jays as he had two hits, two walks, fours steals, three runs, and took extra bases with reckless abandon tonight, as well as being solid behind the dish.  The two teams won't have much time to rest as they will be back at it against each other to kick off the Ryley Rebel Tournament tonight at 7:00pm.  Future PBL Hall of Famer Scott Peterson is expected to get the start for the Milleteers.

Article Date: Jun 15

Milleteers Get Revenge On The Rebels
 

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The Milleteers traveled to Ryley tonight to face the only team this year that has managed to beat them.  The Rebels had been on a roll, winning their last three and got a big boost on the mound tonight as All-Star Curtis Stensrud came off the DL to get the start.  Stensrud was by far the hardest thrower the Milleteers had faced this year, but that seem to rejuvenate the offense a bit early as they always seem to have more trouble with soft tossers as opposed to flame throwers.  After giving up a three spot in the first Stensrud made the adjustment as he started to use his secondary pitches more and more to keep the Milleteers off the board on his way to ten strikeouts.
 
Ryan Walker got the start for the Milleteers and he had a bit of an up and down night as some innings he was mowing guys down, then others he was wiggling his way out of trouble.  He gave the Milleteers a chance to win however, and that is all you can ask of your starter as he went six plus innings, striking out nine, while allowing three walks and four hits.
 
With the score tied going into the seventh the Milleteers finally started to wear Stensrud out as they had been trying to work deep counts all night.  After a leadoff walk and a single number nine hitter Adam Pahl, who had already struck out twice, managed to fight off some tough pitches before singling up the middle to score the go ahead run.  Then catcher Shane Gerein singled with two out to get some insurance, but a great throw from the outfield nailed Pahl at the plate to end the threat and keep it a 5-3 game.
 
In the bottom of the inning Walker allowed a leadoff hit and then an error forced the call to the bullpen.  Due to some sore arms on the weekend Steven Pahl came into close, something he has not had to do much of since his closing days for the Wetaskiwin Rockies on the way to a Provincial Title.  Pahl got through possibly the toughest middle of the order in the PBL as he got Kevin Reinhold on a sac bunt that moved the runners into scoring position, then got Dylan Solberg to fly out to shallow center and Kyle Reinhold to ground out to second to end the game.
 
It was a good win for the Milleteers as it keeps them at the top of the standings with a big game with second place Holden on Thursday.  Junk baller Shawn Brinkworth is expected to get the start for the Milleteers in this big game match up.

Article Date: Jun 13

Milleteers Get Back On Track To Take Bardo Sports Day Title
 
Just like the centuries old annual march of the Emperor Penguin to its breeding grounds the people of the Bardo area flocked to the Bardo Sports Grounds to watch some baseball and eat some pie, the way they have for a hundred plus years.  The Milleteers made the trip to Bardo this year coming off their first loss of the season.  Player Coach Steven Pahl preached the virtues of showing some patience at the plate to get the offense back on track.  In the first game against the Armena Royals this worked perfectly as the batters worked some counts and got runners on, and then pushed the envelope on the base paths which resulted in some Royal errors.  The Milleteers got out to an early lead and the tandem of Shawn Brinkworth and Brad Engel on the hill did enough to get the Milleteers a 11-6 win.  The highlight of the game had to be  Murray Doyle's first home run in his life, and he hit it so far that no one could find the ball for him.
 
In the final the Milleteers faced off against their old nemesis the Bardo Athletics.  With a couple of guys having to leave for a stag the Milleteers were one player short for the final, so they picked up young Kenton Banack from the Tofield Lakers.  The pickup payed off as the youngster was solid in the outfield and chipped in a hit, as well as hustling out a gronder to get the offense started for the Milleteers in their last bat.  The Milleteers started the hard throwing Jon Anstey and he was tough for the five innings he pitched, but the veteran Athletics managed to get one on him in the second.  The Athletics almost made that one run stand up, but the Milleteers finally got something going in their last bat as Pahl and Anstey hit back to back doubles to score three runs.  Kevin Doyle pitched the last two innings for the Milleteers, and he did not allow a run for the win, exercising his demons from last years playoffs as he blew a save to close out the championship series in Bardo.  The highlight of this game had to be when Kevin threw a big sweeping curve ball that totally fooled Ray "The Legend" Lehman as he bailed out to the ground to get out of the way, only to have the pitched called strike three.  It is not too often the Milleteers get the better of Lehman as he is usually peppering the fence with his hard hitting.
 
Despite all the ball that was played the highlight of the weekend had to be the awesome pie and hospitality from the Bardo faithful.  The Milleteers will look forward to defending the title next year, and again eating the weight in pie.

Article Date: Jun 9

Rebels Hand the Milleteers Their First Loss Of The Year In A Wet And Wild One
 
 
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The Leduc Milleteers, Ryley Rebels, and the boys in blue proved tonight why wimps don’t play the game as they toughed one out in the rain tonight in Leduc. With the Milleteers on a 10 game winning streak to start the year they looked to be a runaway for first in the league, while the Rebels were just trying to claw their way back to 0.500 after dropping their first three league games.
 The diamond held up pretty well for about four innings, then the mound, plate area, and first started to get pretty soupy and I am sure the Milleteers will be getting a fine, or at east a stern talking to from the city. Seeing as many of the Milleteers actually built the mound in Leduc and used to have to pick weeds on the diamond when the city neglected it for a few years, they might have an argument that it is their mound to destroy.
 Nevertheless the two fans that showed up tonight were treated to a whale of a ball game. The Milleteers went with their ace from last year, Steven Pahl, who due to all the depth the Milleteers have on the staff and some untimely rainouts hadn’t pitched in a month. Fresh off of getting snubbed by all 30 Major League Teams for the 13th year in a row in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft Pahl was eager to prove the scouts wrong. Turns out they were right again as he battled some wildness due to the long layoff and even a bizarre balk that eventually led to the Rebels first run. He did also however have some decent stuff as he ended up fanning 12 on route to taking the loss. The pivotal at bat came with two out in the seventh with Dylan Solberg on second and Josh Lyons at the plate. Lyons continued to foul off tough pitch after tough pitch with two strikes on him before lining one to right to plate Solberg to tie it up. Then Travis Bugge managed to stroke one up the middle, then got caught in a run down between first and second before eventually being tagged out, but not before Lyons managed to score the winning run.
 On the other side the Rebels went with veteran hurler Ronny Oslund. Oslund was crafty all night as he used his dancing knuckler early in the game and then went more with the heater late to keep the Milleteers guessing. The Milleteers seemingly had runners on every inning, but like a true veteran Oslund kept working his way out of trouble to preserve the victory. The game surprisingly featured some pretty good defense tonight as there few errors, save for a throwing error by Pahl.
 Next up for the Milleteers is a game tomorrow night in Bardo, but judging by the weather it will probably be rained out. The Milleteers then travel back to Bardo for the annual Bardo Day Tournament on Saturday where they will be taking on the Armena Royals at 12:30.
Article Date: Jun 4

Milleteers Take Close One To Make It 10 In A Row
 
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The Milleteers ran their winning streak to start the year to ten games with a win over the Armena Royals on Wednesday, but it definitely wasn't easy.  Despite the teams being at opposite end of the standings in the PBL, it was the Royals who struck first against starter Shawn Brinkworth, who again struggled with wildness as he would walk four in four plus innings.  The Milleteers answered back with one of their own in the second, but junk baller Cody Sroka kept the hitters off balance most of the night, as the Milleteers have always had trouble hitting off of finesse pitchers.
 
The game continued to be tied at one apiece until the fifth when the Royals chased Brinkworth from the mound after he loaded the bases with a walk after giving up the lead with a wild pitch.  The Milleteers went to the bull pen and brought in closer Jon Anstey who continued his dominance this year as he did not allow a run the rest of the game and has yet to give up a hit this year in over thirteen innings pitched.  In the bottom of the inning the Milleteers offense got started again by number nine hitter Adam Pahl as he hit an infield single and then stole second, before being cashed in on a Kevin Doyle single.  Two batters later Steven Pahl hit a liner for a single that brought in Doyle for the go ahead run and to preserve the winning streak.  Next up for the Milleteers is a home game next Wednesday against the fourth place Ryley Rebels.
 
 Article Date: May 28
Milleteers Win Opener of the Axemen Tournament
 

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The weather held off just enough on Friday to sneak a game in to kick off the Axemen Tournament in Camrose.  The Milleteers drew the AA Midget Camrose Cougars in their first matchup on a soggy field.  The Milleteers went with sophomore Ryan Walker on the bump.  He struggled a bit and couldn't get his curve over consistently, but he battled and held the Cougars down for the first four innings.  On the flip side the offense struggled for the first four innings, including failing to score with the bases loaded and none out in the fourth.  In the fifth the Milleteers offense was sparked by Adam "Small Ball" Pahl as he hit his second infield single to lead off the inning and then promptly stole second.  Murray Doyle then cashed him in with a single.  The Milleteers then got a couple more runners on and finally got the big hit to break it open from Armena Royal Jason Buzzell, who the Milleteers picked up for the tournament due to some injuries.  Buzzell had a real productive game as he ended up with a couple of hits and a walk and played some solid defense.
 
After getting staked to a four nothing lead Walker ran into trouble in the fifth as the leadoff batter got on after a dropped third strike.  Then three hits and a walk later the bases were loaded with none out and the lead was trimmed to two.  Cue "Enter Sandman" by Metallica as the manager went to the closer as rookie sensation Jon Anstey got the ball.  Ten blazing fastballs later he had struck out the side and ended the threat.  Anstey stayed in the game to get a gruelling three inning save to preserve the win, the second time this week he has come in to shut the door to help the Milleteers win.  The Milleteers were to play on Sunday, but the rest of the tournament was washed out due to rain.
 
 Article Date: May 26
Peterson Shuts Down Athletics
 
 
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After a wild game the night before where the Milleteers needed to use four pitchers in a come from behind effort and looking ahead to a weekened tournament they needed a good effort out of their starter tonight, and thats what they got out of veteran Scott Peterson.  The Milleteers wanted to get five or six innings out of their veteran right hander to save some arms, instead they got a dominating two-hit shutout.  Peterson ended up with seven strikeouts, and of course no walks (control being  one of the staples of his prolonged success).  The normally steady defense of the Milleteers was a bit leaky tonight, but Peterson managed to pitch around it to ensure the win.
 
Offensively the Milleteers were kept off balance most of the night by cagey veteran Ray Lehman, but they managed to scratch across five runs with some timely hitting coinciding with some Bardo errors.  The win gives the Milleteers sole position of first in the PBL and puts them on an 8 game wining steak heading into the Axemen Tournament this weekend where they will face the Camrose Cougars on Friday night at 7:00pm.

Article Date: May 25
Milleteers Comeback to Win Extra Inning Slug fest
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The Milleteers travelled to Ryley tonight riding a six game win streak to start the season to play the struggling Rebels.  It was the Rebels that looked like the hotter team early on as they quickly jumped on Milleteers starter Shawn Brinkworth, who had been tough up until this outing this season.  A combination of walks and hard hits chased Brinkworth from the mound in the second after he had given up six runs.  In a Lou Pinnella style move the Milleteers brought in closer Kevin Doyle to try and stop the hard hitting Rebels, but he struggled to find the zone as well and when he did they hit him hard too.  After three innings the Rebels were up 8-1.  It probably could have been even more lopsided, but the Milleteers defense held together to knock down some hard hit balls.
 
The Milleteers then turned to hard throwing enigma Brad Engel, who struggled mightily to find the strike zone last season.  Luckily he found it tonight as he got through 1.2 innings unscored upon before turning it over to flame throwing rookie Jon Anstey.  This seemed to spark the Milleteers offense as they finally started to get to Rebel's starter Kris Kushnerick as they got a couple in the 5th and then put up a five spot in the 6th, including a two run shot from cleanup hitter Steven Pahl, to tie the contest.  Brad Engel chipped in four hits and Jon Anstey scored four runs to help pace the offense, but it was really a team effort top to bottom that allowed for the comeback.
 
After the Milleteers were blanked in the top of the 7th the Rebels threatened as they had the winning run on 3rd with two outs.  After a weak chopper down the  line and a bang bang play at first was ruled an out the game was sent to extras.  The Milleteers finally got Kushnerick out of the game in the 8th as they pushed a couple of runs across before Ryley brought in a knuckle baller to befuddle the hitters and end the threat.  In the bottom half Anstey got out unscathed to preserve the come from behind win and cap a wild comeback from a shorthanded Milleteers squad.  The Milleteers won't have much time to rest as they will square off against the Bardo Athletics in a battle for first tomorrow in Leduc.

Article Date: May 19
 
Milleteers Keep Good Start Going Against Lakers
 
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The Milleteers welcomed the Tofield Lakers to Leduc tonight for their home opener.  Both teams were coming off an opening night win the night before and were looking to get out to an early lead in the standings.  The Milleteers decided to go with veteran Shawn Brinkworth tonight on the mound and he had his moments.  His big slow curve had the Lakers perplexed all night and his knuckle ball was dancing most of the time.  He did get in to trouble in the third as he walked a couple and gave up his only hit in the five innings he pitched, but he stuck with his curve ball to strike his way out of trouble.  Brinkworth would end up with nine strikeouts on the night.  Murray Doyle came in for mop up duty and had some hard luck as the Lakers found some holes and he ended up giving up a couple of runs.
 
Despite the lopsided the score the game was close early as Lakers hurler Josh Banack kept the Milleteers off balance early.  Things started to unravel in the third and the fourth inning for him as some errors let him down and history has shown that when a team gets four or five outs in an inning they will usually make you pay.  The Lakers turned to the bullpen to stop the bleeding, but by then the Milleteers bats had woken up as they started stroking line drives on the way to mercying the Lakers in six.  Next up for the Milleteers will be a game in Ryley on Tuesday and then they will host Bardo on Wednesday, both teams they faced in the playoffs last year.
 
Article Date: May 18

Milleteers Down Royals in Season Opener
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The Milleteers travelled back to Anniversary Park to open the 2010 PBL regular season.  The game went much like the preseason games for the Milleteers as their pitching and defense held down their opponent's offense.  Scott Peterson got the start against his old mates and went four shutout innings, only giving up one hit, against long time teammate Jason Buzzell.  Jon Anstey then came in for a three inning save and was absolutely lights out as he struck out all nine batters he faced.  The Milleteers pitching staff has so far only allowed six hits and one unearned run in five games this season.
 
The offense struggled a little bit for the third straight game however as batters on both teams had trouble adjusting to the ever changing strike zone tonight.  The Milleteers just could never seem to get that big hit to really bust it open, but they did enough to win.
 
The Milleteers did not however escape Armena unscathed as right fielder Ryan Swenson, who has been swinging a hot bat to start the year sprained his ankle in an outfield collision with center fielder Kevin Doyle.  Swenson will be re evaluated tomorrow, but he will definitely miss the home opener tomorrow against Tofield.

Article Date: May 16

Milleteers Take Armena Icebreaker Title
 
 
The Milleteers continued their hot play to start the season as they travelled to the hamlet of Armena to help break in the new shale infield.  The Milleteers pitching and defense continued to be tough as they held their opponents to only four hits and one unearned run in two games.  In the first game the Milleteers beat the Bardo Athletics 4-1 with Steven Pahl getting the win and Kevin Doyle picking up the save.  In the final Ryan Walker and Jon Anstey kept the Ryley Rebels off the board as the Milleteers cruised to a 6-0 win.  It was a beautiful day and the fans got treated to some good ball and some surprisingly good cheese burgers.

Article Date: May 12

Milleteers Continue Hot Preseason As They No-Hit Rebels
 
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The Milleteers continued their hot start as they out hit and out pitched their opponents for the second straight game.  Scott Peterson, Ryan Swenson, Murray Doyle, Brad Engel, and Kevin Doyle combined for the first no hitter in Milleteers history and also extended the shutout streak to 14 innings to begin the season.  Last game the pitchers used the strikeout to get hitters out, but today they used their defense as they only struck out six.  The defense was air tight as they made all the plays to preserve the no-no and had an error free game.  This is the third no-hitter Scott Peterson has been involved in against PBL opponents in his Hall of Fame career, the first two he went the distance in.  So far the Milleteers pitching staff has sent nine pitchers to the mound and they have only allowed one hit in fourteen innings while striking out 24.
 
At the dish the Milleteers continued to rake as they had 22 hits and leadoff hitter Kevin Doyle scored a team record 5 runs.  2008 returnee Ryan Swenson showed no rust in his first game back as he had three hits, including two doubles.  Catcher Shane Gerein also chipped in three hits, and rookie shortstop Jon Anstey drew three walks, something the team struggled to do last season.  The lineup hit top to bottom and when they weren't hitting the shorthanded Rebels helped the offense out with some walks and errors. 
 
The start on the mound and in the field is not really a big surprise as the Milleteers started their first two seasons dominating in these areas.  The big surprise has to so far be the offense as, but for a small stretch in the middle of the season, struggled to score runs all last season.  In fact if it wasn't for their small ball approach in some games they would have had no offense at all, so it is very encouraging to see the lineup stroking the ball top to bottom and it makes for a good start to a promising season.

Article Date: May 8

Milleteers Kickoff The Preseason
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The Milleteers travelled to Holden for a little preseason action and to welcome the expansion Blue Jays back to the Powerline Baseball League.  The diamond was in great shape and the weather finally cooperated for a good day of ball. The game was tight early on before the Milleteer's bats finally woke up in the latter half of the game.  The offense was paced by middle of the order sluggers Steven Pahl and Shawn Brinkworth as they each ripped a pair of doubles and drove in four apiece.  Trevor Pahl and Kevin Doyle did their parts at the top of the order as they each scored three runs.  The rest of the batting order all reached base at least once as they kept the line moving.

On the mound the combination of Shawn Brinkworth, Ryan Walker, Steven Pahl, and newcomer Jon Antsey were tough as they only gave up one hit in the first inning and struck out 18 between them.   The Holden hitters battled, but had trouble adjusting to the velocity of senior league pitching. 
 
The story of the game however had to be the debut of 59 year old right fielder Brian Pahl.  After a forty plus year absence from the game the cagey old vet had to come out of retirement as the Milleteers were shorthanded.  He used his veteran batting eye to coax one walk, and would later come around to score, and played some solid defense in right.
 
After the game the Milleteers and Blue Jays took in some local entertainment down at the Holden Hotel.  The beer was watered down and the pizza was greasy, but the dancers were quite decent, much better than you would expect down at the village watering hole.
 
 
Article Date: Apr 3
Preseason Picks
 
With the snow almost gone and the diamonds drying up it is almost time for the teams of the PBL to take to the field, they way they have done for over a century.  With the nail biting end to last year's regular season and exciting playoffs, enthusiasm for the league was at an all time high.  A fall meeting and the possibility of unprecedented expansion kept the momentum going.  It seems to have fizzled a bit as in the end the league will stay at six teams, with the Holden Blue Jays in and the Camrose Roadrunners out.  With the defending regular season champion Roadrunners out the race for playoffs should be exciting as at least one new team will be going to the big dance this year.  Despite the uncertainty that comes along with senior baseball as you cannot be sure who is going to show up game to game, let alone what the roster is going to look like a month before the season.  Despite this pundits just can't resist the temptations to try and predict the season's outcomes as if they end up being right, they are geniuses.  If they are wrong they just simply hope that nobody remembers their predictions and they can keep on thinking they are great sports minds.  Here is my attempt at predicting the way the season will unfold.
 
 
 
1.    12-3          With the team that the Milleteers have had the most trouble with in the regular
    season sitting out this year they should be favoured.  The Milleteers have gone
    2-5 against the Roadrunners the last two seasons and 25-10 against the rest     of  the teams in the league. With the core of the team returning this could be the year that the squad can get that 100 dollar prize, barring a championship hangover. 
 
2.   11-4      Despite finishing up below 0.500 last year the Rebels were a team that no one
 wanted to face as they had a some power pitching that could shut teams down and some power hitting that could blow teams out.  If they can find some consistency it could be scary for the rest of the league.  They have added some free agent arms that should be good for an improved record, but they will have to figure out a way to win those close games against the Milleteers.  To do that they will need to do a better job of shutting down the running game and cut down on the strikeouts at the plate if they want homefield advantage.
 
3.   10-5      No one can argue the success the Athletics have had in the playoffs the last half
 decade but they have been inconsistent in the regular season.  After finishing below 0.500 last year, and being the oldest team in the league, a 3 game improvement might seem like a tall order, but if you look in between  the lines at such things as a +27 run differential and a deep and experienced pitching staff, it doesn't seem that far-fetched.  With a potent offense and the big game experience the A's should find themselves in the post season again this year.  They will need to find a way to beat their young, hungry rivals from Ryley and the defending champs from Leduc to gain home field advantage.
 
4.   5-10      Here is where it starts to get interesting as the remaining teams all have big
 questions to answer.  The Royals get the nod for the last playoff spot as they were
a little more consistent last year.  They have some promising youngsters to go along with some All Star hold overs from the championship years.  The big question is whether or not All Star pitcher Joel Boettger will comeback and commit to his old squad.  If they can get seven or eight starts out of him they will be a lock for the playoffs.  If not then it could be tough sledding as there was a precipitous drop off between him and the rest of the pitching staff last season.  If thats the case first year manager Jason Buzzell could have his hands full trying to steer his young squad toward a playoff birth.
 
5.  4-11      Another team with huge question marks.  Which team will show up this year?  The
 one that started last season looking like the PBL incarnation of the Detroit Lions as they got off to an 0-10 start.  Or the team that finished the season winning three of their last four, including wins over the Roadrunners and the Rebels.  With some promising young talent that seemed to figure out how to win at the end of last season this could finally be the year that the Lakers end the playoff drought.  It is important that they get off to a good start so that they will be playing for more than just pride come July.
 
6.   3-12      Obviously this is just a total guess as it is pretty tough to judge what an
expansion team is going to do, especially if you have never seen them play.
By most accounts they are a young team, so one would have to think that they might
find the jump to senior ball a little tough at first as they will be playing against men, some of whom have been playing in this league longer than some of the youngsters have been alive.  That being said, Holden does have some history in the league as they have won championships in the past, so they could surprise and be strong right away.  The 3-12 record is just based on a whim as I expect them to be in tough, but competitive, much like another young expansion team that made the jump from midgets.  Once that team from Armena got some seasoning and added a few veterans they went on to have just a little success, and I am sure Holden wouldn't mind following that template.

Article Date: Mar 8
Milleteers Preseason Preview
 
Barring any late signings or  some surprise retirements the Milleteers look to be heading into the season with the status quo as just about everyone is returning, with a few minor tweaks.  This is not necessarily a bad thing when you are the defending champs that boast a roster with a lot of depth and a good mix of veterans and youth.  Here is a look at the lineup that the Milleteers will be bringing into camp this spring.
 
Rotation:
                             W    L    ERA    IP       K    WHIP
Steven Pahl            9    1    1.63      72       96    1.125
Scott Peterson       3    3    2.10      34.1    27    1.223
Ryan Walker         2    1    1.50       30       32   0.933
Shawn Brinkworth 0    0    1.93       9.1     10    1.821
 
The Milleteers will return all their starters from last year.  This year they will look to go with a four man rotation.  The staff will again be lead by Steven Pahl who had a dominating season last year, and with the emergence of Walker and the career resurrection of Brinkworth the Milleteers can afford to limit his innings a bit this year to make sure he is fresh for the playoffs now that he is on the wrong side of thirty. 
 
Peterson continues to show that he still has plenty left in the tank as the future PBL Hall of Famer continues to show good stuff and impeccable control.  His return to his hometown mound was a good one and he should continue to see success as now he settled into the Milleteers rotation. 
 
Rookie sensation Ryan Walker should see a bigger role this year as he has a rubber arm and good stuff.  He started off as a middle reliever last season before stepping up when the injury bug hit the Milleteer’s staff halfway through the season and he turned into a dominating hurler as he held opponents to a 0.145 batting average.  When matched up against the PBL’s best like Joel Boettger and Donny Oslund the precocious youngster rose to the occasion, often besting his more accomplished foes.  There was some talk about moving him into the closer’s role, but it remains to be seen what management will do with the talented young arm.
 
Rounding out the rotation will be veteran Shawn Brinkworth.  The Milleteers have eased Brinkworth back into the lineup the last two seasons as he was a little out of shape after not playing for over a decade.  He continued to improve out last season, and as long as he can cut down on the walks he should produce some quality starts.  He was once a dominant pitcher on a AA Provincial championship team and his fastball and curveball started to show signs of returning late last season.
 
Bullpen:
                        W    L    ERA    IP       K    WHIP    SV
Kevin Doyle     2      0    2.25    12       11    1.417       4
Murray Doyle   1      3    4.32    16.2    15    1.680      1
Greg Zilkie        0     0    4.15    4.1       5      1.846     1
 
With the Doyle brothers coming back again this year the bullpen should again be a strength, although there was some talk of moving Kevin to the rotation.  Kevin has been a big reason why the Milleteers have seen some real success in close games as he has gone 7 for 8 in save situations the past two seasons.  His brother Murray looked strong at the start of last season, but his effectiveness faded as his arm began to get sore in the second half of the year.  The big righty needs to work a bit on his mechanics and command, and could also benefit from tightening up his breaking ball, but with a little work he should have a real bright future.  Lanky lefty Greg Zilkie brings plenty of potential as he throws fairly hard and has a decent breaking ball from the left side, he just needs to gain some experience and some better control.  He could grow into a real weapon out of the pen with some coaching and hard work.
 
The rest of the bullpen consists of some hard throwers that haven’t had to pitch much in the last few years.  Shortstop Trevor Pahl has really got stuff and some experience on the mound, but his glove is usually needed in the field so he doesn't’t get to pitch very often.  Ryan Swenson has a really good fastball as well, he just needs to clean up his mechanics a bit as he tends to short arm the ball.  Super utility man Brad Engel has probably the best pure stuff in the league and has pitched in the Sunburst League, but he seems to have a bit of Rick Ankiel syndrome as he just couldn't put it together last season in game action.  If he can right the ship PBL hitters could be in real trouble.  If he can’t right the ship they should still be in trouble as he will have no idea where his mid eighties fastball might end up.  Management has yet to hear from veteran Karl Zimmer.  The big righty has the ability to start or relieve and his presence on the staff would give the Milleteers another reliable option than can pitch effectively against  the top teams in the league.
 
Infielders:
                                     AVG    SLG    OBP    RBI    SB
SS Trevor Pahl             0.370   0.420   0.444    17      10
3B Ryan Walker           0.289   0.317   0.357     5        0
2B Scott Peterson         0.364   0.409   0.417     4        3
2B Adam Ducarme       0.276   0.323   0.345     3        1
2B Shawn Brinkworth   0.225   0.225   0.279     8        1
1B  Steven Pahl             0.408  0.539    0.458   22       9
1B  Murray Doyle         0.333   0.351    0.406   6        3

The Milleteers will be a little thin on the left side of the infield with the departure of Greg Jackson.  They return only Trevor Pahl and Ryan Walker that saw significant time at short.  Utility man Brad Engel has shown that he can play all over the infield and and outfielder Kevin Doyle has filled in there before.  With Karl Zimmer still undecided, barring a big free agent signing, the Milleteers can ill afford an injury to either Trevor Pahl or Walker. 
 
The right side of the infield has many returning options.  First baseman Murray Doyle looks primed for a big season if he hits like he did in the playoffs where he started showing some patience and the ability to really drive the ball.  It will be hard to duplicate the career year at the plate last season for Steven Pahl, but the Milleteers might need it anyway as they often struggle with run production.  At second the Milleteers have a glut of veteran options.  Although their range might not be what it used to be, they all have good hands and know how to handle the bat.
 
Catchers:
 
                            AVG    SLG    OBP    RBI    SB
Shane Gerein      0.333    0.413    0.390    9      10
Brad Engel         0.328    0.393    0.388    6        7
 
The catching position was a real strength last year as both Gerein and Engel provide excellent defense and offense.  They both block well and have good enough arms to deter runners.  They both have been around and know how to guide a pitching staff.  They both can hit and have the athleticism play all over the diamond when not behind the plate.  Engel played just about every position last year and will get time all over the infield again this year, while Gerein can play all three outfield positions.
 
Outfielders:
                         AVG    SLG    OBP    RBI    SB
Greg Zilkie      0.224    0.265    0.269    5       13
Kevin Doyle   0.389     0.511    0.415   12      14
Adam Pahl     0.222     0.259    0.364    6        7
Brent Thomas 0.143     0.143    0.217    3        1
Ryan Swenson       Did not Play
Tyler Bienert       Did not Play
 
The Milleteers typically use their outfield to just try in mix and match and get some bats into the game, with the exception of Zilkie and Adam Pahl, who are the only true outfielders on the team.  Those two can really run and help make for the lack of range of some of the other outfielders.  If they can stay healthy and find ways to get on they can really be a headache for opposing defenses as they like to steal at will.  Kevin Doyle has turned himself into a pretty good defensive outfielder after just being put there to get his bat into the lineup every day.  He can still fill in the infield when needed.  Ryan Swenson will probably see some significant time in the outfield, but has also played some second base.  After taking last year off, he should be well rested and hopefully will provide the offense he did in 2008 when he was a fixture in the middle of the order.  Rounding out the outfield should be old school Millet Minor Ball products Tyler Bienert and Brent Thomas.

Article Date: Feb 15
Swenson Back in the Fold for 2010 
 
 
Just days after learning that former standout Greg Jackson would not be returning for the 2010 season, the Milleteers got some good news as slugger Ryan Swenson is set to make his return after a year off.  After taking a a three month holiday to South America in the midst of a recession, Swenson was forced to work the night shift upon his return and had to miss the entire 2009 season, save for a couple at bats at the Ryley tournament.
 
Swenson was a fixture in the middle of the order in 2008 with a 0.362 batting average and 12 RBIs.  He is also one of the few Milleteers with the ability to reach the fences and he also doesn't mind working the count, two areas that the Milleteers really struggled with last year.
 
The big question for Swenson will be where will he play?  Originally a second baseman coming up through minor ball, his play was uneven there in 2008 as he would often make the spectacular play, and then be miss the routine ones.  With the Milleteers already returning all four of the players that saw time at the position last year, a position change could be a possibility.  A move to the outfield would be a natural choice as he can still run well and has a cannon for an arm, and saw some time there in 2008.  Some innings off the mound could be a possibility as well as his fastball is well above average in terms of velocity and movement.  Despite the defensive questions Swenson will get plenty of playing time if he can make the adjustment to hitting with wood bats and provide the offense he is known for, which will be a welcome addition to a lineup that often struggled to score runs last season.
 
 Article Date: Feb 12
Jackson Out For 2010 Season
 
Original Milleteer Greg Jackson has decided to not return to the club for the 2010 season.  Despite the disappointment from Milleteers management to lose not only one of the more talented players in the league, but also one of its founding members, they totally understand that Greg needs to do what is best for his career and family.
 
 
 
Greg was hailed as the missing link for a PBL championship after the 2008 campaign that saw him not only get voted to pitch in the All Star game, but also spark the offense with a 0.450 average, to go along with his flashy play at short.  In the end work committments would not allow him to play in the playoffs and many of the Milleteers pointed to his absence as being the biggest facotr in their early playoff exit. 
 
With all the championship expectations the 2009 season was a tough, tumultuous, and often trying season for the talented short stop, who was injured early and often struggled at times.  A wonky elbow turned him into a knuckleball pitcher, and eventually hitters figured out his floater.  The switch to wood bats also affected him at the plate as his average plummetted over two hundred points.  What made matters worse was that he had moved to Red Deer, which made balancing ball, work, and his girlfriend a real challenge.  To his credit he stuck with it through the end and played an instrumental part in bringing a championship to his home town.
 
Jackson's absence is going to leave a big void on the left side of infield, as well as at the top of the order.  With Ryan Walker still unsure how much he will be able to committ due to work, that leaves only Trevor Pahl who saw significant time at short last season.  With just about every other player committed to coming back the Milleteers could do some shuffling to try to find some in house replacements, or they could try and see what the free agent market is like.  Either way it should provide some big time Spring Training battles as for the first time in two season a starting job has opened up on the left side of the infield.
 
 
 
2009

Article Date: Dec 6
Brent Thomas:  Champion
 
2009  was quite the year for Brent Thomas.  His goal for the year was to win both a Division 1 Hockey title and a Powerline Baseball League title, and he achieved both.  After coming out of a 15 year retirement half way through last year to help out the Milleteers as they often struggled with numbers last year, Brent showed he still had some veteran savvy left as he used his keen batting eye to lead the team in walks.  That’s the kind of player Brent is, regardless of the sport.  He does the little things to help his team win.
 
 
 
 
 
Despite being a small, slow skating forward who did not play any high level hockey, he has become a vital part of his hockey team.  Whether its blocking shots, agitating the other team’s stars or mucking in front of the net, the rest of the team definitely appreciates his efforts.  This is the kind of thing a championship team needs ( it doesn’t hurt having former NHLer Paul Comrie either). 
 
 
 
During the ball season Brent was the consummate team player.  With the offense sputtering in mid season the Milleteers had to try and ice the best defensive line up every game to try and eek out a win, which often meant that Brent did not get much playing time.  Instead of sulking he took on more of a coaching role, helping out the younger guys and often giving signs down the third base line.  In the playoffs he was given the full reigns in terms of calling signs and the offense seemed to respond as he ramped up the running game and manufactered some runs using some of his favorite weapons like the bunt and the squeeze.  In the championship game this was never more apparent as a successful suicide squeeze really got the momentum going in the Milleteers favor.
 
For much of the Milleteers short history they had trouble winning close games, but they seemed to have turned that around and Brent has been a big part of that.  It would be quite the feat to replicate the success that Brent achieved in 2009, but one thing is for sure:  Brent will do everything necessary to give his teams a chance to succeed, because that is what champions do.

Article Date: Oct 3
A STEP FORWARD OR SOPHMORE JINX?
 
When three baby faced youngsters showed up to Spring Training last year, management really did not know what to expect.  They all looked like ball players, but time would tell if they would be difference makers or if they would just add some depth.  By the end of the year however they would all be instrumental in helping the Milleteers to their first ever PBL Championship, and they did it in different ways.  They all had their ups and downs, and there is definitely room for improvement, but they also possess the tools to impact this league.  Murray Doyle was steady at the dish all year and ate up some innings on the mound early before elbow troubles shelved him.  Greg Zilkie used his legs to steal bases at will and patrol the spacious Leduc outfield, and Ryan Walker became one of the most dominant pitchers in the league.  The question is will they fill out and be even stronger next year, or will they put on the freshman fifteen at college and come back slower and lazier?
 
  AB Hits Avg. 1B 2B 3B HR BB RBI  Runs TB OBP. SLG. SB
          Murray Doyle 57 19 0.333 18 1 0 0 5 6 8 20 0.387 0.351 3
          Ryan Walker 38 11 0.289 10 1 0 0 2 5 4 12 0.325 0.316 0
     G   Greg Zilkie 49 11 0.224 9 2 0 0 3 5 7 13 0.269 0.265 13
  ERA W L SV G IP K BB H HR OBA BB/9 K/9 WHIP
          Murray Doyle 4.32 1 3 1 7 16.7 15 4 23 3 0.315 2.7 8.1 0.168
          Ryan Walker 1.50 2 1 1 8 30 32 12 16 0 0.145 3.6 9.6 0.933
         Greg Zilkie 4.15 0 0 1 2 4.33 5 4 4 0 0.235 8.31 10.4 1.846
 
 
Last year on the mound Ryan Walker was the real deal, and he will need to be again this year as Peterson and Pahl will be another year older.  He pitched high leverage innings in all situations and succeeded every time.  Even when teams had seen him for the second and third time, they still had trouble squaring up the baseball.  As a position player though, he has something to prove and the Milleteers will be counting on him to continue to develop at third base.  Early in the year he got the chance to be the starting shortstop due to injuries, but the results were mixed as he was inconsistent in the field.  He started off hitting well last year, then got in a little slump and then slid down the depth chart and was primarily used on the mound.  He is a hard worker in practice however and continued to show improvement defensively, enough so that he got some innings in at third base in the All-Star Game, and if his bat catches up he will be a fixture on the left side of the infield for years to come.
 
Murray Doyle came into the year with a lot of hype by virtue of his bloodlines as his brother Kevin was the team MVP the year before.  He was consistent at the plate all year and turned it up in the playoffs as he started to drive the ball with some authority and show some patience at the plate.  Defensively he was steady at first base and his considerable wingspan definitely helped out the rest of the infielders.  He also started real well on the mound but hitters soon figured him out and started to launch some bombs off of hangers, then an elbow injury ended his pitching season prematurely.  If he wants to have a successful future on the mound at this level he is going to have to learn how to avoid the big mistakes and how to put hitters away.
 
Greg Zilkie was very raw at the start of last year, but his blinding speed gave him a chance play.  After some boneheaded base running mistakes early and a horrible slump, the speedster started to figure out his strengths and shortened his swing to just put the ball in play.  He even added the drag bunt to his arsenal.  Once on base he put his speed to good use as he stole at will.  If he could raise his on base percentage, there is no telling how many bags he could swipe in this league.  On the mound he is still a work in progress, but since he is left handed and throws fairly hard he is a rare commodity in the PBL that should continue to improve as he gets experience and better command.  His true value is in his legs however and if he wants to be a true impact player he needs to maintain his speed and figure out how to get on base more.
 
 
With the defense of their title on the line the Milleteers can ill afford for any of these youngsters to take a step back this season.  With the veteran core aging another year and the small ball offense that the Milleteers used successfully last season, speed, pitching, and defense will again be they keys to their success.  It is a great luxury to have potential filled prospects, but to sustain success you need that potential to be realized.

 
Article Date: Aug 31
 
Box Score
Inning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Milleteers 1 2 1 1 0 0 X 5 8 1
Athletics 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 4 7 2
MILLETEERS TAKE TITLE
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Milleteers erased the disappointment from last season and their early playoff exit by winning the Powerline Baseball League Cup on Wednesday.  In front of their home fans in Leduc the Milleteers knocked off the defending champion Bardo Athletics in thrilling fashion.   
For the deciding game both teams went with their best on the mound as the Milleteers sent All-Star Steven Pahl to the mound and Bardo countered with All-Time PBL great Don Oslund.  Both starters already had a win in the series.
 
The Milleteers quickly jumped out to a three run lead, using their small ball offense as again they ran wild on bases and had a successful suicide squeeze.  Not to be deterred the veteran Bardo offense got to Pahl in the third as they sent eight batters to the plate to tie the game.  The Milleteers would answer back with one of their own in their half of the third to retake the lead and chase Oslund from the mound.  Ray "The Legend" Lehman would take over on the hill for the Athletics and he only gave up one run on a wild pitch.
 
After the shaky third Pahl cruised until the seventh when a two out error by the shortstop Greg Jackson allowed a run to score and the tieing run to get on base.  As fate would have it the next batter would hit it right back to Jackson, who's throw to second was a little wild, but second baseman Brad Engel dove to get it and dragged his foot across the bag for a thrilling end to a good game and a great season.
 
In only their second year of existence the Milleteers have managed to become champions of a league with a long and storied history.  The Future looks bright as well as the league continues to get more competitive and there seems to be a lot of interest in expansion.  It should definitely be an interesting season next year, as the Milleteers will look to repeat the success they had this year.
 
Article Date: Aug 29
 
Box Score
Inning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Milleteers 2 0 0 4 0 0 X 6 11 6
Athletics 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 2 2
MILLETEERS TAKE GAME ONE
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tonight the Milleteer’s bats picked up where they left off last week as they managed to pickup eleven hits in tonight’s ball game. If not for some good Bardo defense and a botched squeeze play they might have been able to scratch out a couple of more runs. After getting a couple in the first, the offense kicked into gear in the fourth as Karl Zimmer and Murray Doyle had back to back hits to get things started. Then a botched squeeze play that saw Zimmer get called out at the plate on a close call looked like a rally killer, but with two outs Trevor Pahl had a clutch two out single to score a run. Shane Gerien then followed it up with a two RBI single, and then Kevin Doyle capped off the inning with an RBI triple. That would be all for starter Chris Mittlestad, but the Bardo bullpen kept the Milleteers off the score sheet for the rest of the game.
 
On the mound for the Milleteers tonight was ace Steve Pahl, who ended up with a two hitter, fanning eleven and he only gave up two unearned runs. It was a good thing for the Milleteers that Pahl had the strikeouts going as they were brutal in the infield, as they made six errors. The terrible infield defense was reminiscent of last year’s deciding game between these two teams as the Milleteers made seven infield errors that cost them a close decision.
 
The Milleteers can end the series tomorrow as game two goes tomorrow night in Bardo where the Athletics are especially tough.
Article Date: Aug 28
 
Box Score
Inning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Milleteers 0 1 8 0 1 1 X 11 13 4
Rebels 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 5 10 5
MILLETEERS SWEEP REBELS
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
After a tight pitcher’s duel the night before the Milleteers and Rebels combined for 23 hits and 15 runs in the second game of the PBL semi final match up. Normally a high scoring game wouldn’t favour the Milleteers usual popgun offense, but tonight was a different story. After the Rebels jumped on veteran Scott Peterson early with three runs in the first, it looked like it would be a long night for the Milleteers, but after getting one in the second and with a good start in the bottom of the third the Milleteers chased crafty lefty starter Darcy Grandberg from the hill. Ryley then turned to hard throwing righty Curt Stensrud to stop the bleeding, but after his herculean effort last week in pitching eleven innings to clinch a playoff spot for the Rebels, he just didn’t have his normal velocity, and the Milleteers batted around for an eight run third. This was all they would need as they tacked on a couple of insurance runs to put the game out of reach.
 
After a shaky first Peterson settled in and kept getting his outs, going a strong six innings, before rookie Ryan Walker came in to seal the deal in the seventh. The defense was a little shaky at times, but two double plays and a nice diving catch from center fielder Dan Stephen killed a few rallies when Ryley started to threaten. Ryley’s defense also had an up and down night, but a couple of great over the shoulder catches from shortstop Dylan Solberg kept a few more runs off the board.
 
After a tight, low scoring regular season series between the two teams, pundits expected much of the same in the playoffs, but the two playoff games seemed to magnify two distinct advantages that the Milleteers held. Ryley held a power edge versus a more small ball orientated offense of the Milleteers, but as the regular season series showed they pretty much offset each other. Top end starting pitching was also relatively equal as both squads had a couple of top notch starters. The first real difference was bullpen depth as the Milleteers boast the deepest pitching staff in the league, plus a good closer in Kevin Doyle. The second big advantage was in the catching department as the Milleteers went 13 for 13 on the base paths in the two games versus just two stolen bases for Ryley. When you add in all the past balls Ryley gave up versus none for the Milleteers, singles become doubles and triples, and pitchers definitely feel the pressure when a catcher can’t stop the running game or hold on to a ball.
 
The Milleteers will now play the waiting game as to see who their next opponent will be as the defending champion Bardo A’s hold a one game advantage over the regular season champion Camrose Roadrunners, which is a rematch of last year’s final.

 Article Date: Aug 26
 
Box Score
Inning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Milleteers 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 7 3
Rebels 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 2
BATS COME ALIVE FOR COME FROM BEHIND VICTORY
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The opening game of the first round playoff series between the Leduc Milleteers and the Ryley Rebels was billed as an expected tight pitcher’s duel, and it did not disappoint. The Rebels got a couple of early runs off of starter Steve Pahl as the Milleteers had some early playoff jitters and made some errors, while the Ryley hitters made them pay with some clutch two out hitting. After the second inning though the Milleteers tightened up the D and kept the Rebels off the board the rest of the night.
 
As the game went along it looked like it was going to be another close loss for the Milleteers, as they failed to hit the ball as usual and Ryley ace Dylan Solberg was cruising. Then, to lead off the top of the seventh, player coach Steve Pahl had a little discussion with the home plate umpire about a questionable strike that would have led to a leadoff walk, but instead was called strike two. The ump then gave Pahl a quick toss, and as it was the first time in his 25 year career that he had been ejected, he decided to get his money’s worth. This seemed to spark as the offense as all of a sudden it came out of its month long coma to get a late inning rally going. Pahl’s replacement, Shawn Brinkworth went up to the plate with a 3-2 count and hit a hard line drive single to left, which was followed up by a gapper by Karl Zimmer and another single by Dan Stephen, and all of a sudden a game that seemed to be over was tied. After Solberg got two outs in the inning, shortstop Trevor Pahl hit a line drive single to cash Stephen and the improbable comeback was complete. Closer Kevin Doyle then came in and nailed down the save to give the Milleteers the first game in the best of three series, with the next game scheduled tomorrow night in Leduc.