Red Sox battle back to claim Provincial Championship

It took until the bottom of the sixth inning, but the AAA Midget Muenster Red Sox found their offence in time to claim a provincial championship.In their second season as a AAA team, the Red Sox defeated the Saskatoon Diamondbacks 6-5 to earn the title.Saskatoon's Nolan Machibroda launched a deep shot to left-center field that gave the Diamondbacks a 5-1 lead in the fourth inning. Not to be outdone, the Red Sox roared back in the sixth, scoring five runs to take the lead.

"Huge comeback and you know what, it doesn't surprise me that these kids came back. This is the most resilient group I have ever been with," Red Sox Coach Chad Hofmann said. "When we were down 5-1, there wasn't one guy on our bench who thought we were finished. That's the kind of kids they are."

The winning pitcher in the game, fittingly, was Logan Hofmann, who was named the top pitcher in the league during Friday's opening ceremonies. Hofmann quickly worked through the first two batters before ringing up the final out by blowing a fastball by Alex Grenier for a game-winning strikeout.

After giving up the three-run shot to Machibroda, Hofmann said it was time to lock the game down. "First couple pitches of the at bat were close and I didn't get the call. I was just trying to get it in there and he hit it really far, obviously," he explained of the home run. "From there, I just knew I had to battle back and come back and we obviously won it." Hofmann took over in the fourth inning for Brody Frerichs, who started the game, as well as the semi-final win over Southeast. It was the Frerichs-Hofmann tandem who put the Red Sox infront as well. At third base, Hofmann scored the go ahead run when Frerichs hit a fly ball to right field on a sacrifice fly. After collecting himself and getting ready to go back out, Hofmann says he was lost for a brief moment in what the situation was. "I didn't even realize it was the top of the seventh inning until I was out there. I was just trying to throw it as hard as I possibly could." To win a AAA Midget championship for Muenster is something that Hofmann will forever cherish. "It's a great baseball town. I'm glad I was raised there."

Catching the game-ending strikeout was first-year Midget Rylan Marianchuk, who was pressed in to duty with a prior injury to Bryce Rueve. Marianchuk dropped down a bloop single to left field which at the time, brought the Red Sox within two runs. "When I was up there, I didn't feel much pressure, I just thought I better get a hit, hope for the best," he explained. "The first pitch was a curveball in the dirt, so I knew he was going to bring a fastball. It was a little in on the hands but I managed to fight it off and get it to left field." Having quality depth was something that Chad Hofmann says was key for the team. "Rylan came in and caught three games for us this weekend, and had about five or six hits this weekend. Everybody on our team stepped it up."

As provincial champions, the Red Sox will now head to Sherbrooke, Quebec, where they will compete in the national championship. Their first game will be on August 18 against Nova Scotia. Hofmann says that they aren't going to check out the scenery. "We're not going there for a holiday. I wouldn't pick Sherbrooke, Quebec as my holiday. We want to go there and win and we're not just going to go there and try to be in games, we're going to try and win it all." In addition to Nova Scotia, the Red Sox play four other round robin contests against New Brunswick, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island. The top two teams in their pool will play for the medals, while the remaining teams play for consolation spots.

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