EPP PITCHES REBELS TO VICTORY OVER JAYS

On the back of yet another strong pitching performance by 2014 PBL All-Star Corey Epp at Ryley Ballpark and supported with some solid defence, the Rebels took down the second place Holden Blue Jays with a 3-2 win. The win comes five days after the Rebels dropped another well played game between the two teams in Holden, with the Jays walking away with a 2-0 win anchored by the fifteen strikeout performance of Grayson Soprovich. Looking for the season series sweep on Tuesday night, the Jays would send their own 2014 All-Star, more than likely the starting pitcher for the PBL at the June 24 game vs the Battle River Baseball League, Logan Skori. The two All-Stars did not disappoint a nice crowd on a nice evening for a ball game.

Win - Corey Epp (2-0)

Loss - Logan Skori

The Blue Jays would strike first and strike early against Epp with the long ball. With one out, LF Allan Ziegler would reach base via a single and two batters later C Braedon Majeski would take Epp deep over the fence for a two run shot on an inside fastball. Majeski and Epp are teammates on the Camrose Axemen of the North Central Alberta Baseball League and will also suit up together for the 2014 Powerline Baseball League vs Battle River Baseball League All-Star Game on June 24 in Camrose. It was the All-Star catcher that would get the best of Epp on this evening going 2 for 2 with a walk and accounting for the only runs of the game for the Jays (Majeski would later strikeout in the seventh inning versus P Dylan Solberg). 

After the first inning Epp would hold the Jays offence off of the scoreboard by stranding a total of eight Holden runners on the basepaths, six of which would be left in scoring position. The clutch pitching by Epp would be supported by the strong Rebels defence behind him as only one of the eighteen outs he would record would come via a strikeout. 3B Craig Koughan would account for a total of seven assists and one put out of his own manning the hot corner for the Rebels while 1B Kevin Reinholt would be bust at first base retiring three on pop ups and ending the game on a nice diving unassisted putout off the bat of 2B Stephen Hrabec. The combination of Epp and Solberg would record thirteen outs via ground balls and only five from fly ball outs, four of which were infield pop flies. The strong defensive performance by the Rebels will be the kind of play needed for the remainder of the season and into what the Rebels are hoping will be a return to PBL Playoff action after missing the 2013 playoffs.

The Rebels' hitters were able to provide just enough offence against one of the PBL's top pitchers to perserve the win for Epp, who moved to 2-0 on the season with a team leading 2.62 ERA. While Skori has been a dominating force in the PBL since returning from his second Tommy John surgery, the Rebels have seemed to success against the right hander and Tuesday was another example of getting just enough of a good pitcher to earn a win. The Rebels would score their first run of the game on the rare strikeout passed ball as 1B Kevin Reinholt would speed home on the two out strikeout which found its way away from C Braedon Majeski. The Rebels would collect at lease one hit in each inning, but it was the home half of the fifth inning where the Rebels were finally able to string together enough offence together to take the lead back from the Jays. 

RF Tom Shulba would lead the inning off against Skori with a single, it was the second inning in a row that the Rebels would get the lead off runner on via a hit, unfortunately for Skori this time it would lead to run. With one out 2B Brian Tavaroli would hit a RBI double to score Shulba from second base to tie the game 2-2. Not done, the Rebels would continue to string together the offence as SS Dylan Solberg would hit his second single of the game and move into scoring position on a fielder's choice from 3B Craig Koughan. Rebels C Chad Nelson would seal the victory for the Rebels on a RBI single scoring Solberg to make it a 3-2 ballgame. On the play Nelson would get himself caught in a rundown against the young Jays defence to give Koughan a chance to score for an insurance run but the Jays would cut him down at home plate for the third out of the inning and give their offence a one run deficit to try and overcome. 

After surrending a one pitch single to LF Allan Ziegler, Epp's night would come to an end as he would give way to P Dylan Solberg who last pitched for the Rebels during the 2010 season. Solberg would come in and record a strikeout as well as a pair of ground ball outs to earn his first save of his Rebels career in his first appearance on the mound in three seasons. 

The Rebels will now travel to Camrose on Thursday night to take on the 0-8 Roadrunners and keep the momentum going into the last part of the PBL season for a big playoff push. The Roadrunners on the other hand will be looking to salvage the season and avoid joining the 2002 Tofield Lakers (0-15) and the 2007 Tofield Lakers (0-11-1) as the only teams in modern PBL history to remain winless over the course of a season. While the Roadrunners have only scored five runs through eight games, four of those runs came in a 14-4 Rebels win back in May. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00pm at Harry Andreassen Field.