BRAVES WALK OFF AXEMEN ON OPENING DAY
Posted May 13, 2018
The Tofield Braves defeated the Camrose Axemen 11-10 with a walk off single from Craig Neufeld in the bottom of the seventh inning. It was a back and forth game with a total of six lead changes over the course of the game.
Win - Ray Lehman
Loss - Matt Andreassen
The Braves would give the Opening Day start to Corey Epp. Epp would pitch five complete innings allowing six runs and striking out eight Axemen before leaving the game in a 6-6 tie. Manager Craig Neufeld would turn to veteran Ray Lehman in the sixth inning but trouble came early for the right hander as the first three batters he faced all reached to load the bases with no one out. The long time PBLer would dig deep and pitch his way out of the jam leaving the bases loaded to keep the game 6-6.
Offensively the Braves were bolstered by a total of six Axemen errors and a few more misplays on the afternoon. Craig Koughan would hit two doubles with Rob Berrecloth and Craig Neufeld each hitting a double of their own. Corey Epp would give the Braves a 6-3 lead in the fourth inning when he would hit a two out three run home run over the left field fence. The Axemen would however respond with a three run home run of their own in the top of the fifth inning to tie the game 6-6.
The back and forth nature of the game set up a dramatic finish to the Braves first win of the season. Trailing 10-8 in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Braves would start the rally with a one out single from catcher Dylan Berrecloth before capitalizing on another error from the Axemen to put runners t the corners. Third baseman Rob Berrecloth would ground into a RBI fielder's choice to make it a 10-9 game as the veteran would speed down the line to beat what would have been a game ending double play. First baseman Craig Koughan would drive a two out fly ball to deep centre that would shockingly evade the Axemen centerfielder and instead of the game being over with a Camrose win, the tying run would score and Koughan would stroll into third on the sixth and final error from the Axemen. The extra ninety feet for Koughan proved to be vital as centre fielder Craig Neufeld would end the game on a hard hit single up the middle to give the Braves their 11-10 walk off win.
Next up for the Braves is a matchup against the Armena Royals on Tuesday May 15 in Tofield (7:00pm) before completing the early season home and home in Armena on Thursday May 17 (7:00pm).
Other scores around the PBL on Saturday May 12
Sherwood Park Athletics (4) at Rosalind Athletics (11)
Leduc Milleteers (2) at Armena Royals (9)
Holden Blue Jays (0) at Edmonton Expos (7)