Rockies Swept In Provincial Final, Inaugural Season In The Books

The Calgary Rockies 2023 season is now complete and they will go down as the second-best senior baseball team in the province, as the Sherwood Park Athletics swept the provincial final with a 7-4 Game 3 victory to earn their 2nd consecutive provincial championship.

Unfortunately it was mostly a case of the Rockies beating themselves, as all 7 of Sherwood Park’s runs went down as unearned. The offense was finally starting to wake up in Game 3 as they collected more hits than the previous two games combined, but they just weren’t able to convert those into runs as they stranded plenty of runners in the contest.

The Rockies want to wish the A’s good luck in the upcoming 2023 Senior National tournament in Red Deer, as they prepare to represent Alberta as the winners of the 2022 Sunburst Championship.

This closes the book on what was otherwise a hugely successful first year for the Calgary Rockies baseball club. Who went from a conceptual expansion idea to provincial runner-up in a span of just nine months, and now stand as one of the top senior baseball teams in the province. With a solid young core of talented players, the future is bright for the organization, and plans are already in the works for some new and exciting things to come next year.

The players will take some time off collectively before getting together again in September for the first annual Rockies Golf Tournament at Bearspaw Golf Club.

Rockies Season Losing Steam After 15-1 Drubbing In Game 2

The Rockies suffered their worst loss in the young team’s history Friday night in a five inning mercy rule beat down by Sherwood Park. The Rockies had more errors than base hits, and it seemed like the entire A’s lineup was dialed in offensively as the Rox pitchers struggled mightily to limit hard contact all night.

The Rox will attempt to keep their season alive on Sunday August 13th in Game 3.

A’s Pitching Stifles Rox Offense In Tough Game 1 Loss

Game 1 of the Provincial Championship Series was a pitcher’s duel in every sense, but the Rockies just weren’t able to muster enough offense to come out on the right side of the tilt.

In a game that saw only five base hits total between both teams, the A’s outdid the Rockies by making theirs count for runs. Two solo shots by Sherwood Park stars RJ Bourget and Aaron Dunsmore were the difference in Game 1 as A’s pitchers were able to shut out the Rockies offense and limited them to only two hits.

Curtis Smith pitched well but fell to 5-3 on the season by dropping his second consecutive decision. He struck out 11 while walking 2 across 6 innings of work, but the two long balls did him in as mistakes in location to the top half of the A’s lineup were capitalized on by the North Champs.

Game 2 is scheduled for tonight at Great Chief Park in Red Deer, although the weather forecast may force some schedule changes to be made, first pitch would be 7:30pm unless rain pushes Game 2 to a future date, stay tuned to team socials for live updates.

Rockies Clinch South Division Title, Head To Provincial Championship Series

The Cinderella season continues for the expansion Calgary Rockies, as they upset the Red Deer Riggers by a score of 6-3 on Wednesday night to clinch the South Division title and advance to the Provincial Championship Series in their inaugural season!

The offense remained locked in from last night’s 12-1 drubbing of the Riggers in Calgary, as the team launched two more home runs off the bats of Mike Goldade and Ken Falconer in the twelve hit victory, but the story of the night was Series MVP Andrew Grieder’s gutsy performance on the mound as he turned around to start tonight’s Game 3 after a stellar four inning start in Game 2.

Grieder’s performance in Game 3 was arguably better than his season saving start a night ago, as he covered five innings while throwing only 66 pitches and striking out 6. He allowed only 1 run over those 5 IP and came out of the game with the Rockies only needing 6 outs to wrap up the 5-1 lead he had provided.

The Riggers and Rockies battled back and forth in a series that saw some excellent baseball played by both clubs all summer long, but the Rockies now turn their attention to the best-of-five Provincial Finals against the North Champion Sherwood Park A’s set to begin next Tuesday, August 8th. The Rockies now sit only three wins away from clinching a berth at the 2024 Baseball Canada Men’s National Championship Tournament in Tecumseh, ON in their first year of existence.

Rockies Roar To Life In Game 2 Victory Behind Aman’s Big Game

The Rockies offense scored all five of their runs in the final two innings of last night’s Game 1 loss to the Riggers, and it seemed like none of the bats cooled down at all coming into Game 2 as they jumped out to a five run lead in the 1st inning and never looked back.

Catcher Lane Aman finally broke out with his biggest game of the year, and couldn’t have picked a better spot to do it as he launched a three-run homer in the first inning to cap off the huge 1st inning rally. Travis Gaudet would later launch a two-run homer of his own in the 4th inning to push the lead to 10-0 and put the Rockies on the brink of ending the game early due to the mercy rule. Four other Rockies pitched in multi-hit performances, including a three RBI night from Ken Falconer.

Although plenty of offense was provided, not much was needed, as Andrew Grieder (2-0) dominated the Riggers offense to earn his second win of the season. Grieder would only end up going four innings in the start, as the game was headed towards a mercy ruling and his pitch count was minimal, so the Rockies began to plan for tomorrow’s Game 3 turnaround and the potential need to call him back to the mound. Grieder struck out six with no walks and only allowed one base hit before handing the reins to youngster Brock Lenhardt who came in to slam the door in the 5th inning and ice the game.

The third and final game of the South Semifinal will start at 7:30pm tomorrow, August 2nd at Gulls Stadium in Sylvan Lake!

Rockies Inaugural Season On The Line As They Drop Game 1 Of Best-of-3 Provincial Semifinal

The Rockies late comeback fell just short on Monday night in Sylvan Lake as they dropped Game 1 of the Semifinal Series 6-5 to the Red Deer Riggers. Their backs are now firmly against the wall as they come home to host a do or die Game 2 tonight at Webber Athletic Park.

It took a while for the bats to come alive for the Rockies in this game, and by the time they did it was just too little too late as the Riggers had already jumped out to a 4-0 lead on the back of three unearned runs in the 5th inning before the Rockies scored their first runs in the 6th inning. Rockies leadoff man Mike Goldade had a solid day at the plate going 2-4 with a homer and a triple with two RBI and two runs scored, but the heroic effort wasn’t enough to overcome relatively quiet days from the rest of the offense and some sloppy defense that handed several runs to the Riggers. Rockies ace Curtis Smith (5-2) pitched well in a complete game effort, but lacked his usual strikeout stuff and issued more free passes than usual with three walks across only six innings of work.

First pitch for Game 2 is 7:30pm tonight at Webber Athletic Park as the Rockies aim to force a decisive Game 3 back in Sylvan Lake tomorrow night!

Falconer Bomb and Big 2nd Inning Power Rockies Past Padres

The Rockies wrapped up their first regular season in the Sunburst League on a high note on Sunday afternoon, beating the visiting Padres 9-4 and finishing with a strong 11-7 record on the year. They’ve clinched a playoff berth as the 2nd Seed in the South Division and will now being preparations for a tough Provincial Semifinal matchup with the Red Deer Riggers beginning on July 31st!

Dale Bratz continued what was a hot stretch to finish the season, as the walk-off hero from yesterday’s thriller against the Cubs notched two more base hits to bring his season slash line up to .315/.367/.463. Ken Falconer also pitched in with an enormous two-run tater in the 5th inning that (unofficially) stands as the farthest home run in team history thus far. Several other Rockies starters got in on the action as the team tallied nine hits in the final game of the regular season en route to the victory.

Steven Latos (3-1) was able to get back in the win column after some tough luck outings earlier in the year, and delivered six strong inning on the mound before Ken Falconer came in to close things out in the 7th.

With no rainouts through the summer, the Rockies will have a couple weeks off now while the rest of the league tries to wrap up postponements from earlier in the year. Game 1 of the best-of-3 provincial semifinal series with the Riggers will kick off on July 31st.

Rockies Tack On Another Win With 9-0 Victory Over Padres

The Rockies carried the momentum from yesterday’s walk-off victory into the opener of Sunday’s doubleheader by shutting out the Edmonton Padres for their 10th win of the season.

It was a complete team effort offensively in this one, as all but one member of the starting lineup recorded hits in the victory. Rockies outfielder Travis Gaudet led the way with three hits on the day including a double and two runs scored. Chris Cook, Mitch Murphy, and Dale Bratz all contributed multi-hit performances as well in a game that saw the Rockies collect thirteen hits.

Curtis Smith improved to 5-1 on the mound with the complete game shutout, his first of the season. He struck out nine while only giving up four hits and two free passes. He pushed his league leading strikeout total to 65 in the effort.

Game 2 of the Sunday doubleheader is the final regular season game of the Rockies maiden voyage and is on tap to start immediately following the completion of Game 1 at Foothills Stadium.

Rox Walk Off Cubs In Thrilling Win

The Rockies stole the final game of the season series with the Edmonton Cubs in what was an instant classic. Saturday’s game marked the first walk-off win in club history with Dale Bratz playing the hero and shooting a two-out single through the left side of the infield to score Chris Cook and cap off a 4-run 7th inning comeback rally!

Greg Hollman (0-1) provided the Rockies a solid four inning start on the mound, but the Rockies defense proved shaky again, as only three of the six runs Hollman allowed were earned. All six of the runs charged to him were scored in the first inning however, and he pitched three shutout innings to help keep the Rockies in the game as long as he could. Brock Lenhardt (1-0) proceeded to come in and spin three innings of shutout relief en route to earning his first career win in the Sunburst League.

Chris Cook continued his red hot second half and proved that he lives off of Edmonton pitching by going 3-3 with a triple and 4 RBI. After starting the season 0-13 he’s now worked his way back to a slash line of .286/.405/.457! Lineup mainstays Mike Goldade and Luke Carmichael were also able to chalk up multiple hit days themselves adding a triple and a double to their lines, respectively.

The final two games of the regular season kick off tomorrow at Foothills Stadium again when the Rockies welcome in the Edmonton Padres for their short 2-game series. First pitch scheduled for 12:00PM!

Cubs Ace Stifles Rox Offense As Rockies Drop Opener

The Rockies bats had a hard time getting going against the Edmonton Cubs ace Brenden Wiun on Saturday afternoon. Wiun didn’t flash a ton of swing and miss, but he excelled at inducing soft contact, throwing hitters’ timing off, and limiting traffic on the base paths to the frustration of the entire Rockies lineup. They were only able to scratch together four hits in the contest and scored their only run in the 6th inning.

Desmond Sullivan (1-2) took the mound for this one and was stuck with his second loss of the year after allowing four runs through five innings. Tyson Kilbreath came in for mop up duties and pitched well but a costly error allowed two unearned runs to cross for the Cubs during his outing.

The Rockies look to turn the page and force a split in Game 2 set to start immediately.