Marc Clauson is having an absolute blast with his new team.
The 30-year-old catcher from Calgary has suited up twice for the Red Deer Riggers early in the Sunburst Baseball League season and he’s had an immediate impact.
“It’s been tonnes of fun… I like catching and these guys didn’t have a catcher so there we go,” said Clauson, who played outfield in college but has caught the last number of years for the Calgary Diamondbacks.
Clauson closed out a come-from-behind 7-6 victory for the Riggers over the St. Albert Tigers at Great Chief Park Tuesday, crushing a walk-off double with one out and a runner on third in the bottom of the seventh.
“Felt great, we were piecing it together near the end and knew I just had to put the ball in play hard somewhere and there we go, fell where it needed to,” he said.
The backstop is an old teammate of Riggers’ shortstop Jaret Chatwood and when he found out they needed a catcher this season, he jumped at the opportunity.
While the double was his only hit of the evening, the Riggers offence woke up in the second half of the game against the Tigers.
Down 4-1 in the bottom of the fifth, Josh Edwards blasted a three-run double off the wall to tie the game at four. St. Albert added a run in the top of the sixth, but Shayne Court tied the game at five with an RBI single up the middle.
The see-saw tipped back towards the Tigers in the top of the seventh, after they cashed in an RBI single of their own. That set up the seventh inning comeback for the home side.
Derek Chapman started the rally with a single before Chatwood reached on an error. Jason Louis scored the tying run with a sacrifice fly, before Edwards moved Chatwood to third.
Roen Helgren had three hits for the Riggers in the win, Chatwood had two hits and Chapman scored three runs. Rees DeRuyter pitched a few innings, Kyle Baumgardt only allows two hits over three innings of work and Davin Gulbransen finished off the game on the mound.
The Riggers will finish off this week’s series against the Tigers on Friday in St. Albert, before returning home to Great Chief Park on July 6, to take on the Sherwood Park Athletics.
Send your news tips
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter