Red Deer Riggers rolling to start Sunburst League season
The Red Deer Riggers have blasted out of the gate in the Sunburst Senior AAA Men’s Baseball League, undefeated through their first three contests.
Red Deer has scored 25 runs through their first three games, which have all come on the road because the lights are still under repair at Great Chief Park. On top of the offensive explosion, the Riggers have only allowed nine runs on the year.
“Seems like everyone is playing a huge part right now. We have a solid roster so everyone is getting in and playing. Seems like everyone is contributing top to bottom,” Riggers coach Jason Chatwood said.
“Our pitchers have all been solid and our lineup has all been contributing. We have a veteran lineup that have been around. I don’t know if you expect to put up that many runs, but definitely guys are putting some good swings on the ball.”
After several postponed opening home dates, Red Deer will finally play their first game on home turf Tuesday night at 7 p.m. against Sherwood Park Athletics.
The Riggers opened the season with a 10-5 win over the Athletics on May 10, with four pitchers combining for the victory.
Davin Gulbransen was credited with the win, pitching three innings and allowing just one hit. Chatwood led the way with a 2-for-4, three RBI night. Jason Louis, J.P. Willner and Denver Wik all pitched in with two RBI games.
In their second game of the season, Curtis Mazurkewich led Red Deer offensively with a two-run home run against the Confederation Cubs in a 6-2 win.
On May 26, Joel Mazurkewich hit a home run of his own, along with Derrick Chapman notching four hits in a 9-2 over the St. Albert Tigers.
“We had a good start, got some good starting pitching from Drew Boyer. Just had some good quality at bats,” Chatwood said.
“We didn’t have any huge innings but pretty solid, got ourselves in scoring position every inning and went from there.”
First pitch on Tuesday goes at 7 p.m. at Great Chief Park.
byron.hackett@reddeeradvocate.com