Wildcats strike first in NSSBL semi-final with 6-1 road win

BY JOHN DECOSTE

jdecoste@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

It took a week to get the Nova Scotia Senior Baseball League playoffs underway, but the Kentville Wildcats don’t appear to have minded the wait.

The underdog Wildcats opened the series with a 6-1 win over the regular season champion Dartmouth Moosehead Dry Thursday evening at Beazley Field.

Player-coach Jeff Lockhart smashed a two-run homer to lead an eight-hit Kentville attack as the Wildcats, 11-18 in the regular season (to Dartmouth’s 22-7) and losers of seven straight entering the game, made the best of their chances, turning the eight hits into six runs.

Trevor Wamback contributed a two-run single and Brad Steadman an RBI double for Kentville, which scored twice in the first and second innings off long-time nemesis Jason Bailey for an early 4-0 lead.

The Wildcats added single runs in the seventh and ninth innings. Dartmouth’s lone run scored came in the bottom of the third.

The victory was a payback of sorts for Wildcats’ starter Curtis Falls, who pitched eight innings and combined with former Moosehead Dry Pete Sonier on a five-hitter.

Earlier in the season, Falls had lost a pair of 2-1 decisions to Dartmouth, two weeks apart, in which he pitched well enough to win both times.

On this occasion, Greg West (two singles) was the only Dartmouth batter with more than one hit. Darren Doucette, Dan Comeau and Chris Head had one single each.

Bailey pitched well, going the distance for Dartmouth and striking out 13, but Kentville had his number on this occasion.

The Wildcats return home to Memorial Park this evening at 7:30 looking to take a 2-0 advantage in the series. Weather permitting, game three is tomorrow evening in Dartmouth, with game four Monday at 7:30 in Kentville.