Wolves sitting in middle of pack

With just over a month left in the Rainy River District Fastball League season, the Fort Frances-based Sight & Sound Wolves find themselves in unfamiliar territory—the middle of the pack with a 5-5 record.
With no games scheduled tonight and a bye on Thursday, the Wolves have a full week to regroup before a July 7 meeting with the 7-1 Big Grassy Lightning.

The league all-star game goes Aug. 4 at VanJura Field here, with the playoffs then slated to begin the week of Aug. 11.
In games slated for Thursday night, Barwick (8-3) meets Sabaskong (0-10), Rainy River (3-6) squares up with Stratton (5-4), and Big Island (6-4) clashes with Big Grassy.
In RRDFL action last Thursday, the Wolves got back on the winning track with a 9-6 win over the visiting Sabaskong Cubs.
After the teams exchanged runs in the first, the Wolves added one in the second before the Cubs manufactured three in the third on a couple of hits and several passed balls that moved runners along.
With Sight & Sound trailing 4-2 going into the fourth inning, Marcel Pagee stroked a two-run triple to the gap in right-centre to change the complexion of the game.
The Cubs then overthrew third trying to gun him down and Pagee was awarded home on the error to complete the three-run play.
Pagee followed that up with a four-pitch inning in the top of the fifth, then the Wolves added to their lead in the bottom half.
With two gone and a runner on, Joe Sinclair looked to be the final out on a soft grounder to the pitcher, but Cubs’ first baseman Clint Bruyere dropped the low throw to extend the inning.
That proved costly as a wild pitch in the next at-bat put runners on second and third, then Wolves’ second baseman Joel Ashworth promptly brought them both home with a base hit.
Pagee fanned the first two batters he faced to begin the sixth, then induced a lazy pop fly to shortstop Curtis Wepruk to put down the Cubs in order for a second-straight inning.
The Wolves then played a little long ball in the sixth to cushion their lead. After manager Derek McKinnon led off with a double, Dale Jerry followed with a towering homer to right-centre to give the Wolves a commanding 9-4 bulge.
Sight & Sound made several quality defensive plays in the final inning to preserve the win. On the first out, Ashworth charged a hard grounder and stopped it with his chest, knocking it back towards the infield.
Pagee was there to scoop up the ricochet and fire it to first for the out.
Sinclair then made a quick stab on a hard-hit grounder to third to get the second out. But Sinclair was tested with another hard grounder in the next at-bat and couldn’t scoop it cleanly, extending the inning.
That opened the door slightly for Sabaskong and Mick Copenace made the most it—hitting a frozen-rope homer to right-field to make things interesting.
That was as close as the Cubs could get, however, as Pagee retired the final batter to end any hopes of a comeback.
Elsewhere in the RRDFL last Thursday, Big Grassy edged Barwick 7-6 in a battle for top spot. Bill Copenace homered for the Lightning in that one. Meanwhile, Stratton topped Big Island 11-9.
A reminder the annual Canada Day fastball tournament in Barwick goes tomorrow (July 1).