The Brandon Marlins and the Weyburn A’s were both looking for their first win at the Western Canadian Junior AAA Baseball Championships in Weyburn, SK when they squared off Friday evening. It would be the Marlins who would come away with victory, winning by a final count of 12-3.

The game looked like it would be a defensive struggle after the first two innings, but Brandon broke the deadlock when a single from Skylar Canada handcuffed Weyburn third baseman Nate Koszman, and allowed two runs to score. The Marlins loaded the bases looking for more, but Koszman redeemed himself with a play at third, getting the force out on a hard grounder. In the bottom of the inning, the A’s threatened to score, but stranded two runners in scoring position.

The Marlins would once again load the bases in the 4th inning, taking advantage of a few singles, and a few defensive miscues by Weyburn. A single to centre from Jordan Robertson would bring two more runs in, extending the Brandon lead to 4-0. In the next at bat, Canada would notch his third RBI of the game with a shot just over the head of second baseman Cody Hooker. The Marlins would continue to extend the rally to make it a 11-0 game halfway through the 4th inning, putting pressure on the A’s to get something going offensively to avoid the game ending after five innings due to the mercy rule. Matity wouldn’t survive the inning, replaced by Dylan Hockley part way through the inning.

Drew Fellner would get the A’s on the board in the bottom of the inning, when he sent a towering shot over the fence in right field, scoring two runs, and closing the gap to nine. Weyburn would strand two more runners to end the inning, unable to muster anymore offense for the inning. The A’s would add one more in the bottom of the fifth, closing the gap to 11-3.

The Marlins looked to open the gap to ten once again in the top of the sixth inning, as they added a run from  Jay Pringle RBI, but couldn’t get the run to put the game in mercy rule territory, stranding two runners, including one in scoring position. Weyburn looked to close the sizable gap into something more manageable in the bottom of the inning, getting runners on the basepaths. With runners in scoring in scoring position, though, a line drive to second resulted in a double play, ending the inning. Neither team would score in the seventh, ending the game.

Play in the tournament continues Saturday morning. The Pembina Valley Orioles take on the Moose Jaw Regals at 10:00 a.m. The A’s take on South Jasper at 1:00 p.m., while the Marlins are back in action against Moose Jaw at 4:00 p.m. The Orioles and A’s finish off the day with the late game at 7:00 p.m.