SPORTS FLASHBACK 1983: Pacers repeat provincial win

The Steinbach A&W Pacers turned aside challenges from Winkler and Pine Falls to earn the right to represent Manitoba in the national junior men’s fastball championships for the second straight year.

The Steinbach Pacers hosted both the provincial championship in junior men’s fastball and the Manitoba elimination championship for a berth in the junior men’s nationals in Prince Edward Island in August.

Steinbach edged Winkler 3-2 in the opening game of the tournament and were assured of the spot in the nationals, when Pine Falls followed with a 2-1 win over their western rivals. That victory eliminated Winkler and set up a best-of-three between Steinbach and Pine Falls for the provincial junior crown.

Pine Falls is ineligible to play out of the province because they do not have a Level One coach, but were allowed to challenge for the provincial title nevertheless. Back-to-back victories by scores of 3-0 and 11-5 for the Pacers settled the provincial title as well.

The best game of the tournament proved to be the opening contest involving Steinbach and Winkler. The Pacers scored first with two runs in the first inning.

Harold Schlamp and Jacques Levesque singled and winning pitcher Darcy Gryba drove in both runs with a single to left field.

In the fourth inning, James Loewen reached base on an error with two outs, stole second and third, and scored on a passed ball to give Steinbach a 3-1 lead at that point.

Winkler scored a run in the bottom of the fourth to narrow the gap to 3-2, but then Steinbach’s defence took over.

In the fifth inning, Gryba stopped a line shot back through the middle for an inning-ending double play and in the sixth, Tim Friesen went to the wall to stifle another rally.

In the seventh inning, Earl Coleman made the play of the game, when he took away a sure single to right field and threw out Winkler’s Brian Thompson at first. A line drive to Coleman off the bat of pinch-hitter Preston Wieler then ended the game.

Gryba struck out six in the game, did not issue a walk and held Winkler to five hits. Losing pitcher Randy Klassen gave up four hits, walked two and struck out three.

Winkler had just as much trouble getting runners on base in their second game and lost a 2-1 decision to Pine Falls to dash their hopes of a trip to the nationals.

Claude Nault scored the first Pine Falls run in the third inning, when he scored on a passed ball third strike to give the Canadiens a 1-0 lead.

Winkler loaded the bases in the bottom of the third inning but were unable to score a run. Dwayne Tardiff knocked down a hard-hit ball at second and shovelled it to first to end the inning.

Ian Cyr walked in the sixth inning, stole second and scored when the Winkler catcher threw the ball away at third, trying to pick him off.

Winkler rallied in the bottom of the seventh and pushed one run across before Pine Falls’ first baseman saved the game with a double play at the plate. Steve Dick hit the ball to third base when the runner tried to score from third after the throw to first, Mark Fenez made a perfect throw to catcher Ian Cyr to end the game.

While the remaining two games on the tournament schedule meant much more to Pine Falls than to Steinbach, the Pacers came to play ball and behind the two-hit pitching of Guy Phaneuf, the home team scored a 3-0 win in the first.

Phaneuf struck out eight and walked two on the way to the win.

In the final game of the day, the Pacers jumped to an early 10-0 lead. Pine Falls halved that lead with a five-run fifth inning.

Guy Phaneuf came in in relief in the sixth to strike out the side on the way to an 11-5 victory for the Pacers.

Craig Borlasse was tagged with the loss, giving up six runs before being replaced by Pine Falls ace Jamie Wardrop in the second inning.

The Pacers will represent Manitoba at the Canadian Junior Men’s Fastball Championships in Summerside, PEI, August 10-14.