The Alpines (9-19) played spoiler with wins in three of their last five games, and while they may have finished fifth in the five-team league, their year-end hot streak threw a wrench in the Moncton Dixie Lee Mets, Chatham Miramichi Honda Ironmen, and Fredericton St. Louis Bar and Grill Royals’ hopes for playoff seeding.
After a disappointing season, Saint John will have a shot at redemption in the best-of-three miniseries between the fourth and fifth-ranked squads to decide the fourth seed for the post-season. They’ll face the Royals (14-14) in that matchup after the Islanders compete at the 2024 Baseball Canada Men’s National Championships from Thursday to Sunday in Ontario.
Game 1 of the miniseries is set for Aug. 31 in Fredericton. Game 2 is slated for Sept. 1 in Saint John.
The Alpines’ regular-season schedule ended with them splitting a doubleheader Aug. 17 against the Ironmen (15-13) at home, with a 7-5 loss in the first game and a 6-3 win in the second matchup. Saint John also fell 10-9 to the Royals and beat Fredericton 6-3 in a doubleheader Aug. 15 at David Ring Memorial Field after defeating the Royals 7-3 a few days earlier in the province’s capital.
Meanwhile, the Ironmen dropped a 7-5 decision to the Mets Aug. 15 in Miramichi after toppling Moncton 10-6 two days earlier on the road. Chatham downed the Islanders (17-11) 2-1 and 6-2 in a doubleheader Aug. 11 at Victoria Park, with Moncton beating Saint John 16-4 the same day in the Port City.
The senior league will be idle until after Charlottetown returns from nationals.
The New Brunswick Junior Baseball League semifinals between the Saint John Doiron’s Sports Junior Alpines and Chatham O’Donaghue’s Junior Ironmen went the distance, but the Alpines prevailed in the deciding game Sunday at home and punched their ticket to the league final.
The Alpines earned a hard-fought 13-11 victory in Game 5 of the best-of-five series after Chatham stayed alive with a 7-6 triumph in Game 3 Aug. 10 in Saint John and a 3-1 win in Game 4 on Aug. 16 at Ironmen Field.
Saint John took the first two games 6-4 and 10-5. The Alpines’ Game 5 victory landed them a date in the best-of-five final with Moncton’s Metro Mudcats, who ousted the Fredericton Tim Hortons Altimax Royals in four games.
The Mudcats won the series opener 9-2 and took Games 3 and 4 by 7-3 and 9-5 margins, respectively. The Royals won 5-2 in Game 2.
The schedule for the final series hasn’t been released yet.
The Southern New Brunswick Baseball League’s best-of-five semifinals are well underway, with the Saint John Mariners leading the Saint John Angels 2-0 after winning 10-0 and 16-10 in the first two games. Game 3 hasn’t been scheduled yet.
The other semifinal between the Dieppe Cardinals and KV Red Sox is tied at one game apiece, with the Cardinals beating the Red Sox 8-1 in the series opener and the Red Sox winning 4-1 in Game 2. Game 3 is Sunday at Wells Recreational Field, with Game 4 set for Tuesday at 7:45 p.m. at Lakeburn Park.
In the Capital City Intermediate Baseball League, the Fredericton Launchpad Sports Expos lead the Fredericton Ritchie’s Carpet Warehouse White Sox 2-0 in the best-of-five semis. The Expos won 5-4 in Game 1 and 15-2 in Game 2. The third game is Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Royals Field.
Meanwhile, the Woodstock Shiretowners swept the Devon Boys Lawn Care Orioles in three straight games in the other series, with wins by 8-1, 11-4, and 15-3 scores. They await the winner of the Expos and White Sox series for the finals.
In the Miramichi Valley Baseball League, the Chatham Head Tigers overcame a 2-0 deficit against their local rivals, the Newcastle Mike’s Bar and Grill Cardinals, with consecutive wins in Games 3, 4, and 5 giving them a 3-2 series lead going into Game 6 Sunday in Newcastle. The Tigers won 14-4 in Game 3 in Chatham Head, 5-2 in Game 4 in Newcastle, and 16-6 in Game 5 at home.
If needed, Game 7 is Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Waldo Henderson Memorial Field.
The series winner will take on the Tracadie Aigles in the league final. The Aigles eliminated the Dalhousie McIntyre Refrigeration Dodgers in five games in the other semifinal, with a 7-4 victory in Game 5 sealing the deal on Aug. 14 in Tracadie.
The league champions and runner-ups will compete at the intermediate provincials in September in Saint John.
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