Vauxhall, AB -

The VAB Jets got back on the winning track behind some great pitching by Zach Mayo and timely hitting.  Mayo threw a 4 inning no-hitter with 1 BB and 4 K’s.  The game was called after 4 innings due to rain.  Offensively, the Jets were led by Travis Wallace who was 2 for 3 with a double and 2 RBI’s.  Brendan Hendriks returned from Team Canada with a big 2 run HR.  Konner Lutz, Mitch McGeein and Curtis Mazurkewich rounded out the offense with 1 hit each and an RBI.

Next action is slated for 5 pm vs Butte Miners.   The win puts the Jets record to 1-1 in the tournament and 20-10-1 overall.

Great Falls, Montana -

The VAB got down early 5-2 and could not climb back standing runners on 1st and 2nd in the 7th.   McKinley started and battled threw 4 2/3 innings allowing 11 hits, with 6 runs and only 3 earned runs, 4 K’s and 2 BB’s.  Archie Davis was dominate in relief allowing 0 runs, 1 K in 1 1/3 inning pitched. 

Offensively, the Jets were led by Jeremie Fagnan who was 2 for 3 with a BB, Greg Adams who was 1 for 4 with a 2B and an RBI, Curtis Mazurkewich who was 1 for 4 with a double and RBI, Tyson Zarowny was 2 for 4 with a run scored, Konner Lutz was 1 for 3, Travis was 1 for 3 with a run scored. 

Next action for the Jets is tomorrow at 11:30 am vs PBF Redbirds and 2 pm vs Butte Miners.

Vauxhall, AB -

Today wasn’t the Jets day as they would lose the final of the 5th Annual Haven Agencies Invitational Tournament to a very deserving Great Falls Chargers team by a final score of 3-2. This marks the first time in five years that the Vauxhall Academy Jets have not won the tournament. The game was a tight contest through and through with both teams pitching exceptionally well. Great Falls’ starter would pitch the complete game allowing only 5 hits and 2 runs.

 The Chargers would open the scoring in the 2nd inning and would score on a flyball error. They would add single runs in the 3rd (wild pitch) and in the 6th (fielding error). The Jets pitchers pitched brilliantly today with starter Tanner Spencer throwing 4 strong innings and Ben Dartnell following by throwing 3 of his best innings ever in Jets uniform. It was to no avail however, as defense would seal the Jets fate today as all runs would be unearned and a total of 4 errors would be charged to the Jets. Down 3-0 in the bottom of the 6th, Jeremie Fagnan would provide the Jets their only offense with a 2-run home run to rightfield but that would be as close as they get. The 7th would see the Jets put two runners on base with 1 out but would be left there as the Great Falls pitcher induced a groundball double play to end the game.

The Jets get a chance at redemption next weekend when they travel to Great Falls and play the Chargers at 8pm Friday night at beautiful Centene Stadium as part of the tournament in Great Falls. The games in Great Falls will be the final games for the Jets in the 2011 Spring Season as they look to improve on their 19-9-1 record.

Note: Game time and date of the scheduled game against the WMBL Lethbridge Bulls will be confirmed as soon as possible as the whereabouts and time of the game has yet to be determined. Stay updated on Twitter @VABjets and right here on the website.

Great Falls 3 VAB 2
Spencer: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Dartnell: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K

Zarowny 1-2 BB; Kendall 1-2 BB; Adams 1-3; Fagnan 1-3 HR, 2 RBI; McGeein 0-3; Balog 0-3; Benn 0-2 HBP; Mazurkewich 1-3; St Jean 0-3

Vauxhall, AB -

The Jets continued their success in the Haven Agencies Invitational Tournament the past two days with three victories. The final scores in these games would read: VAB 11 PBF 6, VAB 10 Medicine Hat 2, VAB 6 Great Falls 1. With those three victories the Jets will play in the tournament final at 4pm Sunday against a yet to be determined opponent.

VAB 11 PBF 6
Baigent: 4 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
Davis: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Zarowny 2-4 2B, RBI; Kendall 1-4 2B, RBI; Fagnan 1-4 RBI; Adams 0-4; McGeein 2-4; Mazurkewich 1-4 RBI; Benn 1-3 2 RBI, HBP; Balog 1-2 2B, RBI, 2 BB; St Jean 2-4 RBI, BB

The Jets Friday night contest against Pro Baseball Force (Calgary, AB) was an up and down affair. PBF would jump out to an early 5-0 in the 1st inning aided by three consecutive Jets errors. The Jets would continue to trail until the bottom of the 3rd inning when they would manage to push across 9 runs in the inning anchored by run scoring doubles from Tyler Kendall, Matt Benn, and Blair Balog. In all the Jets would have 8 hits in the inning, 6 of which would score at least a run. The Jets would add 2 more in the following inning and that would be all for the ballgame as starting pitcher Mark Baigent would settle in nicely and make it through 4 innings to take the win. Archie Davis would follow Baigent and work a clean three innings for the save.

VAB 10 Medicine Hat 2
Mayo: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 6 BB, 4 K
Adams: 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

Zarowny 0-3 HBP; Kendall 3-4 RBI; Adams 2-4 2B, 3B, 2RBI; Fagnan 2-4 2 HR, 4 RBI; McGeein 3-4 3 2B; Balog 1-3 BB; Benn 0-3; Wallace 0-2 HBP; St Jean 0-2 BB, RBI

The Jets Saturday morning game against the Medicine Hat Moose Monarchs was never in doubt as the Jets would score early and often on their way to a 10-2 victory. Highlights of the game were Jeremie Fagnan and the middle of the Jets lineup putting up big numbers, Zach Mayo pitching quickly and effectively for 5 strong innings, and the Jets defense playing solid throughout the game making only a single error. The Jets 2-3-4-5 hitters in the game would combine to go 10-16 in the game with a total of 7 extra base hits and 7 RBI’s. Jeremie Fagnan would have a big game going 2-4 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI’s. Zach Mayo threw a solid 5 innings pitching ahead in the count and getting outs early in the count as well. It was one of his better starts of the year and a great way to rebound from a tough outing last weekend against Okotoks. Greg Adams threw 2 innings in relief against his summer ball team to wrap it up.

VAB 6 Great Falls 1
Hodges: 7 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K

St Jean 0-2 2 BB; Kendall 1-4 RBI; Adams 2-4 2B; Fagnan 0-3 BB; McGeein 1-4 2B; Balog 1-3 2 RBI, HBP; Benn 2-4 2 2B; Wallace 1-3 RBI, BB; Mazurkewich 1-2 RBI, 2 BB

The Jets and Great Falls Chargers have turned into a bit of a rivalry over the years due to the Vauxhall tournament and tonight’s game had a buzz around it with numerous VAB alumni in the stands. It was a pitcher’s duel for the most part with the first run of the game not coming until the bottom of the 3rd inning when the Chargers would score their only run. The Chargers starter stifled the Jets with good command, and two solid pitches until the top of 5 when the Jets would push 3 runs across and take the lead for good. Another run in the 6th, and two more in the 7th would allow the Jets to win the ball game 6-1. The story of the night was Chad Hodges as he threw a complete game victory for the second consecutive weekend. This time around he only would walk 2 and strike out 7 as he constantly kept the ball low in the zone and got outs early in the count . He would leave 9 runners stranded making big pitches when it mattered and finishing the ballgame with a bang by striking out the final two hitters he would face. The win leaves the Jets at 4-0 for the weekend and a chance to win it all Sunday afternoon, 4pm at Jets Stadium.

With three more victories the Jets record is now 19 wins, 8 losses, and a tie. The final will be held today at 4pm. Check back later tonight for a full recap of the final and full scores from other games throughout the weekend. Also, you can follow on Twitter @VABjets for other game scores and Jets play by play during games.

Vauxhall, AB -

The rained held off and the Jets opened the Haven Agencies Invitational Tournament Thursday night with a 6-0 win over the Lethbridge Elks AA American Legion squad. The Jets led early scoring two runs in their half of the first inning on a couple of groundball outs that would score Tyson Zarowny and Tyler Kendall. The other four runs would come from two in the 3rd inning and two in the 5th inning. In the 3rd, Mitch McGeein would double to lead off the inning and Curtis Mazurkewich would follow him with a triple that he would score on by way of error on the throw to third.

The night however belonged to starting pitcher Anthony McKinley as he turned in one of the finer pitching performances the Jets have had this year. After giving up a leadoff single, McKinley would retire the next 13 batters he faced before another base runner. He would end up throwing 94 pitches in 6 innings allowing only 2 hits and walking only a single batter. Tanner Spencer would come on to work the 7th and he did so in fine fashion by striking out the side to wrap the ballgame up.

The Jets will now play at 7pm Friday against Pro Baseball Force out of Calgary. This will be their second game of the round robin play. The win now leaves the Jets at 16 wins, 8 losses, and a single tie for the spring campaign. Come on out and support the Jets this weekend!

VAB 6 Lethbridge 0
McKinley: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
Spencer: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Zarowny 1-3 RBI, BB; Kendall 1-4; Fagnan 0-2 2 BB; Adams 0-3 BB; McGeein 2-4 2B, RBI; Mazurkewich 1-2 3B, RBI, BB; Benn 0-1 2 BB; Wallace 1-3 RBI; Balog 0-2 BB

Vauxhall, AB-

It was a sunny but windy day on Sunday in Vauxhall as they played the last two games of their four game set against the Okotoks Jr. Dawgs. The Jets would lose the first game 6-2 but follow it up with a wild 11-10 victory to close out the weekend. For the weekend the Jets would take 3 of 4 games from Okotoks. Game 1 seen the Jets fail to threaten offensively all game with the lone two hits for the Jets belonging to Marc St. Jean and Mitch McGeein. Outside of those two hits the Jets would only put 8 men on base for the entire game. The Jr. Dawgs left hander would go a complete game against the Jets.

Game 2 was a totally different game for both teams as both offensives scored in bunches with Okotoks jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the 1st followed by a 7-1 lead after the 2nd.  The Jets would commit 6 errors in the first two innings digging a seemingly insurmountable hole for themselves. But they would claw back back bit by bit highlighted by a Brendan Hendriks home run, a 2-run double by Jeremie Fagnan, and a full count walk drawn by Hendriks with the bases loaded to tie the ballgame. The Jets would score their winning run on a wild play – Fagnan would hit a groundball to first base with the bases loaded and would beat the covering pitcher to the base scoring Tyler Kendall and putting out Brendan Hendriks who tried to score in behind him. The Jets bullpen did a tremendous job keeping the Jr. Dawgs in check with Tanner Spencer and Marc St Jean combining to throw 4 shutdown innings to preserve the Jets victory. 

The Jets next games will be next weekend when they host the Haven Agencies Invitational Tournament held from May 19-22 at Jets Stadium. Check the website throughout the week for updated information on scheduling of the draw. After today’s loss/win the Jets record is 15-8-1 for the spring season.

Game 1
Okotoks 6 VAB 2
Baigent: 6 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 8 K
Davis: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Fagnan 0-3 BB; Kendall 0-3 BB; Hendriks 0-1 HBP, BB; Adams 0-3; Lutz 0-1 2 HBP; Benn 0-2 BB; McGeein 1-3; Mazurkewich 0-2 BB; St. Jean 1-3 2B, RBI

Game 2
VAB 11 Okotoks 10
Mayo: 3 IP, 5 H, 9 R, 5 ER, 5 BB, 4 K
Spencer: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
St. Jean: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Zarowny 1-4; Kendall 1-3 BB; Hendriks 2-3 HR, 2 RBI, BB; Adams 0-4; Fagnan 2-3 2B, HBP, 3 RBI; McGeein 1-4; Lutz 1-3 BB; Wallace 1-4 3 RBI; Balog 1-3 RBI