Cardinals blank Beavers to win second NSRBL championship

A key point came in the bottom of the fourth inning, when Gavin Nolin drove a ball toward the left-centre-field fence. Kaden Cey made a running catch and held onto the ball as he crashed through the fence for the second out.

“A little sore, but it feels great to finally pull it off,” Cey said after the game.

“I saw the ball hit hard and our pitcher had been having a hell of a game. So then I ran through a fence for him. I caught it as I was going over.”

The catch made such an impression that Beavers player/manager Kyle Gregoire tipped his cap to Cey.

“I haven’t seen since 35 and over provincials, a guy run through the fence here at Beaver Lions, so that was impressive.”

Kaden Cey after crashing through the fence while making a catch in the outfield to keep the Beavers off the scoresheet. (Image Credit: Byron Hildebrand Photography/Facebook)

The Cardinals extended their lead in the top of the seventh when Carter Ralston hit a two-run homer to right field, putting Unity ahead 4-0 entering the bottom of the final inning.

Ralston kept it simple when asked what was going through his mind as the ball cleared the fence.

“Just some insurance. Let’s go get the win then. Lost last year in the finals, so it feels good to beat him this time. We’ve had some battles with them all year.”

Conner Ralston was the Cardinals’ standout, pitching 6 2/3 innings before Cey recorded the final out.

“Pretty happy with it. Can’t complain,” Ralston continued, speaking to his pitching performance. Sucked that I couldn’t end it, but happy the next guy got it done.”

The Unity Cardinals championship winning moment (Ryan Lambert/battlefordsNOW staff)

Despite the loss, Beavers player-manager Kyle Gregoire said he was pleased with his team’s performance throughout the season.

“I think we had a good season. I think, like, ups and downs there with the roster; we had a few changes throughout the season there. I think we hit the ball really well. Defence, for the most part, was pretty solidified.”

Gregoire acknowledged that while winning four straight championships would have been great, he was not discounting the three-peat from 2023 to 2025.

“Happy with the boys. It’s hard to do a four-peat. Three-peat was pretty impressive. I guess we got to start a new one here.”

The championship is the second in Cardinals franchise history and their first since 2017.

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Ryan.Lambert@pattisonmedia.com

by Ryan Lambert

Cardinals blank Beavers to win second NSRBL championship

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