The Yorkton Cardinals have crashed in recent weeks, winning only one of their last 15 games and as a result will miss the Western Major Baseball League playoffs for only the second time in the team's history.
The string of losses mounted this past week, including a pair of critical contests in Weyburn against the Beavers who will edge out the Cardinals for the final playoff spot in the East Division.
The Cardinal season record 12-27, dead last in the Division, 16 games behind the East-leading Regina Red Sox, and 2.5 games behind the playoff-bound Beavers.
Last Wednesday the Cardinals were hammered 17-1 by the Beavers.
Max McDonald started on the mound for Yorkton and was in trouble from the beginning, giving up six runs in the first inning, and seven more in the third. He would last only three innings, giving up 10 hits and 13 runs, although only four of those were earned.
The Cardinals committed five errors in the contest.
A night later the score was closer, but the result was the same as Weyburn won 5-1.
Kenny Kissell started for Yorkton, lasting 5.2, before being lifted. He allowed only four hits, but gave up five runs, again only one was earned.
On Friday, the losing continued as the Cardinals headed to regina were they came up on the short end of a 6-5 decision.Jordan Herbison started the game for Yorkton. He lasted through five innings, giving up eight hits, and five runs, all of those earned.
Yorkton did lead the game 2-1 after scoring a pair in the fourth, but it was short-lived as Regina counted four runs in the fifth.
On Monday night, it was another loss. It came at Pirie Field in Melville against the rival Millionaires by a 9-6 score.
Melville scored three in the first, and added a pair in the third for a 5-0 lead.
Yorkton managed a pair in the fourth, only to see the Millionaires match that with two runs of their own in the home half of the inning.
Melville would lead 9-3 going into the ninth, where the Cardinals would add three, but it was too little, too late.
Ben Sollows started and went four for the Cardinals allowing 11 hits and giving up seven runs, six of those earned to be tagged with the loss.
