The Howe Sound Cannons took two from the basement-dwelling A鈥檚 in weekend North Shore Men鈥檚 Baseball League action.
The Cannons came in tied with the Bulls for top spot in the league and lost no ground, as they were able to rack up a pair of wins easily.
The first game of the day at Laroy Watt Field Saturday was, in effect, over by the second inning in what turned out to be a 24-2 thumping.
While the wind felt like it was blowing in from the outfield, the slugfest seemed to suggest otherwise, as the players sent the ball deep throughout the game. Actually, it was the visitors, in their first at-bat, who got the long balls started, jumping out to a 2-0 lead off a homer to right field.
Howe Sound came back in the bottom of the first to take the lead, but it was in the second that the team blew things wide open, scoring 11 runs and bringing 17 men to the plate in one of those innings that seemingly never end.
Three players each hit a two-run homer in the second, with every blast heading over a different part of the back fence, which suggested the wind was not playing much of a factor at all in terms of carrying the ball.
The weekend also marked the return of first basemen Troy 鈥淏alco鈥� Morphy.
鈥淗e hasn鈥檛 played for two years,鈥� said player-manager Alex Wishy.
Morphy certainly did not show any rust in his comeback, as he smacked a two-run shot in his first at-bat.
In the Cannons鈥� prolific second inning, he added a double the first time up and another two-run homer when he came to the plate again, while his teammates ribbed him about coming out of retirement, even suggesting a storyline for his performance.
鈥淚t鈥檚 called T-Roy 鈥� the Legend Continues,鈥� said leftfielder David Jones, another one of the home-run hitters in the second.
Jeremy Galley, who hit the other homer, also picked up the win by fanning four batters while walking none.
The second game of the double-header ended 9-3 but for much of the game, the visitors were in striking distance.
鈥淚t was close 鈥檛il the fifth or sixth [inning],鈥� Wishy said.
The Cannons were starting to put a little more daylight between themselves and the A鈥檚 when Howe Sound鈥檚 Kurtis Malm came up to the plate and swatted a three-run home run in the last at-bat. Justin Krazanowski also provided three runs batted in, to help lead the offence. Four pitchers combined for the win, including Jack Thompson, who came on in the final inning to fan all three bats with some nasty pitches. The last two strikeouts ended on called third strikes.
The Cannons will be on the road this weekend for a showdown with the rival Bulls and the Cardinals before returning home on June 18.
