Junior Sox split with Sudbury

Top spot in the Northern Elite League was not out of the question for the Soo Junior Black Sox baseball team, but after splitting a double header with the first place Sudbury Lakers over the weekend, top spot may be just out of reach.

The weekend split did catapult the locals into second spot in the NEL though as their record moved to 5-4.

The first game of the twin bill saw the Black Sox get off to a good start as they picked up solid pitching performances from Andre Robideaux and Kai Tuomi en route to an 8-3 victory over the Lakers.

Robideaux pitched four innings scattering six hits while striking out four batters. Tuomi wrapped things up holding the Lakers hitless through the final three innings and striking out seven.

Offensively, Robideaux helped his own cause with a homerun along with a double and four runs batted in. Cole Smalec added three singles and knocked in a run.

The game wasn't without controversy though as, in the seventh inning, Tuomi hit a Lakers batter and the Sudbury dugout took exception to the hit batsman and the dugouts emptied. Cooler heads prevailed and the teams proceeded to get on with game two.

Sudbury took over in game two and handed the Black Sox a 12-4 loss. Robideaux continued his solid play at the plate with a single and a pair of RBI's. Smalec also chipped in with a double in the loss.