It was another strong week-end for the Save-On-Foods Parksville Royals.  The Seniors opened at home against the long-time rival Mid-Island Pirates and the Juniors were down in Victoria against the Mariners.

For the Seniors in game 1 it was Brady Radcliffe with the start and he turned in 5 strong innings for the win allowing 2 earned runs on only 4 hits.  Shae Verral faced the minimum over the last two innings,  changing speeds, using his defence, and holding the Pirates hitless.  That strong pitching was more than enough as the bats were hot to start the day.  Tim Holyk was 3 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI.  Pitcher Radcliffe helped his own cause with 2 hits of his own and Kiran Carcary continued his clutch start to the season with another 3 RBI.  Final score 10-2 for Parksville.

Game 2 was a much tighter affair with the game tied 2-2 after 5 innings.  The Royals scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth only to have Mid-Island answer right back, scoring the first 2 batters to start the seventh and final inning.  Ethan Christensen in his third inning of relief was able to work out the jam and secure the 5-4 win for the boys in purple.  Starter Ryan Humphreys pitched 4 innings allowing 1 run on 1 hit.

The big hit in the sixth came from Jake Nikirk whose double drove in two Parksville runs.  Aden Richardson and Brady Radcliffe  both went 2 for 3 in the game. 

“This was a good test for the team.” said Royals coach Frank Kaluzniak. “That second game both sides battled hard and we had to play smart to come up with the win.  Each game we were getting a little stronger.”

Down in Victoria the Junior Royals split their double-header with the Mariners.  The Mariners  took game 1 by a score of 6-1 on the strength of a solid all-around game with especially strong pitching.  Laine Rogers smacked the only Parksville hits in the contest and Nolan Macdonald drove in Jacob Stockton to score the only Parksville run.  Nathan Lagos took the loss with 5 earned runs over 4 innings pitched. 

The Royals roared back in the second game pounding out 15 hits to score 10 runs on the way to a 10-3 victory.   Macdonald got the win allowing 2 earned over 4 and 1/3.  Leadoff man Jordan Dennis was a perfect 3 for 3 with a sac bunt and Max Kolopenuk went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI to lead the offense.     Jacob Stockton must’ve been channelling Rickey Henderson as he stole 5 bases on the day including third – twice!    

Coach Chad Schultz was happy with the team’s effort. “Starting the season in someone else’s home park can be challenging and we may have been a little nervous, trying too hard, in the first game.  As the afternoon went on I felt we really hit our stride and played with confidence.”