Seniors tied for second place with record of 13-6

The Save-On-Foods Parksville Royals started off with a bang on Saturday vs the North Shore Twins, scoring 12 runs in 5 innings.  Parksville was selective at the plate drawing 12 walks to go along with 8 hits.  Catcher Spencer Walton had a double to score 3 runs and second baseman Thomas Green was 2 for 3 with 2 RBI.  Starter Brady Radcliffe did his part with 5 shut-out innings and the Royals mercied the Twins 12-0.   Following the weekend schedule, Radcliffe finds himself atop of the PBL leader board with a record of 6 wins and no losses.  He also leads the league in strike-outs with 35.

In the second half of the double-header, starter Brayden Baker got the ball and pitched 5 innings allowing 4 earned runs.  Baker left the game with a 5-4 lead but relievers Jaxon Ackerman and Share Verral couldn’t hold on for the win as the Twins took a close one by a score of 6-5 in 8 innings.    At the plate Josh Laukkanen went 2 for 3 with a triple and 2 RBI and Walton notched his second double of the day to also knock in 2 runs.

Sunday found the Royals at UBC against the Thunder and starter Jacob Volkers was in full command scattering three hits over the first 5 innings with no runs allowed.  The Thunder got to him in the bottom of the 6th, however, scoring 3 runs to take the lead.  Parksville was unable to answer back in the top of the 7th and UBC took game 1 by a score of 3-2.     Green went 2 for 2 at the plate and third baseman Kieran Bowles had a double and an RBI.

The Royals continued to get solid pitching on Sunday as game 2 starter Ethan Christensen went 5 innings allowing only 2 runs.  Brodie Comerford came on in relief and allowed no earned runs to seal the win.  Laukkanen and Kiran Carcary each had two hits and Green contributed 4 RBI enroute to a 12-3 Parksville victory.

Parksville pitching allowed just 7 runs over 4 games this weekend.  For the season, the Royals pitching staff is ranked third in the league with a staff ERA of 2.81.  Combine that with a league-leading average of 7.05 runs per game and it’s no surprise that Parksville is just one game back of first place.        

“Overall I am happy with where we are at as a team up to this point but we still have aspects of the game we need to still keep working on.” Said Coach Frank Kaluzniak.  “Our pitching has been fantastic so far and gives us a chance to win every game. We lost 2 one run games this weekend which wasn't what we hoped for but we were a couple bounces away from a 4-0 weekend. If we keep growing as a team we have an opportunity to keep doing good things.” 

Juniors win home opener

The Save-On-Foods Parksville Junior Royals finally came home this past weekend and began well with two victories against the visiting Whalley Chiefs.  Jacob Stockton got the start in game 1 and was in a groove early.  His command left him in the 4th and the Chiefs scored 4 runs to take the lead 4-2.  Brett Wildeman and Jaden Barr close the door in relief the rest of the way and gave the Royals a chance to get back in to it.   In the 6th inning with the local crew down 4-3, the Royals loaded the bases with one out and Stockton crushed a pitch to deep right field.  Stockton’s double would clear the bases and put Parksville up 6-4.   

The Royals kept the hot bats going with 4 runs in the first inning of Game 2 on the way to a 7-1 victory.   Staff ace Nathan Lagos pitched a complete game allowing 1 run and scattering 4 hits across 7 innings.   Stockton, Trevor Nicoll, and Tyler Newby each went 2 for 3 at the plate as the Royals offence fired on all cylinders.  Lagos had a great day at the plate going 3 for 4 with a triple.

On Sunday the Royals were in tough against the Langley Blaze and dropped both ends of the double-header.  Game 1 starter Brier Pilon put in a strong performance but errors in the field allowed the strong Langley batters to put seven runs on the board.  Pilon allowed 3 earned runs over 5 innings as the Royals fell to the Blaze 8-3.  Lagos and Barr both went 2 for 3 at the dish and James Ingersoll smacked a double to deep center to drive in one of the Parksville runs. 

Game 2 was all Langley as starter Nolan Macdonald allowed 7 runs (6 earned) in three innings and then reliever Laine Rogers allowed 3 more to give Langley the win 10-0 in 5 innings.  The lone bright spot at the plate was second baseman Conner McNamee who went 2 for 2.

Bantams sweep the weekend, take record to 12-3

The Save-On-Foods Parksville Bantam Royals won all four games over the weekend and sit a half game back of first in the Bantam PBL.    On Saturday in game 1 against the UBC Thunder, starter Anson McGorman struck out 6 over 3 2/3 innings but was tagged for 5 runs on 4 hits.  The fire brigade of Nathan Underhill and Kolby Wood came on in relief and blanked the Thunder the rest of the way.   Austin Walper led the offence going 2 for 3 with a triple and an RBI.  Owen Crouse had a triple of his own for two RBI and Cameron Bell had a single and an RBI.  Final score Royals 8 Thunder 5.

Lefty Ethan Dean got the start in the second half of the double-header didn’t allow a run over 5 strong innings.  That would be all the pitching Parksville needed as the bats took it to the UBC pitching scoring 10 runs.  McGorman, Elijah Oelke, and Will Fox each went 2 for 3 and Walper’s double off the wall knocked in three runs.     

Sunday at Springwood Park saw two spirited contests against the Whalley Chiefs.  Ellis Vugteveen started game 1 and allowed 3 runs over 6 innings with 7 strike-outs.  Vugteveen also went 2 for 3 at the plate as did McGorman and Owen Lagos.  With the Royals leading 5-3 and Wood on in relief, the Chiefs scored a run to make it close but that was all they’d get as Parksville held on for the 5-4 victory. 

The finale was a slugfest with the teams scoring a combined 16 runs.  Starter Austin Walper was on his game, allowing just 2 runs over 4 2/3 innings.  The bullpen ran into trouble, however, and it was up to the bats to bail them out and that’s just what they did.  Home runs by Carter Hall and Vugteveen paced the attack with Underhill going 2 for 3 and Crouse going 2 for 4.  McGorman and Dean each contributed singles on the way to a wild 9-7 Parksville win. 

Coach Wes Dieleman was satisfied with his team’s effort level. “Timely hitting was key for us this weekend. Our starters did a good job keeping us in the game as did our bullpen, giving our offense a chance.”