Premier Royals can’t find their groove on Easter weekend.

The Save-On-Foods Parksville Royals went into play this past weekend with high hopes but couldn’t find the winning track as they dropped all four games.  Saturday saw the boys in purple out-pitched and out-worked by the visiting UBC Thunder who swept the double-header.   Jacob Volkers provided some of the rare highlights going 2 for 4 at the plate in game 1 and following that up with 6 strong innings to start game 2.  Volkers allowed 2 earned runs and struck out 5.

Sunday in White Rock, starter Shae Verral battled through 6 innings, allowing 6 runs, 4 of them earned on the way to a 6-1 loss.  Game 2 starter Nolan Macdonald changed the momentum entirely as he carried a no-hitter into the 5th inning before surrendering a single.  Macdonald finished the day allowing 4 runs, 2 earned, in 5 1/3 innings.  Nathan Lagos continued to terrorize opposing pitchers going 4-6 with a double and 2 RBI on the day.      

Junior Royals split with White Rock.

The Save-On-Foods Parksville Junior Royals hosted White Rock on Easter Sunday and managed to split the double-header.  Game 1 starter Ellis Vugteveen pitched into the 6th inning striking out 10 Triton batters along the way.   Vugteveen allowed only 3 hits but White Rock took advantage of their opportunities and put 4 runs on the board.   Reliever Nathan Underhill came in to keep it close but errors in the field led to another 2 unearned runs and White rock prevailed by a score of 6-3.  Elijah Oelke swung the hot stick going 2 for 3 with a double.

The Juniors got into the win column in game 2 benefiting from more good pitching and some timely hits.  Starter Ethan Dean threw 5 complete, allowing 3 runs, 1 earned, with 6 strike-outs.  Dean scattered 5 hits and walked just one batter.   With the home side up by one, Trevor Carter came in to slam door with a 6-out save.   The offense was distributed up and down the line-up with doubles from Cody Jackson and Owen Crouse.  Cameron Bell and Will Fox each collected a stolen base and a run scored.  

Bantam Royals win 3 of 4 to open the season.

The Save-On-Foods Parksville Bantam Royals kicked off their season in style with 3 victories over the weekend.  Saturday the Royals hosted the Victoria Mariners at Nunn’s Creek in Campbell River.  Liam McNamee got the start on the mound in the first game of the season and gave a strong performance going 5 innings with 8 strikeouts.  On the other side of the dish, Mcnamee helped his cause going 2-2 at the plate with 5 RBI’s.  A big part of the Royals offense this season will be its speed and that was on display as the boys in purple racked up 9 stolen bases in game 1. Carter Hall, Breydan Riecker, and Thomas Plant led the way with 2 stolen bases each and the Royals literally ran away with a 12-2 win in game 1.

In Game 2 the Royals sent Braendan McLaughlin to the mound. The hulking rookie gave a solid start going 3 1/3rd innings with 5 k’s before running into pitch count issues. The Royals would turn to their bullpen bringing in Rylan Baikie and Keitaro Adachi to keep the Mariners at bay. It was a tightly contested game with the teams exchanging the lead several times.  The offense carried the day in the end and with Landon Bowers going 1-3 with 2 runs scored,  Breydan Riecker also going 1-3 with 3 more stolen bases, and Owen Lagos and Ethan Vaton also chipping in at the plate while anchoring the defense. The game came down to the wire as the Royals turned to Carter Hall to close it out and  preserve a 9-8 lead. Hall was dominant, striking out the side to cement a 9-8 win and a sweep on the day.

The Bantam Royals would return to the park on Sunday to play the visiting North Shore Twins. The Royals sent ace Thomas Plant to the mound to face the perennial powerhouse Twins. Plant would go 5 strong innings with 5 strikeouts before Ethan Vaton came in in relief shutting the door for 2 innings.

The Royals bats were quiet in game 1 only able to muster a handful of hits with 2 of them coming from Tyler Kolopenuk who would go 2-3 in the game as the Royals fell to the Twins in game 1, 6-1.

Heading into the second game of the day and forth game of the weekend, the Royals would send crafty lefty Breydan Riecker to the mound. Riecker pitched 6 innings with 5 strikeouts allowing only 4 hits.  In another tight game, the Royals were stellar defensively with diving catches by Adachi and Plant to keep the Royals in the game with the Twins leading 1-0 going into the 4th.   Cue the offense as the Royals scored 4 runs in the bottom of the inning led by Cater Hall with a clutch 2 RBI double.  The Royals would add another in the 5th with back to back doubles by Riecker and Vaton. The Royals sent Landon Bowers to the mound with a 5-3 lead in the 7th inning and he blew the Twins away, striking out the side to collect the save.

A strong start for the Bantam Royals who sit in second place in the standings to start the season. Coach Biro was pleased with the team effort saying “in every aspect of the game we worked and won as a team. Between players executing, filling in defensively, or coming in the game as a relief pitcher; every player contributed  and was vital to the team wins”

Game Scores:

Premier team Saturday

Gm 1 - Royals 5 Thunder 13

Gm 2 - Royals 3 Thunder 7

Premier team Sunday

Gm 1 - Royals 1 Tritons 6

Gm 2 - Royals 3 Tritons 4

Junior team Sunday

Gm 1 – Jr Royals 3 Tritons 6

Gm 2 – Jr Royals 4 Tritons 3

Bantam team Saturday

Gm 1 – Bantam Royals 12 Mariners Navy 2

Gm 2 – Bantam Royals 9 Mariners Navy 8

Bantam team Sunday

Gm 1 – Bantam Royals 1 Twins 6

Gm 2 – Bantam Royals 5 Twins 3

This week:

Premier team host Victoria Eagles in Campbell River on Saturday and then heads off to White Rock for a rematch with the Tritons.

The Junior team plays in Nanaimo on Wednesday and has the weekend off.

The Bantam team hits the road for a 4-game set vs the Okanagan Athletics.  

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