Premier Royals get to extra innings twice, win once

The Save-On-Foods Parksville Royals took on the Victoria Eagles on Saturday on a clear & windy afternoon in Campbell River.  Veteran Shae Verral couldn’t quite figure the Eagles hitters early and they put up 4 runs in the first inning.  Verral hung tough but solid Eagles hitting combined with spotty defence around him led to his exit after 3 2/3 innings.  Nathan Lagos came on in relief and fared well allowing 1 earned run in 3 1/3 innings of relief.  Lagos and Center fielder Connor Hall each contributed a double and an RBI at the plate while Anson McGorman had a single and a triple and two runs scored.  Final score Royals 3 and Eagles 9.

Game 2 was more of the same with the Royals struggling on pitching and defence resulting in another sizable early lead for the visitors.   Starter Nolan Macdonald couldn’t build on his impressive performance the previous weekend and gave up 7 runs over 3 innings.  Travis Frank came on in relief and held Victoria to 2 earned runs over 3 innings before Tyler Newby came on to pitch a scoreless 7th inning.   Hall continued his hot day at the plate with a single, a double, and a run scored.  Final score Royals 2 and Eagles 10.

The Royals looked to turn the page Sunday at Springwood Park against the White Rock Tritons.  Jacob Volkers was strong on the hill allowing 3 runs, only 1 earned, to go with 11 strikeouts.    The home side was down 3-1 in the bottom of the 7th and Tim Holyk started the rally with a lead-off double.  Trevor Nicoll was next up and promptly crushed a double of his own to score Holyk and cut the deficit to 1 run.  After Nolan Macdonald bunted Nicoll to 3rd, Brodie Comerford came up with an RBI ground-out to the right side to score Nicoll and send the game into extras. 

The two sides battled and then in the 11th, White Rock took the lead again.  The Royals came right back and with 2 outs and a runner on first, Connor Hall drilled a triple to deep right field scoring Travis Frank and we were tied again but not for long.  Next up was Nathan Lagos, hitting a breath-taking .469 on the season, and he made no mistake, lining the first pitch he saw into right field to score Hall and win the game for the boys in purple.   Comerford gets the win with 5 strong innings of relief.  Final score Royals 5 and Tritons 4.

Game 2 saw yet another close game with multiple lead changes and a decision in extra innings.  Sophomore Anson McGorman was on the bump and he had his good stuff, striking out 10 White Rock batters over 5 innings of work.  That gives him 21 K’s in just 13 innings of work this young season.  Even with solid defensive play, the Royals again found themselves down a run heading into the bottom of the 7th.   Parksville loaded the bases with one away and Tim Holyk came up with the clutch sacrifice fly to left field to score Connor Hall from 3rd.   On to extra innings and the 8th saw White Rock again grab the lead and this time they held on.    At the plate, Brodie Comerford and Kieran Bowles led the way as both went 3 for 4.   Final score Royals 4 and Tritons 5.

Bantam Royals Split with Kelowna

The Save-On-Foods Bantam Royals were on the road this past weekend making the trip to the Okanagan to face the Athletics. 

Game one sent Liam McNamee to the mound where he gave 5 strong innings with Ethan Vaton coming on in relief. With the Royals leading 2-0 going into the fourth, they fell victim to the long ball giving up a 3 run HR to put the A’s ahead 3-2. The Royals would tie it at 3-3 but in the 7th the A’s would hit another HR to walk it off 6-3. 

Game two saw Braendan McGlaughlin take the hill going 3 innings with Rylan Baikie coming in relief.  Offensively Owen Lagos lead the charge going 3-4. The game would go into extras where Carter Hall came in relief for 3 innings, 2 in extra innings where a hit and stolen base by Lagos, a hit by Gareth MacDonald and then a walk off hit by Ethan Vaton would seal the 7-6 win for the Royals. 

Game 3 of the weekend was a stellar pitching display by Thomas Plant who was effective and efficient the whole game. He went 7 complete innings, only throwing 65 pitches for the complete game as Lagos and MacDonald continued to swing a big stick leading the Royals to a 6-1 win. 

Game 4, the Royals fell to fatigue of travel. Lefty Breydan Riecker would get the start going 3 innings, with Ryan Deagle and Tyler Kolopenuk coming on in relief. Difficult day at the plate and in the field where the royals fell 13-3. 

Overall split on the weekend. Coach Biro would say that “our starting pitching has greatly improved. It is tough to play on the road, especially with the increased travel to Kelowna. Come great outings by some individuals but ultimately we got the result we deserved” 

The Royals are back in action with home games in Parksville vs the Victoria Bantam Eagles on Saturday. Thomas Plant and Liam McNamee with the starts. They then travel to Victoria to play the Victoria Mariners-Blue on Sunday with Riecker and McGlaughlin getting the nods on the hill.