The Parksville Royals rolled over the Coquitlam Reds, sweeping a double–header Sunday.
The Royals put together the consistency coaches were looking for, earning victories over the Reds to improve their record to 11–22. It was the finish they were looking for and will help them make a push for the B.C. Premier Baseball League (BCPBL) playoffs.
Owen Kelly continued his fine form on the mound as the Royals took game one 3–1. He went the distance in the first game, striking out seven while giving up just one run on four hits. It was Kelly’s fifth win of the season, his second in a row.
Josh Anderson, of Nanoose Bay, provided the offensive spark for the Royals, going 1–1 at the dish and driving in two runs. Port Alberni’s Dean Leyland went 2–3 at the plate with one RBI.
“Owen pitched a great game for us to get things started, so that’s always a plus,” assistant coach Bruce Biro said. “When you have good pitching, the rest usually falls into place and we were able to execute when we needed to and held it together on defense for the win.”
The second game saw the bottom of the Royals batting order come to life as three players earned all seven runs, handing the Reds a 7–2 loss. Colton Tuka got the start in game two and went five innings, giving up two runs on six hits to go along with three strikeouts. Will Drewry and Justin Dieleman, from Nanoose Bay, pitched relief to close the game.
First baseman Zack Senay had himself a game, going 2–3 at the plate with three RBI’s. Braxton Barnes (2-4) and Adam McKillican (2-2) each had two hits and each had two RBIs to account for the other four runs. Dieleman also went 2–4 at the plate, as the Royals cranked out 10 hits in game two.
“We had a lot of team at bats in both games and coupled with good, solid pitching, we played two great games against the Reds,” Biro said. “Everyone on the team contributed in both games and that’s great to see. When we all work together as a unit and feed off one another, this team is very capable of winning ball games like this each time out there.”
Canada Day will see a double–header against the Victoria Mariners at home at Inouye–Wallace Field. Game one starts at noon.
