The Summerland Sluggers defeated the Penticton Reds in tadpoles league action on Saturday.
Both teams were down on numbers and Garrett Bayston once again showed great sportsmanship when he traded his blue Summerland shirt for a Red one, scoring two runs for the home team.
The Sluggers still went on to claim victory with a 9-6 win.
In the first innings, Elliot Chester made an impressive pitching debut for Summerland, achieving three outs at plate out of the Reds’ first four batters.
The second innings brought five players up to bat for each team, with Casey McDermid pitching for the Sluggers, but the teams were evenly matched and no runs were scored for either side.
In the top of the third, Aydan Yargeau pulled Summerland ahead with the first run of the match and Eve Chester looked promising, when she slugged one into the outfield, earning her a two-base opener, before being tagged out at third base, when McDermid followed her up to bat.
The third innings closed with a 1-0 advantage to Summerland.
When the fourth inning opened, despite the heat, both teams had got into their stride.
First up to bat for the Sluggers, Nash Bayston scored his first run of the game, followed by Yargeau, who ably claimed his second.
Next up, Gordon Widdis also achieved his first run of the game, and then, hot on his heels came Chester to claim her first, brought home by a hit from her brother Elliot.
McDermid, Branden Tutkaluk and Elliot Chester all performed admirably at bat, but with a four-run cap on the innings, were prevented from reaping their rewards.
Still in the fourth, the Reds countered with a four-run inning of their own, putting the scoreline at an exciting 5-4 to Summerland as the game went into the fifth.
Opening the fifth and final innings, Bayston turned up the pressure with another run; Ben Hrncirik made it to second base, paving the way for Yargeau to take his personal score up to three runs in this game, again followed in by Widdis and Eve Chester, each scoring their second.
The Reds responded with two runs, before a near-perfect play from Summerland pitcher Elliot Chester to Hrncirik at third attained the third out, drawing the game to a close at 9-6.
The Sluggers came home smiling.
Unavailable for Saturday’s game were Jesse Gregg, Mekenna Quinton and Lucas Koopmans.
