Shortly after the Sicamous Stealers jumped on the bus for Vernon for the start of a three-game road trip, team general manager and coach Rob “SUDS” Sutherland was notified of a league game change that would see the Stealers staying on the road for seven-games straight.
The first road game was against Westside. In this game, Westside brought three pitchers to the mound who all threw good heat and almost always in the strike zone.
The Stealer bats were not quite ready for this and, in four of the innings, the Stealers had only two players reach base. In the second inning the bats were there and they had five hits and scored thee runs. At the end of the game the Stealers were left thinking, “swing the bat.”
Final Score: 24-3 for Westside.
Good showing by Sage Lobb who played back catcher for the first time. Coach was so impressed by her work ethic behind the plate that she was asked to stay at the position for the rest of the game. Each inning it was clear to see that Sage was improving already and that she might just be a natural.
After the wake-up call Sicamous received from Westside’s pitchers, the team rolled into Enderby for Game #6 of the season, game two in the road trip. The first time these two teams met it was a battle which saw Sicamous come out on top with the 6-4 win. The battle continued in the first, ending in a 4-4 tie. After the first inning, the Stealer bats went rather silent and the Enderby bats just kept on swinging and connecting.
Final Score: 19–6 for Enderby.
Good showing by Libby Dyck who crushed a hit into the outfield, which gave the Stealers their only run in the second inning. Libby also had a great glove, stopping multiple hot grounders at the second-base position.
Game #7 brought Sicamous and Penticton together on middle ground in Kelowna to play their only regular season meeting this year.
Courtney Wilby started on the mound for Sicamous, continuing her streak of pitching appearances in every game so far this season.
In the second inning with the score 5–2 for Penticton, coach Rob Sutherland brought in rookie pitcher Raegen Starkell for her first appearance and was very pleased with what he saw. After the game, it was confirmed Starkell is now part of the starting rotation. A very well-rounded Penticton team proved to be what was required to be the winning team on this night.
Final Score: 16-3 for Penticton.
A great all around performance by Noah Sutherland who was 2/2 on-base per cent with two RBI’s at bat, and was the coaches’ utility man on the field playing at third and first, SS and finishing the game as the closing pitcher.
Road trip game #4 brought the Sicamous team back to Enderby for their third meeting of the season, with all three games played in Enderby.
With both teams having their only wins of the season against each other, this one was for the lead. Both squads had great attention to the game and the fans were in for a treat. The bats were a blazing and it was 5 -5 after the first. The pitchers were working it in the second with only 1 run scored, 6–5 for Enderby. The bats took over for the rest of the game, with Enderby taking it in the 4th where they scored five runs and Sicamous was blanked with the bases loaded and stranded. Many players made highlights of the night.
Final Score: Enderby 16, eight Sicamous
A good showing by Matthew Shaw who went 2/2 on-base per cent with two runs and two RBI’s, also solidifying his position at third base playing a full game in the position making many all-star plays.
The Sicamous Stealers play the last three games of their road trip in Vernon, returning for a home game on Thursday, May 26 at 6:30 p.m. at Finlayson Park.
Contributed by SUDS.
