The U15 and U18 Trail Orioles were in action on the weekend, with the younger Orioles going undefeated.
The U15 Orioles traveled to Kelowna on Saturday, July 24 where they played the Kelowna Sun Devils in a doubleheader.
Delayed by an accident in Christina Lake, the Orioles got off to a slow start. The Sun Devils jumped out to a 5-0 lead through four innings, but in the fifth, the Orioles bats woke up.
With the bases loaded, Darren Mailey stroked a single to right cashing in two runs, as the Orioles cut the lead to 5-4.
In the top of the sixth, Mailey came up again with the bases loaded and blooped a single to right for two more runs and a 6-5 Orioles lead.
Kelowna, however, tied it in the bottom of six and the game was called a 6-6 tie due to time constraints.
In Game 2, the U15 team was poised and ready to play. They road a home run from Jeff Hanham and a massive grand slam from Owen Dickson on the way to an 11-0 victory.
On Sunday, the U15 Orioles returned home for a two-game set against the West Kelowna D-Backs at Butler Park.
The Orioles won Game 1 handily by a score of 9-3. In Game 2, Trail pounded out 18 hits, and Dickson went five strong innings on the mound giving up just one hit in an 11-0 shut out.
The shortened season culminates this weekend, when the U15 Orioles travel to West Kelowna for a four-team tournament, with Kelowna, West Kelowna, and Vernon.
In College Prep action, the U18 Orioles fell to 8-12 after going 1-and-3 on a trip to the Lower Mainland.
The Orioles faced the third place Chilliwack Cougars (14-6) in a doubleheader Saturday.
The Orioles played well the first match but couldn’t generate any offence in a 3-1 loss, followed by a 12-4 drubbing in the second game.
Trail then took on the first place North Fraser Nationals (17-5) on Sunday and put in a solid effort in a 7-3 loss.
In Game 2, however, the Orioles held the Nationals to just one run, and left the Mainland with a 3-1 victory, an impressive outing for the O’s.
“We played against the two top teams in the league and were in every game,” said Orioles coach Jim Maniago. “We did pretty well and probably could have won any of the games. It showed we can play with anyone in the league.”
Trail holds down the final playoff spot and can clinch a berth with a good showing this weekend.
The Orioles close out their regular season at home. They will host Ridge Meadows on Saturday, July 31 with games at noon and 2:30 p.m. at Butler Park.
On Sunday, Aug. 1 the Orioles play the Penticton Tigers with the first pitch aat 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. at Butler. It may come down to the final games, as Penticton trails the Orioles by just one game.
Read: U15 Trail Orioles open season with sweep of West Kelowna
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