It was three up and three down for the Trail AM Ford Orioles at the Grand Forks International Baseball Tournament.
The Orioles suffered their third straight loss on Thursday, dropping an 11-6 decision to Washington’s North Sound Emeralds.
The loss ended any hope of the Orioles advancing to the weekend’s money round in the tournament that features $54,000 in prize money.
Trail found itself in a hole early as the Emeralds bolted out to a 7-0 lead after two innings.
But the Orioles bounced back with five runs in the top of the third highlighted by a three-run double by Chris Kissock.
But the Emeralds shut down any thoughts of a complete comeback by Trail by adding single runs in four of the next five innings to carry an 11-5 lead into the ninth.
The Orioles pushed across one final run in the ninth when Jordan McGowan scored on Scott Davidson’s double but that was all the team could muster.
McGowan completed a strong game going 3-for-4 with two runs scored while Kissock was 2-for-4.
Starter Jake Olson was chased after the Emeralds’ second inning outburst and took the loss.
The pattern of big innings foiling Trail’s chances was a familiar pattern in the team’s abbreviated week.
The Orioles lost a close one in its opener on tournament Tuesday falling 6-4 to the West Coast Guns.
Joel Graf got things started when he led off the game by getting hit by a pitch. Graf would eventually come around and score as would Jake Lucchini to spot Trail an early 2-0 lead.
But the Guns, a squad comprised of college graduates playing in Kitsap, Wash., answered with four runs in the bottom of the second off of Trail pitcher Clint Hosford to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
The Guns added single runs in the seventh and eighth to make it 6-2 before Trail mounted a late comeback in the top of the ninth.
Gary Ortman and Graf, scored runs and Trail had two runners on base before the Guns got the final out to preserve the victory.
Graf went 1-for-2 with two runs scored and drew two walks. Kyle Mace was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
There wasn’t much to say about the Orioles 12-0 loss to the Everett Merchants on Wednesday.
The Merchants pounded out 10 hits and took an 8-0 lead after two innings while the struggling Orioles made four errors.
Chris Kissock took the loss in the seven-inning game. Trail managed only four hits in the game.
The round robin portion of the tournament wraps up today with the money round set for the weekend. The championship game of the 12-team tournament is set for
Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at James Donaldson Park in Grand Forks.
