It wasn’t a great showcase for the win-loss column. But a weekend full of home games played a more important role for the Oceanside Rage U16 softball team last Saturday and Sunday at Parksville’s Community Park.
“It’s nice to have competitive ball here in Parksville,” Rage head coach Ian Kellow said between games in Sunday’s doubleheader against visiting View Royal. “But we go out to at least a couple of tournaments a month. We use these games to work on specific things to get us ready for those tournaments.”
The Rage program was approved this year for entry in the South Island League, which opened the door for the home contests at the Community Park ballfield.
Last weekend’s results were mixed for a U16 squad reeling from illness and injury, as the Rage opened play Saturday with a narrow, 10-9 loss to Langford before coming back to drop the second game, 13-1. Acacia Pattison ripped a bases-clearing double to highlight a five-run first inning in the opener.
On Sunday, the Rage opened with a 14-1 loss to View Royal, which started one of the Island’s top hurlers in Joey Ages, according to Kellow.
“The one thing I liked was that we’re hitting well,” said Kellow. “We didn’t generate a lot of runs, but we were putting the ball in play.”
Cassidy Kellow, the coach’s daughter, scored the team’s lone run in the bottom of the first inning when she reached on a passed ball and eventually came in to score on Jordan Avery’s ground out.
View Royal countered with a pair of home runs from Allison Bobroske. The U16 Rage were missing their top two pitchers Sunday, along with several players with flu-like symptoms. Another watched on crutches.
“We’ve got three pickups from the house league,” Ian Kellow said.
“But this is a good opportunity for them. This is good for their development.”
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