The Vernon Diamondbacks put together their best seven-inning effort of the season against the Kamloops Sun Devils Sunday night at sunny Marshall Field. Unfortunately for the D-Backs, the game was nine innings and they fell 10-6.
Jay Mielke got the Okanagan Major Baseball League start for the Diamondbacks, and was dominant, allowing just one hit and two runs over six innings, striking out four.
The D-backs jumped all over Kamloops starter Matt Juarez, having seen him pitch against them already three times this season. Vernon scored four times in the first with Josh Wade and Geoff Cleaveley picking up RBI.
Vernon stranded the bases loaded in three of the first four innings, leaving a whopping 14 men on base through seven innings.
“We could have easily broken this game wide open early,” said head coach Kyle Anderson. “We just didn’t clutch up when we had to. Wade went 3-for-5 on the day, while Cleaveley and Ryan Boe each had multi-hit days. Pete Ortman, Aaron Himelson and Jared Sochan each added one hit apiece.”
In the eighth inning, the Sun Devils (who were playing their third game of the day) decided to wake up and put the pressure on the D-backs. Kamloops scored four times in the inning, although the D-backs got out of more trouble by turning a double play on a failed squeeze attempt.
After Vernon failed to score in the eighth, the Sun Devils turned to small ball again against closer Ryan Boe. The D-backs committed four errors and let Kamloops take a four-run lead.
The D-backs got the leadoff runner on in the ninth but got no further.
“Looking at the big picture today, I have to be pretty happy with the performance on the field,” said Anderson “We played flawless baseball for seven innings with the exception of stranding the 14 guys; we just chose the wrong time to make the mistakes today.”
Next home action for the D-backs are weeknight affairs, as they take on the Kelowna Jays July 6, 13 and 20. The playoffs are July 22-24, also at Marshall.
